Vancouver Canucks Trade Analysis: Benning Knows Trading
The Vancouver Canucks are not shying away from the bidding war.
With the Vancouver Canucks making yet another deal to mortgage picks and potential for a more proven asset, Trader Jim is flexing his muscles again.
The Canucks acquired defenseman Erik Gudbranson from the Florida Panthers for forward Jared McCann on Wednesday, an unexpected trade that saw hell break loose on social media.
Draft picks were also involved, with Vancouver sending the second round, 33rd-overall pick and the fifth round, 93rd-overall pick to Florida and the Panthers returning a fifth round, 129th-overall pick to Vancouver.
With the trade, the Canucks will have six picks in this year’s draft: the 5th-overall, the 63rd-overall, the 129th-overall, the 153rd-overall, the 183rd-overall, and the 193rd-overall.
What’s the Issue?
So when it is all said and done, what is the big deal? Why is Twitter getting lit up by polarized opinions?
The Master Drafter is Giving Away Picks
The biggest concern right now seems to be the amount of future potential that GM Jim Benning has mortgaged for a single player. This year’s Entry Draft being considered one of the best that the league has seen in recent history, most are pointing to the loss of the 33rd-overall selection as the biggest issue with the deal.
What if Jared McCann is…
The next biggest concern is the man himself, Jared McCann. The Canucks knew that McCann had gained muscle already, just a handful of weeks into his first NHL offseason. A player with undeniable skill often criticized for the lack of strength, McCann was well on his way to becoming a serviceable middle-six forward, even a top-six winger.
Who the heck is Eric Gudbranson?
Lastly, with Gudbranson playing an entire continent away from Vancouver, Canucks fans do not know well what traits Benning saw in the defenseman that was so attractive. Let us answer all these questions.
Next: GM Jim Benning is a Confident Scout
GM Jim Benning is a Confident Scout
What was Jim Benning thinking when he traded away two picks, one of which is essentially a high second rounder that is just as good as a late first? Is this draft not packed deep with talent that the Canucks need? What happened to “building from the draft”?
With one of Matthew Tkachuk or Pierre-Luc Dubois sure to be available at the number five selection, the Canucks were looking to draft a defenseman with their second pick. But in getting Gudbranson, a top-four material, the Canucks have relieved themselves of the duty to draft a defenseman with the 33rd pick, and hence relinquished the pick in the trade.
Benning is confident in his assessment of Gudbranson and deemed the potential defenseman at 33rd-overall a surplus.
More from The Canuck Way
- Which team won the Bo Horvat trade?
- What to expect from newcomers Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Räty
- Back to the future: How the skate uniforms became a regular Canucks’ feature night
- Canucks kick off 2023 with disappointing 6-2 loss to Islanders
- 2nd period penalty trouble sinks Canucks in 4-2 loss against Winnipeg
The issue that I would raise, however, is that of much finer detail. The Canucks lack scoring defensemen. Although a Nikita Tryamkin-like Gudbranson certainly stabilizes the defense and makes netminders’ lives easier, it doesn’t help the offense a whole lot.
And yet this draft is almost littered with offensive defensemen, starting with top picks Olli Juolevi and Dante Fabbro to late first-round guys like Kyle Clague and Samuel Girard.
Jim Benning quotes the deal that saw his former club, the Boston Bruins, say goodbye to then-RFA Dougie Hamilton. Calgary had acquired Hamilton for their first-round pick (#15) in the 2015 NHL Draft and the two second-round picks (#45 and #52).
Although a Gudbranson-to-Hamilton comparison may not be the most suitable, the Canucks did essentially send two late first-round picks for Gudbranson; think of the fourth-to-fifth round trade down and the early second collectively as equal value to a late first, and couple that with McCann.
Compare that to the price the Flames had to pay and consider the fact that Hamilton was a free agent bound for a mega deal, this deal is definitely not the worst one the NHL has seen draft pick-wise.
Next: Who cares what Jared McCann becomes?
Who cares what Jared McCann becomes?
The Vancouver Canucks lost a former first-round selection who struggled as a center having scored just 18 points in 69 games this season. But don’t let those numbers define how valuable an asset McCann really is. Don’t let the fact that he can’t play center be an excuse to discount McCann.
McCann can still play a middle-six wing role as a scorer who can also get under the other team’s skin with a Kesler-like edge in his game. His only fault as a player was his slight frame, but it seems that McCann has beefed up quite a bit already to 194 pounds.
McCann is bound to get better. But not in a Canuck uniform. Can’t blame Benning for how good his draft pick gets.
With the abundance of centermen in the system, the Canucks were dealing McCann from a point of surplus. McCann had no shot of staying in Vancouver as a center, and with the plethora of bottom-six forwards that Jim Benning had acquired, the likes of Emerson Etem and Markus Granlund were already filling out the lineup quick.
If you think McCann got it tough, how about Brendan Gaunce? He is the only surviving member of the Gillis regime. He didn’t get his NHL chance until late in the season, only to go back down to the AHL and get shut out by the Albany Devils.
More from Canucks News
- Canucks are in “wash, rinse, repeat” mode after Monday’s 5-1 loss
- Canucks send Jack Rathbone and Vasily Podkolzin down to Abbotsford
- Canucks acquire Ethan Bear, Lane Pederson from Carolina
- Brock Boeser, Curtis Lazar placed on injury reserve
- Canucks officially unveil Reverse Retro jersey in latest aesthetic change
With a young guy like Gaunce looking to round out that bottom line for the Canucks with all the right “Benning characteristics” — the grit, the two-way play, and so on, McCann was not going to get a shot in Vancouver.
Again, think back to the Boston-Calgary trade for Hamilton. Do you think McCann was worth a mid-first round pick? I personally was ready to accept an early second pick for the man.
Now was the time to trade McCann, before he lost all value in being demoted down to the AHL and getting considered a failed project that got rushed into the NHL.
All being said, this should give McCann a lot more breathing room to grow and flourish as a player. Best of wishes to Jared.
Next: Erik Gudbranson: The Man who Beats the Analytics
Erik Gudbranson: The Man who Beats the Analytics
So who is Erik Gudbranson? Gudbranson is a 6-foot-5 defenseman who weighs 216 pounds and shoots right. He averaged 20 minutes a night for the Panthers during the regular season and 27 minutes a night during the playoffs.
Gudbranson is the definition of a physical stay-at-home defenseman who does not go out of his way to make offensive plays happen. The one prominent offensive tool he has is his slapshot which is one of the hardest in the league. He had twice as many hits (150) than shots (73) this past season.
Needless to say, Gudbranson clears the net-front with authority while a Youtube search of Gudbranson will yield videos of him fighting and dominating some of the nastiest names like Dalton Prout and Steve Bernier. He will make the life easier for Ryan Miller and Jacob Markstrom.
However, Gudbranson stands out from the rest of the league in another way. This is where the new Florida regime differs from the old one. The new analytics-based management has traded away Gudbranson for how egregious his advanced stats are.
Despite eating up top-four minutes, his possession metrics are off the charts — as in, beyond the negative axis of the charts. Possession metrics deem him unfit for NHL hockey.
So did Benning just trade about two first-round picks’ worth of assets for a guy who isn’t even worth a Yannick Weber?
No.
This guy was drafted third overall, just behind Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin. There is a reason why the Panthers drafted him third overall. Here is the quote from George Richards of the Miami Herald.
Gudbranson has been considered to be a future candidate for team captain ever since general manager Dale Tallon made him his first draft pick (third overall) at the 2010 NHL Draft in Los Angeles. With Willie Mitchell expected to either retire or at least not return to the Panthers next season, Gudbranson would be in the mix to wear the “C” in 2016. (George Richards, Miami Herald)
What the analytics couldn’t solve the players did. And what some Canucks fans aren’t seeing, the Panthers fans did. Some Panthers fans are just about ready to overthrow the new regime.
Jim Benning puts tremendous value in leadership and character, and he got what he wanted in Gudbranson. As everyone says, young top-four defensemen don’t grow on trees. But this isn’t the end of the story. There is more.
Next: Behind the Scenes: Trader Jim Has More to Say