AGAINST BARRIE: It’s Not the BENNING WAY
In case you forgot what kind of a person Trader Jim is, here’s a recap.
Let’s trade small Hunter Shinkaruk for high-floor, low-ceiling Mikael Markus Granlund. Nicklas Jensen has not been able to round out his defensive game, so let’s get some more second-tier physicality in Emerson Etem.
Well, there goes the defensively invalid Nick Bonino for foundational players like Brandon Sutter. Erik Gudbranson is going to destroy the Pacific Division with his 6-foot-5 frame.
What does that say about Benning liking Tyson Barrie?
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Barrie is small, he is not physical, he is not a known leader. Defensively Barrie is not so reliable. A good comparison may be made to Yannick Weber‘s defensive abilities, save that Barrie is 10 pounds lighter than Weber is.
Check out Barrie’s abilities on display here, thanks to our folks at Mile High Sticking. It is a very good read with great analysis of Barrie play-by-play.
Lastly, that fifth overall pick is supposed to turn into Jim Benning’s prized possession Pierre-Luc Dubois. A high draft pick is going to get people into the seats in Rogers Arena. The Canucks cannot afford to put on display another shaky season without having a new young face in the lineup to point to and say “youth movement”.
Think Benning cares about Sbisa coughing up the puck and Tryamkin shooting it down the ice and falling to his knees panting? Sbisa is going to turn into a top-four defenseman with good skating abilities:
Next: FOR BARRIE: A Homecoming is a Bigger Selling Point