Vancouver Canucks: Benning talks about Pettersson, draft and roster
Jim Benning spoke with the media yesterday, covering the Elias Pettersson signing, the draft and potential roster moves this offseason. Let’s go!
Vancouver Canucks fans rejoice. Elias Pettersson (whose last name I’ve been saying incorrectly all this time) is officially a Vancouver Canuck. Yesterday, the club announced the signing to the relief of many fans.
Rick Dhaliwal confirmed that Pettersson’s entry-level deal can earn up to $850 000 in Schedule A bonuses and $2 million in Schedule B. You saw how that worked with Brock Boeser. Play well and get appropriately rewarded.
Canucks General Manager Jim Benning was glowing about Pettersson after the announcement. He sees Pettersson has a future centre, but knows he may start next season on the wing. There is nothing really surprising about that. I may disagree on where Pettersson eventually plays, but it’s smart for the Canucks to ease him in on the wing.
Pettersson was on with Sportsnet 650. His quotes are all over Canucks Twitter. To summarize, he was happy to sign and was quite funny, joking about his weight, a hot topic in this market. Speaking of his weight, Benning said he wants Pettersson to get stronger, but not gain too much. Good. The Canucks GM understands that too much weight will adversely affect Pettersson’s greatest advantage: his skill.
Quick word on seventh overall
Although it was brief, Benning did talk about the type of player the Canucks could target with the seventh overall selection.
Benning on pick #7 : "I think we should take the best player available. But center-icemen & defensemen retain their value so if it comes between a winger or a centermen or a defensemen, we'll look positionally" #Canucks
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) May 25, 2018
Like last year’s draft, 2018 will work out nicely for the Canucks in the first round. Their needs are likely to overlap with their positional need. Additionally, it’s unsurprising that the Canucks value centres and defenders more than wingers since the prospect pool is winger-rich.
However, if the team has a choice between say, Quinn Hughes and Brady Tkachuk, things get interesting. The forward may play centre and wing, but he is projecting as a winger long-term. From my understanding, the Canucks like Tkachuk a lot, so if both are available, I will be curious to see if Benning sticks to what he says now.
Speaking of Hughes, Benning spoke well of him, praising his skating, intelligence and fitting in well with the U.S. team at the World Championships. As we know, Benning won’t let one tournament sway him nowadays, but he is certainly doing his homework.
Related Story: Jim Benning is adapting to the NHL draft
Offseason targets
Last, but not least, Benning gave a couple of insights to the Canucks offseason. The team will need a middle six centre, unless you want to see Brandon Sutter in the top six again (the horror). Benning did reveal something regarding about a pair of future Canuck pivots.
Benning on acquiring a center for Pettersson: "I'm talking to a lot of the teams in the league right now. We feel Adam Gaudette can come in and push for his spot on the team. But it's the unknown of Elias coming in, maybe he can play center." #Canucks
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) May 25, 2018
This seems to contradict the idea that Pettersson starts on the wing, but I think Benning is just trying to plan for a couple of scenarios. Adam Gaudette may have a spot now, but we will see if these statements change during training camp.
I know the Canucks are thin at centre, but given the recent news around Ryan Kesler staying on the shelf longer than expected, this brings it back to something I discussed before. If there is a golden opportunity to trade Sutter, this offseason will be exactly that.
Related Story: California is very interested in Brandon Sutter
Vancouver would have leverage in this situation and the Ducks have shown interest. It sounds too perfect and I would suggest Benning strongly considers this option. Like I said in the Sutter article, Benning can easily add centres in free agency. And if he’s smart, they won’t cost as much.
Next: 2018 NHL draft profile #20: Dominik Bokk
Since we are talking about missed opportunities, Benning also stated that the team isn’t shopping Chris Tanev. Of course I think it’s a mistake, but there could be a chance for this team to completely focus on a rebuild with the right offer. Two years are left on Tanev’s deal and I see the veteran defender walking away when it’s over. For now, it appears things will stay quiet on the Canucks front until the draft.