Jim Benning was appointed as general manager of the Vancouver Canucks on May 23rd 2014, and has divided the opinions of Canucks fans ever since. Today, we look back at the top five moves of his five years in charge.
General manager Jim Benning splits the opinions of Vancouver Canucks fans like few other figures in the organization. After so many successful years under previous GM Mike Gillis, it is hard for some Canucks fans to reconcile to the harsh reality of that sustained period of success, coupled with such underwhelming and franchise-gutting drafting. This team was never going to compete quickly with its empty prospect pipeline.
While we as fans have struggled for years to determine whether the Canucks are rebuilding, retooling, or simply plodding along without a plan, Benning has made several important moves as GM that have put the organization in a good position to climb out of the NHL’s basement, and challenge for playoff positions in the coming seasons.
It’s not going to be easy, and the Canucks will need plenty of luck (and good health), but few Canucks fans can argue that Benning has failed to — eventually — bring through young players to change the outlook for this team.
There are several moves Benning made that didn’t make the cut: squeezing a 2nd round pick out of the Anaheim Ducks for Kevin Bieksa, getting two picks for Eddie Lack, and acquiring the pick we used to select Adam Gaudette in exchange for Raphael Diaz’s services. In time, perhaps the selections of Michael DiPietro, Jett Woo and Tyler Madden make their way on to the list – but for now, let’s look at what did make the cut.
We look back at Benning’s five best moves since becoming GM of the Canucks — let us know if we’ve missed one!