Canucks: 3 things GM Jim Benning did right this year

Playoff hockey or not, the Vancouver Canucks made serious strides in the right direction. Here are three things Jim Benning did right for the Canucks this year.

With his job on the line, Vancouver Canucks general manaher Jim Benning reshaped the roster over the 2019 summer and claimed the hockey club suitable for playoffs in 2020. As it stands now, COVID-19 has the season halted and the playoffs uncertain for the Canucks and the rest of the NHL.

Playoff hockey is something that the Canucks haven’t experienced in five long years, but Benning got some good results from his squad as the campaign went on and for a while, it was starting to feel like the dance wasn’t too far off.

Overall the team was up and down, but sometimes Vancouver looked dominant. And how could they not with Elias Pettersson back for another MVP season, first-year Quinn Hughes taking the rookie class by storm, J.T. Miller rising to become the perfect player and Jacob Markstrom being an absolute wall in the crease?

Yes, they had some very skilled pieces, but as the games grew more stressful, the Canucks began to show signs of weakness, and a lack of experience playing hardnosed games in spring. A couple of injuries to key players, a tough string of opponents and suddenly Vancouver looked nothing more than a team with a good power play. It begs the question, “Did Jim Benning do enough to make this team a playoff contender?”

At this point, fans may never know if the 2019-20 Canucks would have been able to stay alive in an 82-game playoff race, so the answer may never be known.  But, Benning did build a team that led the Pacific Division at one point, was in the thick of things all season long, and would be a tough first-round matchup for anybody. Let’s take a look at three things he did right this season!

Building a strong supporting cast

One thing that shocked a lot of people this year was the fact that both Sven Baertschi and Nikolay Goldobin didn’t make the opening night roster. Baertschi is a proven full-time NHL player, with Goldobin arguably not too far behind him. But with Vancouver holding a losing record time and time again, the Canucks needed new ways to score goals. The two forwards were final roster cuts and together became the first true signal of change.

At the end of the day, it’s the coach who makes the difficult roster moves, but it was GM, Benning who acquired new blood to filter into the system. Miller was acquired from a cap-strapped Tampa Bay Lightning club and originally, Benning took some serious heat for giving up “too much.”

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Next thing you know, Miller is having a career-year, he’s a 200-foot player who can do it all, and after 69 hard-fought games, he leads the Canucks in points. Miller had an absolutely mind-blowing first season in Vancouver and the trade was definitely worth it. It was something that at first had fans fuming in their seats – after a handful of games he started turning heads, but by season’s end he had easily won the hearts of all Canucks faithful. The acquisition of Miller was a homerun move that turned into a grand slam. Can you even imagine the Canucks without Miller now?

Next, you got the trade deadline acquisition of Tyler Toffoli. It was another great move by Benning that was pulled off with a very strategic mind. He lost Brock Boeser with a long term injury just days before the deal, but he made sure not to give up more than he needed to help the Canucks stay alive in the playoff hunt.

Toffoli is a two-time Stanley Cup winner who in the past has also shown extremely high chemistry with Tanner Pearson. He came into the Canucks locker room and made an instant impact. His point per game pace since his arrival has been warmly welcomed and really bolsters the Canucks’ right-wing position.

Miller is locked in at a friendly $5.25 million annually for the next three seasons, but Toffoli needs a contract extension if the Canucks wish to continue using his services. If you ask me, it’s a no brainer and Benning needs to make it work. What he’s done with the supporting cast has been unreal. It would be a shame to see his latest creation crumble before it really got going.

The defence was built bigger, stronger, faster

Out with the old, in with the new. That was the approach Jim Benning took with his blueline this year. Half the old roster was cut to make way for some new faces. Hughes, Tyler Myers, Jordie Benn and Oscar Fantenberg were brought in to give a new look to the Canucks back end.

What a difference! Hughes was an absolute game-changer for the Canucks. Just one season under his belt and the kid has become the best blueliner Vancouver has ever possessed. His skating abilities are unbelievable, his vision is perfect and he makes the power play an instant threat. He’s a franchise difference-maker for the Canucks. In 68 games, he put up 53 points. That’s insane. He’s here to stay, and he’s just getting started!

His counterpart, the 6’9 monster Myers! The former player of the WHL Kelowna Rockets inked a five-year pact with Benning and the Canucks leaving money on the table to play close to home. His first season was as advertised, but Myers brings a lot to the Canucks that they never had before.

The hulking defender is actually quite the offensive puck mover who really knows how to skate. He isn’t the guy who can go out there and dominate his own line but paired with a defence-first partner really bodes well with Myers. His size definitely didn’t go unnoticed and he was able to take some minutes off the shoulders of ageing veterans.

Benn and Fantenberg have served as great depth defenders for the Canucks, but the bulk of the load goes to Myers and Hughes. Without those new additions, the Canucks would have been in serious trouble this year.