Playing armchair GM is something all fans of the Vancouver Canucks have been guilty of. We look back at trade deadlines and free agency periods of the past with clarity of the present tense, and react with a bowed shake of the head, or take pleasure knowing that our management made the right move. The unfortunate nature of this list is that these transactions carried out by Canucks GM Jim Benning were dead on arrival as soon as the fax was sent.
Benning’s an easy target right now, as his most recent transactions (or lack thereof) have been on full display, starting last weekend with getting shutout by a Flames team powered by ex-long time Canucks (Jacob Markstrom, Chris Tanev), then getting fully dunked-on by Tyler Toffoli on the ascending Montreal Canadiens. It’s put the crosshairs of the fickle Vancouver fan-base firmly back on ol’ Jimbo.
Look away, #Canucks fans pic.twitter.com/0obmGKnP1P
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) January 25, 2021
Benning gets full marks for leading the Canucks out of the wilderness by hitting huge in the draft over the past five years. However, the window created by Benning and his scouting team is closing quickly due to his consistent failings at asset retention and buying high on bottom-six players during free agency.
With upcoming negotiations with franchise cornerstones Elias Petterson and Quinn Hughes looming, Benning’s track record suggests he’s in no way qualified to build a championship roster in a flat salary cap environment. Now let’s all hold hands and dig into the proof…
Trading Zack Kassian and a 5th Round Pick for Brandon Prust
In Benning’s second year as Canucks GM, the team went full rebuild mode in the offseason after getting bounced by the Calgary Flames in the first round. That summer, we bid farewell to fan favourites Eddie Lack and Kevin Bieksa for draft capital and cap space.
Part of the reshuffling included shipping 24-year old Zack Kassian and pick for Canadiens third-line winger Brandon Prust. In fairness to Benning, Kassian’s documented off-ice issues had depressed his value, but the trade marked a disturbing trend of continually buying high on gritty veterans, all while giving up on a salvageable Kassian. It’s important to note as well that the Canucks took on more salary in this trade.
Both players never stuck around with their new teams, but Kassian eventually turned things around, notching career highs in points and average TOI last year with the Edmonton Oilers. Benning could’ve been forgiven for this trade had it not been the first of many lopsided moves in pursuit of veteran bottom-six forwards; which leads us to our next part of our list…
Signing Antoine Roussel, Jay Beagle, and Tim Schaller for a combined $7.9M AAV
This technically counts as three moves, but holy cow this still makes my eyes water almost three years later. It was at this moment that Canucks management solidified their reputation as the pot of gold for scrappy vets to hit their big pay day, both for the term and dollar amount.
It’s no coincidence that the teams that let these players go (Dallas Stars, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins) are franchises that are enjoying the sustained success the Canucks are still striving for. A quick glance of each team’s respective Cap Friendly page showcase a similar theme: their bottom-six littered with entry-level contracts and vets making under $2M AAV.
Last year’s playoff run was a direct result of excellent Benning drafts injecting impact players at bargain prices. We can look back at this summer day as one of the reasons the Canucks weren’t able to build on that momentum this offseason.