The Canuck Way
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The 5 best and 5 worst moves of Jim Benning’s tenure as Canucks GM

By Jamey Vinnick

VANCOUVER, BC - JANUARY 4: General Manager Jim Benning of the Vancouver Canucks takes in the second session on the first day of the Vancouver Canucks NHL Training Camp on January, 4, 2021 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BC - JANUARY 4: General Manager Jim Benning of the Vancouver Canucks takes in the second session on the first day of the Vancouver Canucks NHL Training Camp on January, 4, 2021 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images) /
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OTTAWA, ONTARIO – DECEMBER 01: Tyler Myers #57 of the Vancouver Canucks skates against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on December 01, 2021 in Ottawa, Ontario. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images)
OTTAWA, ONTARIO – DECEMBER 01: Tyler Myers #57 of the Vancouver Canucks skates against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on December 01, 2021 in Ottawa, Ontario. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images) /

No. 4 Best: Canucks sign Radim Vrbata

Everyone knew the Sedin era was starting to wind down when Benning took over, but there was still enough in the tank to salvage. Radim Vrbata came in on a two-year deal and promptly made the All-Star game and posted a career-high 63 points.

He regressed the following year and then Benning of course failed to trade him, but for a year, Vrbata was a bargain and worked wonders with the Twins.

No. 4 Worst: Canucks acquire Erik Gudbranson and a fifth for Jared McCann, a second and a fourth

The reason this is not higher is because there were a lot of bad moves and because there was some understanding to this idea. The Canucks wanted to get tougher on the back end, and Erik Gudbranson was certainly going to be that.

That was all Gudbranson was though. He was well-known for being poor defensively and providing zero offense. Those qualities were evident during his entire tenure, as in 139 games he totaled 19 points and was a -48.

What makes all of this worse is the massive contract Benning gave him at four million per year. Then of course there’s the part where McCann, who was mishandled by the organization, has emerged as a quality top nine forward. His 11 goals so far this year would lead the Canucks.

No. 3 Best: Thatcher Demko’s extension

Benning may have bungled the Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson contract talks, but he locked up Thatcher Demko before the 2021 season even concluded. The term and price were favorable for Vancouver and Demko has responded by doing what he always does. Standing on his head, and keeping the Canucks in games.

His .917 save percentage and 2.66 goals against average may not jump off the page, but anyone who has watched the Canucks knows how good Demko has been. He’s become a workhorse, starting 24 of the Canucks 29 games and leading the league in saves and shots against.

No. 3 Worst: The Tyler Myers contract

So many parts of this contract are awful. The term, the money, the flat cap aspect of it. Oh, and there’s also the part about Myers being a walking disaster. As Wyatt Arndt of the Athletic has dubbed him, Tyler Myers is the “Chaos Giraffe.”

Funny anecdotes aside, Myers has been exactly what everyone knew he would be. An often-penalized, inconsistent defenseman with no ability to start a breakout, defend a rush or consistently make good decisions.

His length is valuable and he occasionally chips in offense, but the bad outweighs the good in this situation. The money still owed to Myers makes him essentially untradeable, meaning the Canucks will have to let the rest of his albatross contract play out.

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