Top 5 worst moves from the Jim Benning era

When Jim Benning took over from Mike Gillis in 2014, it was assumed the team would go through the inevitable rebuild, but no one thought it would go the way it did. Benning's era as general manager is infamous for over-signing depth players and trading up-and-coming young players for aging veterans. Not to mention the numerous questionable draft picks made during his tenure.

#5 - Gustav Forsling for Adam Clendening

In 2014, the Canucks drafted defenseman Gustav Forsling in the fifth round of the NHL draft. Following his draft year, Forsling put up eight points in seven games for Sweden at the U-20 World Juniors.


Before Forsling could even play a game for the Canucks, he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Adam Clendening. In his first season with the Blackhawks organization, Forsling spent time in both the AHL and NHL, putting up 13 points in 68 games.


After spending a few more seasons between the AHL and NHL, Forsling was traded to the Florida Panthers. It was only in Florida that Forsling started to gain recognition as one of the league's premium defensive defensemen.

Fast forward to 2025, Forsling is a two-time Stanley Cup champion and one of the most infamous Vancouver Canucks draft selections, despite not playing a single game for the team.

#4 - Signing Loui Eriksson

When you ask someone what Jim Benning was most known for during his tenure as Canucks general manager, chances are they will mention Loui Eriksson.

Following the 2015-16 season with the Boston Bruins, Eriksson was looking to cash in big after scoring 30 goals for the Bruins in 2015. Once free agency opened, Eriksson signed one of the biggest contracts of free agency, a 6-year, 6 million AAV contract with the Canucks worth $30 million.

At the time, the Canucks thought they were getting a 30 goal scorer to play with the Sedins. Less than a season into his six-year contract, Eriksson's offensive play had already fallen off a cliff Eriksson's goal total had dropped from 30 the previous year to 11 in his first season with the Canucks. If things weren't bad enough for the Canucks, in Eriksson'ss Canucks debut against the Calgary Flames, he scored on his own net during a delayed penatly. Eriksson never scored more than 11 goals for the Canucks, and was subsequently traded to the Arizona Coyotes in 2021, where he scored just three goals.

#3 - 2020 Free Agency

For sports across the world, 2020 was a year like no other. Sports leagues across the world were required to play games without the attendance of fans in what they called "bubble cities."

Things were no different for the NHL. In 2020, the league announced the play in and playoffs would be held in Toronto and Edmonton. Due to the shortened season, the league would hold a five game play-in series. The Vancouver Canucks were set to take on the Minnesota Wild. The Canucks defeated the Wild after Chris Tanev scored the OT winner in game four.

Next, the Canucks took on the defending Stanley Cup champion St.Louis Blues in round one. The eager Canucks made quick work of the Blues, defeating them 4-2 and advancing to take on the Golden Knights.

Despite being heavily outmatched against a strong Vegas team, the Canucks pushed the series to game seven, where they ultimately lost 3-0.

Following the conclusion of the season, the consensus was that this was only the beginning of consistent playoff appearances for the Canucks. That was, until free agency hit.

The Canucks had several key free agents, including recently acquired Tyler Toffoli, star netminder Jacob Markstrom and veteran defensemen Chris Tanev. By the end of free agency, none of these players remained with the Canucks. Fans were outraged, and the teams inability to replace these players with similar caliber signings led to the team suffering next season.

To add insult to injury, two of the Canucks top free agents, Chris Tanev and Jacob Markstrom, went on to sign multi-year deals with the Calgary Flames.

The following season, the Canucks finished last in the Canadian division, just a year after being one win away from the Western Conference finals. The Canucks would never see the glory of 2020 again under Benning, who was fired in December 2021.

#2 - Jared McCann for Erik Gudbranson

In 2014, the Canucks were on the verge of beginning a rebuild. When the NHL entry draft came around, the team had the opportunity to start the rebuild off on the right foot, with two first-round picks. At sixth overall, the Canucks selected forward Jake Virtanen, then at 24th overall, center Jared McCann.

McCann made his NHL debut in the 2015-16 season with the Canucks. In 69 games, McCann put up 18 points.

Following the season, McCann was traded to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Erik Gudbranson. Immediately, people were angered and confused by the trade. Gudbranson was a good, physical defenseman, which is something the Canucks lacked, but to give up on a young player only one season after drafting him was never made sense for the Canucks, who were not a good team at the time and were nowhere close to contending. They had time to wait and let McCann develop, but instead they opted to trade him away.

After being traded to Florida, McCann bounced around a few teams before finding a home in Seattle, where he put up impressive numbers. In the 2022-23 season, McCann put up 40 goals for the first time in his career. Had the Canucks stuck with McCann and let him develop, it's likely they would not be so desperate for a second-line center right now.

#1 - Selecting Olli Juolevi over Matthew Tkachuk

At the 2016 NHL draft, the Canucks had the opportunity to select 5th overall, the highest position the team has selected at since 1999 when they selected Henrik and Daniel Sedin at 2nd and 3rd overall.

The Canucks were in desperate need of defensive prospects, which they had plenty of options to chose from in this draft. Mikhail Sergachev, Jakob Chychrun, Olli Juolevi, Charlie McAvoy, Dante Fabbro, just to name a few. There was also an abundance of highly-skilled forwards available, including Pierre Luc-Dubious, Matthew Tkachuk, Clayton Keller, and Jesse Puljujarvi.

Ultimately, the Canucks decided to select Olli Juolevi. At the time, this wasn't a bad pick. Juolevi had just come off a Memorial cup winning season with the London Knights, where he was the teams top offensive defensemen. Despite the need for defensive prospects, what stings about this pick is the player the Canucks passed on, and who was able to draft him.

The Calgary Flames held the next pick, 6th overall, which they used to draft Juolevis teammate Matthew Tkachuk. Flash forward to 2025, Juolevi is back oversees while Tkachuk is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Florida Panthers.

The 2016 draft will forever be an infamous moment in Canucks history, and the question of where the Canucks would be if they drafted Tkachuk is one of the team's biggest what-ifs