Benning was the king of trading the better asset in a trade and attaching a higher pick along with it. July 1, 2015 trades Kassian at 1.75m and a 2016 5th for Brandon Prust who costed 2.5m July 28, 2015 trades Bonino, Clendenning and a 2nd for Sutter and a 2016 3rd that was our own. May 25, 2016 trades Jared McCann, a 2nd and a 4th for Erik Gudrbanson and his 3.5m cap plus a 2016 5th. (WTF) Oct 3, 2017 trades Andrey Pedan and a 2018 4th for Derrick Pouliot July 23, 2021 makes the infamous Garland/OEL for a 1st, 2nd and 7th. This one always annoys me the most because he literally helped a team initiate a cap dump and gave them good assets in return to do it. OEL wanted only Boston or Vancouver, Boston said no. Vancouver did NOT need to trade for OEL as badly as Arizona needed to get rid of him. They were looking to cut cap, cut salary and cut cost per their owner. That means with the goal they are trying to achieve and Vancouver being the only trade partner, Vancouver has all the power and Benning just squandered it all. His one and only offer should have been spare parts like Virtanen, Juolevi and a 4th as well as trading cap back like Eriksson. He also tells Arizona that they are retaining half the cap on OEL and when Arizona declines because its a shitty deal for them, you hang up and let it go. Either they hold onto OEL and keep paying a salary they dont want to pay, or they circle back to you and try again. Usually the team doing the cap dump attaches a pick or something to the trade to make it worth the while of their trading partner but all Arizona had to do was take on 12m in cap for like 45 minutes and now they are 19m free. They trade out 7.26m for OEL, take on Eriksson, Roussel and Beagle then their contracts end and bam another 12m is off the books. They also get away with 3 picks and are laughing their asses off all the way to the draft stage while Benning gets fired 2 months later. Whether Benning was running this tire fire by himself or he was being influenced by Aquilini and his nonsense, hes still easily one of the worst gms Vancouver has ever had. A team that should have been rebuilding after 14-15 was trading away more picks than they were using and now they are surprised that they have no organizational depth anywhere on the team? Lol, this team..................
Terrific rundown. I recall formally grading a few of those trades and wondering what in the world he was doing every time. The same went for the rest, just informally. It boggles the mind. Almost every one of these shouldn't have been made *regardless of hindsight since the trade happened.*
@@closethockeyfan5284 If I remember correctly too he would use alot of picks to pick up these "reclamation projects" and then dump them like a year or two later saying "they didn't work out." Dude.... we could have told you they wouldnt work out lol. Most of them had been in the league at least 5 years and didnt work out anywhere. Its not like Vancouver is Tampa where players go to have a revitalized year and save their career, maybe except Luke Schenn with us. If it didn't work in most other places, it sure as fuck isnt going to workout here lol. The team that needed to rebuild was so allergic to using draft picks for their intended purpose.........
Seeing how many GM's mismanage their teams in the league, gives you a new fond appreciation for Steve Yzerman and what he's done in his Managing career... He is so smart when it comes to draft picks, and knowing what is best for a prospect to develop.. He also seems to only sign players who actively make his team better. It's quite impressive.
Yzerman might just end up as the greatest hockey person of all time. Amazing player, legendary leader, and he's not even that far into his GM career yet and he's already one of the best GMs of all time. The only thing the man hasn't done is coach a team to the cup.
The OEL trade was the Canucks version of the old fake tunnel trick in Wile E Coyote cartoons. The fans thought there was an escape but Benning just painted a tunnel on a wall.
For me, the OEL trade was the major tipping point. Up until then, I could see the daylight at the end of the tunnel. A little patience, and they'd be in a good position to build up a young team and open up a large window where they'd at least be a consistent playoff team. Combine that with the Miller signing, and those two things have really put them behind the eight-ball. Forget the draft picks going out and everything else. Just imagine if we could just undo those two things, how much of a better position would they be in right now. A top 9 draft pick in the system, more cap space, and a valuable, tradable, expiring contract player, that could net a significant asset for the future in Miller. Alvine is going to have to pull some serious Gandalf level magic to get the team out of this pit. Because, right now, I'm just laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. It's like watching a Jack Ass movie where a guy keeps punching himself in the squirrel sack.
As a lifetime Canuck fan I can agree with the OEL trade being a setback is some areas. But regardless we have a young team with little to no experience. Between all of our young core before 2020 we had only Horvat who had ANY playoff experience. in the bubble we were shown a star in Demko and Boeser, as well as Petterson showing he can handle pressure. Then they make a move, moving towards a more competitive team. Low playoffs isn't a place that any team wants to be, especially with low cap potential, but having a star defensemen in OEL to not only hold the fort in front of a young Demko to develop but also hold the reigns of a otherwise high risk defensemen in Hughes. Don't get me wrong, I love Hughes, but he fails the eye test in game when he is under pressure from in his own zone. He needs to learn that patience and what the right play is to make, and the only way that these young players can learn is from 2 things. Playoffs in high pressure environments and players that have been in those environments. People also talk about Toffoli being a waste, but his impact in the team in the one year to bring them into the bubble is speaking volumes in how Petty is playing now. It's only a matter of time before the rest of the team follow suit. As i type this they are on a bit of a winning streak, and I do fully believe they'll be in the playoffs. Most likely in the bottom of the bracket, but in regardless. Even if it's a first round exit, this year I take that as a win.
@@NinjapleaseVideos The thing is OEL isn't a star defensman anymore. He's 31 years old and on the down swing of his career, not someone in their prime that can be leaned on for years to come. His play will only get worse, but his pay will remain the same 7+ million dollars for 4 more years after this one. At the time of his acquisition, it was very obvious the Canucks were a bubble team and OEL was at best going to push them into being a team the squeaks in and gets booted in the 1st round. But regardless, it's not the player that's the big issue here. It's the massive contract that goes along with him. It's an inefficient use of resources. The return on investment get worse and worse every year. If we were back in the times of no salary cap, then OEL wouldn't be as big a deal, but the fact is his big contract, and his no-trade clause, actively prevents the Canucks from improving, because they don't have the cap space to make moves. And in terms of playoff experience to draw from. He's been in the playoffs once in the last 11 years for a total of 9 games in that time. For his career, he has 25 playoff games. After the bubble run, Petterson, Boeser, and Hughes have 17 playoff games each. Horvat has 23. Miller has 78. Pearson 51. For Hughes, we have ask is he making mistakes because he needs to learned or is it because he's being asked to do too much because he's overplayed on this thin defense corp? As for just squeaking into the playoffs and getting booted in round 1. That's probably one of the worst things that can happen. It doesn't help the team in the long run. It's just going to promote keeping this team on the path of mediocrity, with no way to improve because of those big contracts for players on the down swing of their careers like OEL. Mediocrity also means middling draft picks, that take years to develop instead of being ready sooner, which doesn't help their very thin prospect pool. Also, those bad contracts make it harder to resign players. There's only so much money to go around. Because they signed MIller, it's very possible that they can't afford Horvat, so he may be gone. And what happens when Petterson's contract is up after next year? He's probably going to be asking for around 9-10 million dollars. Where's that money coming from? Right now, the Canucks have a salary structure like a team contending for a cup and prospect pool to match a team that's been burning assets to win a cup now, but they're not a contender, not even close. They're burning assets and cap space to keep a bubble team together. Does that path make sense?
the final nail in the coffin will be Petty leaving after his contract is done. forget hovat- he'll be gone for nothing after the end of this year/season
Exactly. They only had to wait one year to get rid of all of those albatross contracts. They did get a little better with OEL and Garland, but, they missed the playoffs anyway. Now they are saddled with OEL for 4 more years.
To me puck carrying d-men are the most valuable players. Ducks had Lindholm, Shae Theodore, Brando Montour and now have none of them and all our defensemen are well below average. Tough to take.
Sellers market due to Bettman.. and actually America’s Market due to American dollar and players looking at budget and long term goals. Can’t fault them for that, I guess they have ti ask themselves and their families, If you can sacrifice playing on a Canadian team that is not in Cup contention in the foreseeable future, what are my options. Move south, make more money? Live in a city without constant negativity and scrutiny??? Why? You would have to be pretty grounded and focused, with an amazing support network of wife, family and kids to withstand that. Gone is the childhood dream of playing hockey for the love of it. The era of business and profit reigns supreme. The disloyal fan base and constant media negativity in Vancouver have long been a source of why, The NHL is a far removed cousin of any other sport. We are always criticizing our own teams. “Fans”are notoriously condemning the team, the coaching, the management. Perhaps we need to take a short look south at how cities support their teams. Yes, usually college football, baseball etc. As Canadians we should be setting the example as human beings. Fandom is where we fall short. Perhaps though, it’s those Vancouver fans, without any true allegiance, they actually have never played any sport, but are the essence of “fanatics” I’m saddened when I hope to buy a Canuck ticket to a Leafs or oilers game. The fan base allows the opposing team to out cheer Vancouver fans. I’m a Canuck fan, I travel from Vancouver Island I pay ferry fares return, hotel, excessive ticket prices !! Yet I’m still there to cheer for my team.
I was always on the trade Miller camp if we could shore up on D prospects, or prospects/young players combo. But I've been of the opinion that the Canucks are too closer to mediocre to stay with the current build(as of end of season 2021-2022). Yes, it would've hurt short term as we wouldn't be able to replace the production Miller provides(and the guy's heart), but the team needs to actually go through the growing pains to find some serious traction if it intends to actually compete in the playoffs.
I just want a rebuild. “Retooling on the fly” has never worked for any team in nhl history, and it hasn’t worked for the Canucks over the last 10 years. This management group is no different from Benning. All talk, no action. This core will never win anything, and I don’t even think this core can make the playoffs. An awful prospect pool, terrible defencemen and defensive play. I don’t know how anyone can tell me this team will ever be good with anything resembling it’s currently form.
they won't vancouver will be mediocrity for years to come. really speaks to the cities "beta like energy" big on money lundering and cost of living, weak everywhere else
Notice how the only part of the Canucks prospect development that works is the goaltending and thats because Ian Clarke runs it and actually gives the players time to develop properly
@empire No shit the entire team in front of them has been terrible this year so what do you expect. Demkos just got mental issues or something. He just looks likes he got some shit bothering him and hes not saying anything. Martin has been a great backup so far so idk what your talking about there and Silovs has been progressing well. Having an off season but his tournaments last season were a great. Cant forget about Markstrom who worked under Ian for many years and turned out great.
"If [the July 23 2021] deal hadn't been made, I don't think there'd be as much complaining about the JT Miller deal." As someone who has complained loudly and vociferously about the JT Miller deal, you're absolutely right. My big problem with the Miller deal is that, in the context of where the team is at competitively, and in the context of the number of anchor contracts the Canucks already have that will hamstring their ability to sign free agents or re-sign valuable players like Horvat, the JT Miller contract is ANOTHER deal that's just going to prevent this team from being competitive. This team is in cap hell, and they'd be better with the $8 million in cap space and the assets they'd have acquired for Miller, than they are paying $8 million to Miller. If they didn't have over $13 million locked up to OEL and Myers? Sure, I still think the Miller trade isn't the *optimal* use of cap space, but it's just one weight dragging you down. You can probably tread water, especially with the cap expected to start rising again. With OEL and Myers on the books? Now you've got multiple weights pulling you under the surface, and you're going to drown. In other words, one questionable move in a vacuum? I can give you the benefit of the doubt. Continuing to make the same mistakes that have sewered this team for the past decade, again and again, seeing a new management group come in and do the exact same thing - piss away draft picks in low-value transactions and sign 30-year-old free agents to big money deals - that ruined the team since 2015? No, I'm not going give them the benefit of the doubt.
@@THEGDB Kuz is essential, he's had great chemistry with petey and they have both been able to play vs other teams best lines. Boeser, Pearson, Myers, Miller and Horvat should all be gone. The core of petey kuz hughes and demko should be the only real core moving forward and getting hogz bear for cheap. Schenn should also be traded if he's looking for a big pay raise. Love the guy, but we just can't pay him to be a bootleg marino for hughes
Very good analysis of a tough situation. The Canucks are likely not to be very good for a couple more years. On a different note, the audio and visual quality of THG’s videos is fantastic.
I agree with everything you say Shannon but for me the "oh no" contract was Boeser. I scream until the cows come home that Boeser sustained permanent damage to his wrists early on in his career and the lethal shot we saw in his 29 goal rookie year doesn't exist anymore. The few goals Boeser does score are deflections and garbage goals as a net front presence but that was never his game.
The Canucks had to trade a pick to Carolina to get Ethan Bear and pay his overpriced contract. Meanwhile, a guy they gave up on - Jalen Chatfield - beat out Bear for a job and is now Carolina's #5 d-man and has been really solid. I don't know if the Canucks problem is identifying talent or developing it, or maybe a combination of the two. But the Chatfield/Bear scenario speaks volumes.
IIRC they drafted Bobby Lalonde instead of Larry Robinson. Traded Cam Neeley because the coach didn't like how he practiced. Just a couple of the many poor decisions made by the management.
Horvat at 28 with him being the leader of the team makes it way eaiser to offer him an 8 year deal. Miller is 30! and got his deal from his career year at 29. The alarm bells were ringing loudly on that signing while Horvat has been more steady...
100% agree. If we didn't have salary cap restraints or the flat cap, it might be easier to get out of OEL's or Garland's contracts. Now they along with Myers' and now Miller's are 4 giant albatrosses for older players and it could get worse if they decide to resign Bo Horvat. This is why when you do a rebuild, it has to be a rebuild. I didn't mind the trade so much at the time, because the assumption was that OEL would make a huge impact on the Defence, Garland would be a 50-60 point player and the Canucks were closer than they were. Now it's pretty obvious they're not close. Again, they should have done the rebuild properly like Trevor Linden wanted.
Not to mention trading a 3rd round pick for Dorset, a 2nd for Baertschi, Forsling for Clenndenning, and throwing in a 2nd round pick in the Sutter trade, a first for JT Miller who was a salary dump, spending to the cap before even making the playoffs, not being able to trade Hambuis etc…. Sigh
This video is a perfect example of a GM that was making deals knowing that he was likely being fired soon anyway. Take note Toronto Maple Leafs. This is why you need to decide NOW whether or not Kyle Dubas is your man going forward. If he is sign him to a new contract now and leave him with the keys to the team's contracts. If he is not then you need to fire him now and get someone new in there that you have faith to move forward with. I think an argument can be made both ways but whatever the team's choice is it needs to be made NOW.
Leafs fan here. I think Dubas is great and I hope he stays. I think our management over the last 6-8 years has been excellent. Of course we have the first round monkey on our back and have to hear about it literally every day but I just don't think we can blame that on Kyle or Sheldon. It's on the players and they know it. I believe this group wants to win and have just had bad fortune. The playoffs are a different monster. Especially in the east. I think our time will come and I think Matthews will stay.
@@husg13 Dubas is an unmitigated disaster. The Tavares signing was unneeded. (Leafs were 3rd in scoring the year before). Marner and AM put up great numbers, but, come playoffs - you know the story. Nylander is ok. Morgan Reilly is an offensive minded defenseman, and you already have scoring. (I swear Dubas is building an EA NHL team). That's * 5 * players eating up 50% of your cap. There's no defending that. Then you have the rotating door at goalie. First Anderson's predecessor was the problem, and Freddy was the savior. Then Keefe overworked FA and Campbell was the savior. Then Campbel got shellshocked from the Leafs porous defense (It has to be scheme), and overwork (bit of a theme. Granted nobody is Martin Brodeur), and now you're betting the farm on Matt Murray. (Pens fan here, you will regret that signing). Toronto is 50/50 on contracts, and even with LTIR relief, up against it - cap wise. Leaf's fans will come to rue the Dubas era, especially when AM bolts to greener pastures.
What is it about Vancouver in general? No MLB team, the Grizzlies left, and the Canucks have yet won a Cup. Came close a couple times, like really close. Sad story. Just bad luck?
8:56 same with the Detroit Lions, ownership let Bob Quinn draft, knowing he would be fired, and he took Jeff Okudah over Justin Herbert and it’s gonna hurt for a decade.
I'm with you. I thought we should have traded Stafford that off-season and drafted Herbert. I said it well before the draft. I thought that off season Stafford would have been at his peak value and Herbert looked promising to me. I was surprised Brad Holmes got what he did for Stafford. Just imagine the return if they traded him before another year of injury and requesting the trade.
Yep, I am with you man. I had said they did not make a good team. You have good forwards little defense. But that being said, me and my Bro asked the question is the new admin better than Bennings? He convinced me if it is not it is close. Not that impressive. We just talked and again came down to play this team till the end of the season and we are not in the playoffs, blow it up.
Just a thought, but Allvin's thought process sounds partially like Jim Rutherford's thought process in Pittsburgh...which was also similar to his thought process in Carolina. Maybe Allvin doesn't have as much control over day to day operations as one might think. At least, you'd better hope so, cause the alternative is that either Allvin is as blind as Benning or it's all Aquilini's fault, in which case good luck...
I like looking at this specific example with the relevant recent Canucks history to point at. It makes me interested in looking ahead to how my Kraken forecast is gonna look with our intro contracts, and how we've already unloaded some more expensive players already like Giordano + Jarnkrok to Toronto last year.
Yep, we have too many wingers. We could have gotten a non-lottery protected 1st round pick for Miller and likely one prospect, and the Canucks wanted more than that, which is total bullshit. And now the worst result is happening, the Canucks are winning games they shouldn't be, which means they will likely pick in the low teens AGAIN, damn it.
Trade Boeser for a young RHD. Horvat has to get traded too because his value is out the roof right now. If we don’t trade Horvat then there is another long term contract on our books which will prevent us from contending anytime soon.
The real major mistake was firing Linden. Everything after that is just adding fuel to the dumpster fire. If Linden was able to do his thing they would probably be 2-3 years ahead of where Detroit is right now (playoff team on the verge of cup contender).
Just wrote about how if the team moves Horvat, the Miller signing becomes pointless. I do think he'll be re-signed and Myers moved after the Canucks pay his $5 million bonus. Yes, he's a $6 million cap hit next season, but only $1 million in salary.
Seems like all expectations are out the window this season. The teams that we thought would challenge for a better position are in a hole early on and vice-versa.
Shame on Benning for that disastrous deal with Arizona. Even more shame on that dolt Aquilini for approving such a move. There aren’t enough words in the English language to describe my hatred for Benning and Aquilini.
I've heard this argument before, and before I complete your video, let me just say that the mismanagement is people hiring the managers not the managers. I think I've never seen so many managers get the full blame by gambling with trades than in Canucks history, albeit I've only been in Canada since 2004, so I dunno much of Canucks trades prior to Sedins drafted after 1999, and reminder Trevor Lindin had 1-2 winning seasons prior to the twins yet he is the so-called biggest legend here somehow, where Sedins had more positive seasons.. Anyways here comes the start of all bets I saw, Mike Gillis, made cup finals ofc but burnt out after the Hodgeson project failed. He left the Canucks in bad shape too. And somewhere in there everyone left starting with Luongo to Kesler, Schneider until Sedins retired. Then in comes Benning era roster, we also talking hiring every manager that got fired quickly during this period, but player-wise 50% of newbie project worked out at the very least, others like Virtanen and Olli Ulevi not on good side. So, I predicted they're trending back down again maybe even getting eventually to that Sedins era where they make playoffs but, before such time is to come they'll fk up the assets majorly as thx to ur research, pointing to along these management bets on veterans and late picks, as matter of fact the only culture I've seen exist for Vancouver; is to hire these very low accountable or newb GMs & thx for that reminder, but clearly just about NOBODY running the team want to be held accountable long as they are running up the trades with go big or home deals xD
We all know that Rutherford is the one making the moves and allvin is gm in title only. Most of these moves have Rutherford written all over them cause he did the same thing with pittsburgh
Canucks have a long, LONG history of being so poor at drafting that unloading picks is probably wise for them. In the last 10 years they have literally picked one player outside the first round who became an impact player - Demko. But the trend goes much further back than that. Granted, as you say, they have only averaged 7 picks per draft so they have been limiting opportunities.
That 2020 off season will be looked back on as one of the worst in the teams history. They let Tanev, Stetcher and Toffoli walk and signed Holtby, Virtanen and traded for Schmidt.
I complete agree with you The Hockey Guy. Canucks should of kept Beagle, Roussel and Eriksson since their contract was up at the end of the season. Should of never acquired OEL. I think that the Coyotes should of given the Canucks draft picks to take on OELs contract instead of the Canucks giving the Coyotes their 1st round pick. Also, cap room is gold and I think having good cap room is important. I could understand being close to the cap if you're a elite team but the Canucks aren't even a playoff team and they're close to the cap. Yes, they have good scoring but their defense is terrible. I think Luke Schenn is our top 2 defenseman this year.
I have been off the wagon for a few years now and haven't looked back but the issue with the canucks has always been their defense. Even in the years that they made deep playoff runs the defense was the weakest link. Yes, they have had good defensemen but usually only 1 at a time so the games are lost when the top pairing is on the bench or are too tired.
Benning's obsession with OEL caused him to make that trade that makes no sense whatsoever. This deal threatens to handcuff this team for the foreseeable future. Very frustrating!
Vancouver needs to do what Montreal currently is , identify who your keeping and ship out old for young , get picks , weaponize cap space (how amazing dies the Monahan trade look ) . Vancouver is in the worst spot possible, they are doing nothing , not getting younger not making trades with the future in mind . Hughes should be the only untouchable , petey and the core haven't gotten it done
Benning certainly was a failure, but the ultimate blame rests with Francesco Aquilini. His hard-headed, short sighted "we must make the playoffs now" attitude has the team stuck in a ditch. I'm doubtful of any real improvement under this owner.
were going to stay at the middle of the road team tell petey, demko and Huggy leaves. I was very sad and disappointed seeing the oel trade and thought. oh no.
Shannon how are we going to get better without moving horvat? You mentioned that the defence is an issue but if we resign horvat we won't be able to bring much value back in terms of assets by moving boeser and pearson to go out and get the young talented defensemen the team needs.
Trade other players. If they do trade Horvat, you submarine the team for awhile and lose a real heart and soul guy. Basically, you might as well move anyone not named Pettersson, Hughes or Demko.
The moment Linden was “let go” was the moment I realized that Vancouver wasn’t going to be seeing the cup finals anytime soon. The Canucks are going to stay mediocre and garbage until the owner is gone. Just watch.
Your initial comment wasn't friendly. It was accusatory as if it diminishes what I said in this video. Benning botched the cap all around and then made it worse when he traded the bas contracts away in exchange for another one with OEL. Oh, and I didn't like that trade when it happened either. Leave out the fact I said for his final year in Vancouver that he should be let go.
@@TheHockeyGuy for the record, I don’t think you’re a terrible person. But I’m just very disappointed how late some people came around to the idea of a proper rebuild, that we should have undertaken years ago.
Oh I don't agree that a rebuild makes sense now. A lot of the core players are young and they aren't that far away from being a playoff team. I am just disappointed at the lack of cap flexibility. They can't be trading away more second round picks and need to make cap space a thing, but a full rebuild means another half decade or longer of a mediocre to bad team with no guarantee that rebuild will work. See Buffalo and Ottawa for examples.
Cmon Shannon there definitely is an appetite for a rebuild. National and local media have polled fans and it’s overwhelming. Logical fans know that this core needs to be torn down
Jim Benning has got to be one of the least patient GMs in the NHL. Sure would be nice for the Canucks to have a defenceman like Gustav Forsling right now :/
As a Seattle fan, I really hope that the Canucks turn things around in the next few years so that the Seattle-Vancouver rivalry can be competitive & actually mean something to both teams when they play each other. If things don't turn around with the Canucks, the league will have to market Seattle as a rival to SJ, LA & Anaheim or even Vegas instead. Another option (though it is very unlikely) is to move the Coyotes from Arizona to Portland OR. There would be an instant rivalry if it did because there is a deep history between Seattle & Portland especially in sports (just look at MLS & the Sounders-Timbers rivalry as proof of that).
I hope Seattle neutrally develops a rivalry in the playoffs like Vegas did with San Jose. It's too bad that rivalry only lasted a few years cause the sharks got bad. Was fun to watch.
So sad to see the Canucks in that state. They're the perfect example of a middling team that doesn't get anything done. I know tanking the draft doesn't garantee future success, but it gives you better chances to build a winning core. Winning being the key word here...
I don't understand why seemingly so many in Van would want Horvat gone. Sure he has his dry spells for weeks that makes Sahara seem like a lush rain forest, but when he's on he's the most exciting player in Van and, occasionally, one of the most enjoyable to watch overall. Is it something people outside Van doesn't know, does Horvat spit the fans in the face on his way out after games while the rest is handing out signed gift cards and plushies? I think it's so strange how Van managed their "good" players over the years, they barely managed to sign Pettersson and Hughes now. When I look at Capfriendly.... I don't understand how the players listed would add up to $88 M. It's like the soda bottles they sold some years ago with a huge empty hole in the middle at the bottom.
Aquilini should be blamed for hiring a Yes man with Benning instead of a No man in Linden who was right on the rebuild. The fans don't deserve losing a decade like this!
Benning was an absolute trainwreck of a GM. Signing Eriksson for 6yrs when the Sedins were only signed for 2 more, made no sense, it shouldve been no more than a3- 4yr deal- if he balked- so be it, because the window had truly already closed, this was a last gasp to stay a contender, but there were too many holes to fill, and this didnt even fill 1. Even worse than the OEL trade (which did increase our talent level- but kept us in caphell for another 5 years) was the Toffoli acquisition (only made sense for a true contender) and the subsequent loss of Markstrom, Tanev and Toffoli...for jack squat. They had zero intention of signing any of them- and let them all walk. They couldve eaten half of Markstrom and Tanevs deals at the deadline- and got 1st rounders for each- even as rentals.
Just a note on the Guenther topic. He has 9 points in 17 games. Garland has ten points in 21. If Guenther turns out elite this trade will go down as perhaps the worst in franchise history. If I had to choose today, salary concerns aside, between one of these players with a view of the present to 5-6 years forward, Guenther wins easily. If you factor in the salary realities (cap hits, controlabilty) it becomes a no brainer.
Which move was worse? Chiarelli signing the GK to a long term contract and getting fired the next day, or Benning making the OEL/Garland trade? As bad as Chiarelli was as GM, Benning was worse based on that one move alone. Completely hamstrung the Canucks for the entire decade of the 20s
I love how poolman and Meyers combine for a 8.5m cap hit. Ruining your own team is nice, but screwing over another team that's trying to rebuild a defense group at the same time is downright impressive. I've never been angrier about a UFA signing than those two. So stupid
What is common from Gillis, Benning and now Rutherford/Allvin is the owner. If somehow in fantasyland the Aquilini family can get fired that would be great. I bet the owners have been pressuring Gillis and Benning to "get better right away" because the Aquilinis had no issues with Benning signing Myers, Beagle, OEL etc while foolishly trading away draft picks. Vancouver has always attracted "get rich quick" tycoons who never learnt to start businesses or hire the right management since they got in the NHL 50+ years ago. Look at how a true entrepreneur like Mike Ilitch was able to build the Detroit Red Wings from scratch and make it Stanley Cup winners in the 90s--- and many other businesses that Ilitch ran.
If I had to guess, JB fired off the trade for OEL because his bosses and shareholders wouldn't allow another year of tanking, and if he didn't make a move to try and make the team better, then he'll sealed his own fate.
You'd think moving Pearson would require giving up more picks. If you needed a second to move Dickinson, you'd think Pearson would cost the same or more. There is no value in that contract.
Great video, as a longtime Canucks fan I can't disagree with anything you say. However, when you correctly say "Mismanaged assets"--- perhaps you might want to do another video about the exact opposite---- "Managed assets". Just look down the road to Seattle Kraken, who are one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now. Explain to me how in the hell the GM/Player Development in Seattle managed to take a brand new team and turn it into such a success? They don't have superstars, or the veterans that Canucks do, and they don't have the years of experience. On paper they shouldn't be so much better than Canucks. But they sure have a lot better people running the show behind the scenes, that is for sure!!
Benning was the king of trading the better asset in a trade and attaching a higher pick along with it.
July 1, 2015 trades Kassian at 1.75m and a 2016 5th for Brandon Prust who costed 2.5m
July 28, 2015 trades Bonino, Clendenning and a 2nd for Sutter and a 2016 3rd that was our own.
May 25, 2016 trades Jared McCann, a 2nd and a 4th for Erik Gudrbanson and his 3.5m cap plus a 2016 5th. (WTF)
Oct 3, 2017 trades Andrey Pedan and a 2018 4th for Derrick Pouliot
July 23, 2021 makes the infamous Garland/OEL for a 1st, 2nd and 7th. This one always annoys me the most because he literally helped a team initiate a cap dump and gave them good assets in return to do it. OEL wanted only Boston or Vancouver, Boston said no. Vancouver did NOT need to trade for OEL as badly as Arizona needed to get rid of him. They were looking to cut cap, cut salary and cut cost per their owner. That means with the goal they are trying to achieve and Vancouver being the only trade partner, Vancouver has all the power and Benning just squandered it all. His one and only offer should have been spare parts like Virtanen, Juolevi and a 4th as well as trading cap back like Eriksson. He also tells Arizona that they are retaining half the cap on OEL and when Arizona declines because its a shitty deal for them, you hang up and let it go. Either they hold onto OEL and keep paying a salary they dont want to pay, or they circle back to you and try again. Usually the team doing the cap dump attaches a pick or something to the trade to make it worth the while of their trading partner but all Arizona had to do was take on 12m in cap for like 45 minutes and now they are 19m free. They trade out 7.26m for OEL, take on Eriksson, Roussel and Beagle then their contracts end and bam another 12m is off the books. They also get away with 3 picks and are laughing their asses off all the way to the draft stage while Benning gets fired 2 months later.
Whether Benning was running this tire fire by himself or he was being influenced by Aquilini and his nonsense, hes still easily one of the worst gms Vancouver has ever had. A team that should have been rebuilding after 14-15 was trading away more picks than they were using and now they are surprised that they have no organizational depth anywhere on the team? Lol, this team..................
Terrific rundown. I recall formally grading a few of those trades and wondering what in the world he was doing every time. The same went for the rest, just informally. It boggles the mind. Almost every one of these shouldn't have been made *regardless of hindsight since the trade happened.*
@@closethockeyfan5284 If I remember correctly too he would use alot of picks to pick up these "reclamation projects" and then dump them like a year or two later saying "they didn't work out." Dude.... we could have told you they wouldnt work out lol. Most of them had been in the league at least 5 years and didnt work out anywhere. Its not like Vancouver is Tampa where players go to have a revitalized year and save their career, maybe except Luke Schenn with us. If it didn't work in most other places, it sure as fuck isnt going to workout here lol. The team that needed to rebuild was so allergic to using draft picks for their intended purpose.........
@@ironseguin9838 Yep, especially baffling because the draft was supposed to be Benning's strength
We can only blame the ownership for keeping him around too long
Benning was a disaster. what was so wrong with Gillis??
Seeing how many GM's mismanage their teams in the league, gives you a new fond appreciation for Steve Yzerman and what he's done in his Managing career... He is so smart when it comes to draft picks, and knowing what is best for a prospect to develop.. He also seems to only sign players who actively make his team better. It's quite impressive.
He listens to his his scouts he pays 100k a year lol. Look at Buffalo video scouting vs what they do now.
Also Sakic not spending his cap space early on. He waited to sign guys before adding too much. Both have done very well.
He also robbed the red wings of the draft pick that became vasilevskiy
@@logan9758 don't feel too bad he's robbed a lot of teams over the years with the lightning
Yzerman might just end up as the greatest hockey person of all time. Amazing player, legendary leader, and he's not even that far into his GM career yet and he's already one of the best GMs of all time. The only thing the man hasn't done is coach a team to the cup.
The OEL trade was the Canucks version of the old fake tunnel trick in Wile E Coyote cartoons. The fans thought there was an escape but Benning just painted a tunnel on a wall.
Lol you think thats bad, think about Bowman getting Seth Jones for some crazy reason just before team imploding :D
I have no idea what that analogy means but it's hilarious 😂
Very sticky situation Benning has put the team in and it's not the coach's fault. Firing Boudreau wouldn't do that much.
Because firing Travis Green didn't do THAT MUCH
Eventually Allvin's gonna have to take some responsibility too for the trades he's made.
@@donaldpaluga because Travis Green was an issue
Sure benning put them in a bad spot but Rutherford gave them the stamp of approval with the miller deal
@@donaldpaluga I get what you mean, but they replaced Green WITH Boudreau
As an Islander fan who remembers the Milbury Dark Age you have my condolences.
For me, the OEL trade was the major tipping point. Up until then, I could see the daylight at the end of the tunnel. A little patience, and they'd be in a good position to build up a young team and open up a large window where they'd at least be a consistent playoff team. Combine that with the Miller signing, and those two things have really put them behind the eight-ball. Forget the draft picks going out and everything else. Just imagine if we could just undo those two things, how much of a better position would they be in right now. A top 9 draft pick in the system, more cap space, and a valuable, tradable, expiring contract player, that could net a significant asset for the future in Miller.
Alvine is going to have to pull some serious Gandalf level magic to get the team out of this pit. Because, right now, I'm just laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. It's like watching a Jack Ass movie where a guy keeps punching himself in the squirrel sack.
This^
As a lifetime Canuck fan I can agree with the OEL trade being a setback is some areas. But regardless we have a young team with little to no experience. Between all of our young core before 2020 we had only Horvat who had ANY playoff experience. in the bubble we were shown a star in Demko and Boeser, as well as Petterson showing he can handle pressure. Then they make a move, moving towards a more competitive team. Low playoffs isn't a place that any team wants to be, especially with low cap potential, but having a star defensemen in OEL to not only hold the fort in front of a young Demko to develop but also hold the reigns of a otherwise high risk defensemen in Hughes. Don't get me wrong, I love Hughes, but he fails the eye test in game when he is under pressure from in his own zone. He needs to learn that patience and what the right play is to make, and the only way that these young players can learn is from 2 things. Playoffs in high pressure environments and players that have been in those environments. People also talk about Toffoli being a waste, but his impact in the team in the one year to bring them into the bubble is speaking volumes in how Petty is playing now. It's only a matter of time before the rest of the team follow suit. As i type this they are on a bit of a winning streak, and I do fully believe they'll be in the playoffs. Most likely in the bottom of the bracket, but in regardless. Even if it's a first round exit, this year I take that as a win.
@@NinjapleaseVideos The thing is OEL isn't a star defensman anymore. He's 31 years old and on the down swing of his career, not someone in their prime that can be leaned on for years to come. His play will only get worse, but his pay will remain the same 7+ million dollars for 4 more years after this one. At the time of his acquisition, it was very obvious the Canucks were a bubble team and OEL was at best going to push them into being a team the squeaks in and gets booted in the 1st round.
But regardless, it's not the player that's the big issue here. It's the massive contract that goes along with him. It's an inefficient use of resources. The return on investment get worse and worse every year. If we were back in the times of no salary cap, then OEL wouldn't be as big a deal, but the fact is his big contract, and his no-trade clause, actively prevents the Canucks from improving, because they don't have the cap space to make moves.
And in terms of playoff experience to draw from. He's been in the playoffs once in the last 11 years for a total of 9 games in that time. For his career, he has 25 playoff games. After the bubble run, Petterson, Boeser, and Hughes have 17 playoff games each. Horvat has 23. Miller has 78. Pearson 51.
For Hughes, we have ask is he making mistakes because he needs to learned or is it because he's being asked to do too much because he's overplayed on this thin defense corp?
As for just squeaking into the playoffs and getting booted in round 1. That's probably one of the worst things that can happen. It doesn't help the team in the long run. It's just going to promote keeping this team on the path of mediocrity, with no way to improve because of those big contracts for players on the down swing of their careers like OEL. Mediocrity also means middling draft picks, that take years to develop instead of being ready sooner, which doesn't help their very thin prospect pool.
Also, those bad contracts make it harder to resign players. There's only so much money to go around. Because they signed MIller, it's very possible that they can't afford Horvat, so he may be gone. And what happens when Petterson's contract is up after next year? He's probably going to be asking for around 9-10 million dollars. Where's that money coming from?
Right now, the Canucks have a salary structure like a team contending for a cup and prospect pool to match a team that's been burning assets to win a cup now, but they're not a contender, not even close. They're burning assets and cap space to keep a bubble team together. Does that path make sense?
the final nail in the coffin will be Petty leaving after his contract is done.
forget hovat- he'll be gone for nothing after the end of this year/season
Exactly. They only had to wait one year to get rid of all of those albatross contracts. They did get a little better with OEL and Garland, but, they missed the playoffs anyway. Now they are saddled with OEL for 4 more years.
I almost threw my phone while on the bus when I saw that OEL trade
same
The Team should bring you in as a consultant ...really, they should! Great summation of how and why the Canucks are where they're at.
This reminds me a lot of the 05-14 run of the Leafs. Trying to sign and trade your way to the top instead of using their assets to build from within.
Your title says it all. Perfectly worded and absolutely correct.
happy caturday cat guy
To me puck carrying d-men are the most valuable players. Ducks had Lindholm, Shae Theodore, Brando Montour and now have none of them and all our defensemen are well below average. Tough to take.
Sellers market due to Bettman.. and actually America’s Market due to American dollar and players looking at budget and long term goals. Can’t fault them for that, I guess they have ti ask themselves and their families, If you can sacrifice playing on a Canadian team that is not in Cup contention in the foreseeable future, what are my options.
Move south, make more money? Live in a city without constant negativity and scrutiny??? Why?
You would have to be pretty grounded and focused, with an amazing support network of wife, family and kids to withstand that.
Gone is the childhood dream of playing hockey for the love of it. The era of business and profit reigns supreme.
The disloyal fan base and constant media negativity in Vancouver have long been a source of why, The NHL is a far removed cousin of any other sport.
We are always criticizing our own teams. “Fans”are notoriously condemning the team, the coaching, the management.
Perhaps we need to take a short look south at how cities support their teams. Yes, usually college football, baseball etc.
As Canadians we should be setting the example as human beings. Fandom is where we fall short.
Perhaps though, it’s those Vancouver fans, without any true allegiance, they actually have never played any sport, but are the essence of “fanatics”
I’m saddened when I hope to buy a Canuck ticket to a Leafs or oilers game.
The fan base allows the opposing team to out cheer Vancouver fans.
I’m a Canuck fan, I travel from Vancouver Island
I pay ferry fares return, hotel, excessive ticket prices !!
Yet I’m still there to cheer for my team.
Feel for you Shannon...lot of fans don't realize how they lucky they are to watch a good team consistently
I was always on the trade Miller camp if we could shore up on D prospects, or prospects/young players combo. But I've been of the opinion that the Canucks are too closer to mediocre to stay with the current build(as of end of season 2021-2022). Yes, it would've hurt short term as we wouldn't be able to replace the production Miller provides(and the guy's heart), but the team needs to actually go through the growing pains to find some serious traction if it intends to actually compete in the playoffs.
I just want a rebuild. “Retooling on the fly” has never worked for any team in nhl history, and it hasn’t worked for the Canucks over the last 10 years. This management group is no different from Benning. All talk, no action. This core will never win anything, and I don’t even think this core can make the playoffs. An awful prospect pool, terrible defencemen and defensive play. I don’t know how anyone can tell me this team will ever be good with anything resembling it’s currently form.
I always passively rooted for Vancouver. Hope they can figure it out 😞
Ditto.... Leaf fan but always hoping Van can have a healthy steady franchise
they won't
vancouver will be mediocrity for years to come.
really speaks to the cities "beta like energy" big on money lundering and cost of living, weak everywhere else
I still think letting Trevor Linden go instead of letting him patiently rebuild the team was a mistake.
Notice how the only part of the Canucks prospect development that works is the goaltending and thats because Ian Clarke runs it and actually gives the players time to develop properly
Hmm
Demko has been brutal this year, their backups are nothing special, and they traded DiPietro for nothing. Im not sure I understand your point
@empire No shit the entire team in front of them has been terrible this year so what do you expect.
Demkos just got mental issues or something. He just looks likes he got some shit bothering him and hes not saying anything. Martin has been a great backup so far so idk what your talking about there and Silovs has been progressing well. Having an off season but his tournaments last season were a great. Cant forget about Markstrom who worked under Ian for many years and turned out great.
"If [the July 23 2021] deal hadn't been made, I don't think there'd be as much complaining about the JT Miller deal."
As someone who has complained loudly and vociferously about the JT Miller deal, you're absolutely right. My big problem with the Miller deal is that, in the context of where the team is at competitively, and in the context of the number of anchor contracts the Canucks already have that will hamstring their ability to sign free agents or re-sign valuable players like Horvat, the JT Miller contract is ANOTHER deal that's just going to prevent this team from being competitive. This team is in cap hell, and they'd be better with the $8 million in cap space and the assets they'd have acquired for Miller, than they are paying $8 million to Miller.
If they didn't have over $13 million locked up to OEL and Myers? Sure, I still think the Miller trade isn't the *optimal* use of cap space, but it's just one weight dragging you down. You can probably tread water, especially with the cap expected to start rising again. With OEL and Myers on the books? Now you've got multiple weights pulling you under the surface, and you're going to drown.
In other words, one questionable move in a vacuum? I can give you the benefit of the doubt. Continuing to make the same mistakes that have sewered this team for the past decade, again and again, seeing a new management group come in and do the exact same thing - piss away draft picks in low-value transactions and sign 30-year-old free agents to big money deals - that ruined the team since 2015? No, I'm not going give them the benefit of the doubt.
they not only have to sign horvat, but also Bear, Schenn, Hoglander, and Kuzmenko are also up next year
I would trade all of those players during the season for prospects and pics , none are essential going forward .
@@THEGDB Kuz is essential, he's had great chemistry with petey and they have both been able to play vs other teams best lines. Boeser, Pearson, Myers, Miller and Horvat should all be gone. The core of petey kuz hughes and demko should be the only real core moving forward and getting hogz bear for cheap. Schenn should also be traded if he's looking for a big pay raise. Love the guy, but we just can't pay him to be a bootleg marino for hughes
@@ChumblesProductions if you can move Kuz at the deadline for a late first or prospect and a 2nd , even a late 2nd , you gotta jump all over that
Very good analysis of a tough situation. The Canucks are likely not to be very good for a couple more years.
On a different note, the audio and visual quality of THG’s videos is fantastic.
I love this guy and his content!
@@husg13 Same here
THG i feel your pain, huge canucks fan here and i just want this team to be a playoff team again :(
I agree with everything you say Shannon but for me the "oh no" contract was Boeser. I scream until the cows come home that Boeser sustained permanent damage to his wrists early on in his career and the lethal shot we saw in his 29 goal rookie year doesn't exist anymore. The few goals Boeser does score are deflections and garbage goals as a net front presence but that was never his game.
Please do a video on the inconsistent Rangers and why Lafreniere and Kakko haven't scored like the higher draft picks has in the past
Lafreniere got rushed into the NHL because of the hype and the rangers being in a hurry. And it shows.
The Canucks had to trade a pick to Carolina to get Ethan Bear and pay his overpriced contract. Meanwhile, a guy they gave up on - Jalen Chatfield - beat out Bear for a job and is now Carolina's #5 d-man and has been really solid. I don't know if the Canucks problem is identifying talent or developing it, or maybe a combination of the two. But the Chatfield/Bear scenario speaks volumes.
IIRC they drafted Bobby Lalonde instead of Larry Robinson. Traded Cam Neeley because the coach didn't like how he practiced. Just a couple of the many poor decisions made by the management.
Update, chatfield looks solid as hell
Great video, Shannon. This is why I follow you.
Benning is also the king of trading for a guy and signing him to an extension before he even plays for the team
Horvat at 28 with him being the leader of the team makes it way eaiser to offer him an 8 year deal. Miller is 30! and got his deal from his career year at 29. The alarm bells were ringing loudly on that signing while Horvat has been more steady...
Horvat won't get shit- he'll likely walk before he gets traded
100% agree. If we didn't have salary cap restraints or the flat cap, it might be easier to get out of OEL's or Garland's contracts. Now they along with Myers' and now Miller's are 4 giant albatrosses for older players and it could get worse if they decide to resign Bo Horvat. This is why when you do a rebuild, it has to be a rebuild. I didn't mind the trade so much at the time, because the assumption was that OEL would make a huge impact on the Defence, Garland would be a 50-60 point player and the Canucks were closer than they were. Now it's pretty obvious they're not close. Again, they should have done the rebuild properly like Trevor Linden wanted.
Aqua wouldn't have wanted it.
Vancouver is using the Vegas strategy but with much worse moves
Not to mention trading a 3rd round pick for Dorset, a 2nd for Baertschi, Forsling for Clenndenning, and throwing in a 2nd round pick in the Sutter trade, a first for JT Miller who was a salary dump, spending to the cap before even making the playoffs, not being able to trade Hambuis etc…. Sigh
This video is a perfect example of a GM that was making deals knowing that he was likely being fired soon anyway. Take note Toronto Maple Leafs. This is why you need to decide NOW whether or not Kyle Dubas is your man going forward. If he is sign him to a new contract now and leave him with the keys to the team's contracts. If he is not then you need to fire him now and get someone new in there that you have faith to move forward with. I think an argument can be made both ways but whatever the team's choice is it needs to be made NOW.
Leafs fan here. I think Dubas is great and I hope he stays. I think our management over the last 6-8 years has been excellent. Of course we have the first round monkey on our back and have to hear about it literally every day but I just don't think we can blame that on Kyle or Sheldon. It's on the players and they know it. I believe this group wants to win and have just had bad fortune. The playoffs are a different monster. Especially in the east. I think our time will come and I think Matthews will stay.
@@husg13 I can appreciate that opinion. Then Shanahan needs to re-sign Dubas NOW.
@@husg13 Dubas is an unmitigated disaster. The Tavares signing was unneeded. (Leafs were 3rd in scoring the year before). Marner and AM put up great numbers, but, come playoffs - you know the story. Nylander is ok. Morgan Reilly is an offensive minded defenseman, and you already have scoring. (I swear Dubas is building an EA NHL team).
That's * 5 * players eating up 50% of your cap. There's no defending that. Then you have the rotating door at goalie. First Anderson's predecessor was the problem, and Freddy was the savior. Then Keefe overworked FA and Campbell was the savior. Then Campbel got shellshocked from the Leafs porous defense (It has to be scheme), and overwork (bit of a theme. Granted nobody is Martin Brodeur), and now you're betting the farm on Matt Murray. (Pens fan here, you will regret that signing).
Toronto is 50/50 on contracts, and even with LTIR relief, up against it - cap wise.
Leaf's fans will come to rue the Dubas era, especially when AM bolts to greener pastures.
What is it about Vancouver in general? No MLB team, the Grizzlies left, and the Canucks have yet won a Cup. Came close a couple times, like really close. Sad story. Just bad luck?
100% right!!! Greetings from Germany. Always watching!
8:56 same with the Detroit Lions, ownership let Bob Quinn draft, knowing he would be fired, and he took Jeff Okudah over Justin Herbert and it’s gonna hurt for a decade.
Because LA is so better than Herbert
I'm with you. I thought we should have traded Stafford that off-season and drafted Herbert. I said it well before the draft. I thought that off season Stafford would have been at his peak value and Herbert looked promising to me. I was surprised Brad Holmes got what he did for Stafford. Just imagine the return if they traded him before another year of injury and requesting the trade.
Love your channel. Your knowledge and memory is so incredible.
Yep, I am with you man. I had said they did not make a good team. You have good forwards little defense. But that being said, me and my Bro asked the question is the new admin better than Bennings? He convinced me if it is not it is close. Not that impressive. We just talked and again came down to play this team till the end of the season and we are not in the playoffs, blow it up.
Love to see your passion for this topic, Mr. Guy! Not much passion on my part for the Canucks, however.
We're all friends here, you can call him by his first name: The.
Just a thought, but Allvin's thought process sounds partially like Jim Rutherford's thought process in Pittsburgh...which was also similar to his thought process in Carolina. Maybe Allvin doesn't have as much control over day to day operations as one might think.
At least, you'd better hope so, cause the alternative is that either Allvin is as blind as Benning or it's all Aquilini's fault, in which case good luck...
Very well done.. Thanks for the video Shannon..
I like looking at this specific example with the relevant recent Canucks history to point at. It makes me interested in looking ahead to how my Kraken forecast is gonna look with our intro contracts, and how we've already unloaded some more expensive players already like Giordano + Jarnkrok to Toronto last year.
Yep, we have too many wingers. We could have gotten a non-lottery protected 1st round pick for Miller and likely one prospect, and the Canucks wanted more than that, which is total bullshit. And now the worst result is happening, the Canucks are winning games they shouldn't be, which means they will likely pick in the low teens AGAIN, damn it.
As a coyotes fan, I still can’t believe we got out of the oel contract.
Got out of it for free too
And now you guys don’t even have a team 😂😂.
Considering the cap hell situation, would you trade Boeser 'high' to keep Horvat rather than risk losing him for less value down the line?
Trade Boeser for a young RHD. Horvat has to get traded too because his value is out the roof right now. If we don’t trade Horvat then there is another long term contract on our books which will prevent us from contending anytime soon.
Unless you can move Miller, don’t resign Horvat. I’d much rather keep Horvat than Miller.
The real major mistake was firing Linden. Everything after that is just adding fuel to the dumpster fire. If Linden was able to do his thing they would probably be 2-3 years ahead of where Detroit is right now (playoff team on the verge of cup contender).
Just wrote about how if the team moves Horvat, the Miller signing becomes pointless. I do think he'll be re-signed and Myers moved after the Canucks pay his $5 million bonus. Yes, he's a $6 million cap hit next season, but only $1 million in salary.
Seems like all expectations are out the window this season. The teams that we thought would challenge for a better position are in a hole early on and vice-versa.
Arizona to Benning:
“Right. But have you heard of second $12m cap hell?”
Don’t forget not signing Tanev when he was the guy that made Huggie B unreal. So sad.
Shame on Benning for that disastrous deal with Arizona. Even more shame on that dolt Aquilini for approving such a move. There aren’t enough words in the English language to describe my hatred for Benning and Aquilini.
I like these team profile videos over the course of the season. State of the team. Yes, even when it's Vancouver.
I've heard this argument before, and before I complete your video, let me just say that the mismanagement is people hiring the managers not the managers.
I think I've never seen so many managers get the full blame by gambling with trades than in Canucks history, albeit I've only been in Canada since 2004, so I dunno much of Canucks trades prior to Sedins drafted after 1999, and reminder Trevor Lindin had 1-2 winning seasons prior to the twins yet he is the so-called biggest legend here somehow, where Sedins had more positive seasons.. Anyways here comes the start of all bets I saw, Mike Gillis, made cup finals ofc but burnt out after the Hodgeson project failed. He left the Canucks in bad shape too. And somewhere in there everyone left starting with Luongo to Kesler, Schneider until Sedins retired. Then in comes Benning era roster, we also talking hiring every manager that got fired quickly during this period, but player-wise 50% of newbie project worked out at the very least, others like Virtanen and Olli Ulevi not on good side. So, I predicted they're trending back down again maybe even getting eventually to that Sedins era where they make playoffs but, before such time is to come they'll fk up the assets majorly as thx to ur research, pointing to along these management bets on veterans and late picks, as matter of fact the only culture I've seen exist for Vancouver; is to hire these very low accountable or newb GMs & thx for that reminder, but clearly just about NOBODY running the team want to be held accountable long as they are running up the trades with go big or home deals xD
We all know that Rutherford is the one making the moves and allvin is gm in title only. Most of these moves have Rutherford written all over them cause he did the same thing with pittsburgh
Ownership has a huge hand in the long-time mismanagement of the club.
Guenther isn’t even that bad! He’s on a bad coyotes team and has 9 points in 17 games. For a rookie on a bad team I’d say he’s doing fine.
I can't figure out the Canucks. They look solid on paper. Usually that means a lack of team chemistry.
Wow…excellent coverage.. always appreciate THG ..great insight that enhance my awareness of Vancouver 🥅🏒🗾✅
wasn't just a first rounder, it was a top 10 pick
Is the Gary Bettman picture autographed ?
Their has never been a vision for this franchise.
the owner in Van is ABSOLUTELY lost. has no business running or owning a team.
Canucks have a long, LONG history of being so poor at drafting that unloading picks is probably wise for them. In the last 10 years they have literally picked one player outside the first round who became an impact player - Demko. But the trend goes much further back than that. Granted, as you say, they have only averaged 7 picks per draft so they have been limiting opportunities.
The lumberjack logo is for Abbotsford , and to be honest that is where 50% of the Canucks should be playing
That 2020 off season will be looked back on as one of the worst in the teams history. They let Tanev, Stetcher and Toffoli walk and signed Holtby, Virtanen and traded for Schmidt.
I complete agree with you The Hockey Guy. Canucks should of kept Beagle, Roussel and Eriksson since their contract was up at the end of the season. Should of never acquired OEL. I think that the Coyotes should of given the Canucks draft picks to take on OELs contract instead of the Canucks giving the Coyotes their 1st round pick. Also, cap room is gold and I think having good cap room is important. I could understand being close to the cap if you're a elite team but the Canucks aren't even a playoff team and they're close to the cap. Yes, they have good scoring but their defense is terrible. I think Luke Schenn is our top 2 defenseman this year.
I have been off the wagon for a few years now and haven't looked back but the issue with the canucks has always been their defense. Even in the years that they made deep playoff runs the defense was the weakest link. Yes, they have had good defensemen but usually only 1 at a time so the games are lost when the top pairing is on the bench or are too tired.
Benning's obsession with OEL caused him to make that trade that makes no sense whatsoever. This deal threatens to handcuff this team for the foreseeable future. Very frustrating!
Vancouver needs to do what Montreal currently is , identify who your keeping and ship out old for young , get picks , weaponize cap space (how amazing dies the Monahan trade look ) . Vancouver is in the worst spot possible, they are doing nothing , not getting younger not making trades with the future in mind . Hughes should be the only untouchable , petey and the core haven't gotten it done
Loui Eriksson finally got a deal with my former home town team Frolunda
Benning certainly was a failure, but the ultimate blame rests with Francesco Aquilini. His hard-headed, short sighted "we must make the playoffs now" attitude has the team stuck in a ditch. I'm doubtful of any real improvement under this owner.
were going to stay at the middle of the road team tell petey, demko and Huggy leaves. I was very sad and disappointed seeing the oel trade and thought. oh no.
Shannon how are we going to get better without moving horvat? You mentioned that the defence is an issue but if we resign horvat we won't be able to bring much value back in terms of assets by moving boeser and pearson to go out and get the young talented defensemen the team needs.
Trade other players. If they do trade Horvat, you submarine the team for awhile and lose a real heart and soul guy. Basically, you might as well move anyone not named Pettersson, Hughes or Demko.
The moment Linden was “let go” was the moment I realized that Vancouver wasn’t going to be seeing the cup finals anytime soon. The Canucks are going to stay mediocre and garbage until the owner is gone. Just watch.
That 2023 7th is the real wild card here imo
And you were one of the people who supported Benning’s decisions - like the signing of Beagle, Roussell, etc
Yeah, the fact I changed my opinion means I am a terrible person.
@@TheHockeyGuy calm down, I just pointed out a fact. You’re straying away from your friendly ways
Your initial comment wasn't friendly. It was accusatory as if it diminishes what I said in this video. Benning botched the cap all around and then made it worse when he traded the bas contracts away in exchange for another one with OEL. Oh, and I didn't like that trade when it happened either. Leave out the fact I said for his final year in Vancouver that he should be let go.
@@TheHockeyGuy for the record, I don’t think you’re a terrible person. But I’m just very disappointed how late some people came around to the idea of a proper rebuild, that we should have undertaken years ago.
Oh I don't agree that a rebuild makes sense now. A lot of the core players are young and they aren't that far away from being a playoff team. I am just disappointed at the lack of cap flexibility. They can't be trading away more second round picks and need to make cap space a thing, but a full rebuild means another half decade or longer of a mediocre to bad team with no guarantee that rebuild will work. See Buffalo and Ottawa for examples.
Cmon Shannon there definitely is an appetite for a rebuild. National and local media have polled fans and it’s overwhelming. Logical fans know that this core needs to be torn down
Jim Benning has got to be one of the least patient GMs in the NHL. Sure would be nice for the Canucks to have a defenceman like Gustav Forsling right now :/
As a Seattle fan, I really hope that the Canucks turn things around in the next few years so that the Seattle-Vancouver rivalry can be competitive & actually mean something to both teams when they play each other. If things don't turn around with the Canucks, the league will have to market Seattle as a rival to SJ, LA & Anaheim or even Vegas instead. Another option (though it is very unlikely) is to move the Coyotes from Arizona to Portland OR. There would be an instant rivalry if it did because there is a deep history between Seattle & Portland especially in sports (just look at MLS & the Sounders-Timbers rivalry as proof of that).
I hope Seattle neutrally develops a rivalry in the playoffs like Vegas did with San Jose. It's too bad that rivalry only lasted a few years cause the sharks got bad. Was fun to watch.
Benning realized Loius only had a year left and said we need to trade him for a new long term bad cap hit!!
So sad to see the Canucks in that state. They're the perfect example of a middling team that doesn't get anything done.
I know tanking the draft doesn't garantee future success, but it gives you better chances to build a winning core.
Winning being the key word here...
Same can be said for the Rangers. So many mismanaged assets.
I don't understand why seemingly so many in Van would want Horvat gone. Sure he has his dry spells for weeks that makes Sahara seem like a lush rain forest, but when he's on he's the most exciting player in Van and, occasionally, one of the most enjoyable to watch overall.
Is it something people outside Van doesn't know, does Horvat spit the fans in the face on his way out after games while the rest is handing out signed gift cards and plushies?
I think it's so strange how Van managed their "good" players over the years, they barely managed to sign Pettersson and Hughes now. When I look at Capfriendly.... I don't understand how the players listed would add up to $88 M. It's like the soda bottles they sold some years ago with a huge empty hole in the middle at the bottom.
I agree to stick with Bo, but you can trade boeser, garland, pearson, myers if possible
If they can keep the damn puck out of their own net, I still think the Canucks will be fine going forward this season.
See? They kept the puck out of their own net and they looked fantastic against VGK in their building last night!
Aquilini should be blamed for hiring a Yes man with Benning instead of a No man in Linden who was right on the rebuild. The fans don't deserve losing a decade like this!
Benning was an absolute trainwreck of a GM. Signing Eriksson for 6yrs when the Sedins were only signed for 2 more, made no sense, it shouldve been no more than a3- 4yr deal- if he balked- so be it, because the window had truly already closed, this was a last gasp to stay a contender, but there were too many holes to fill, and this didnt even fill 1.
Even worse than the OEL trade (which did increase our talent level- but kept us in caphell for another 5 years) was the Toffoli acquisition (only made sense for a true contender) and the subsequent loss of Markstrom, Tanev and Toffoli...for jack squat. They had zero intention of signing any of them- and let them all walk. They couldve eaten half of Markstrom and Tanevs deals at the deadline- and got 1st rounders for each- even as rentals.
It's been downhill since the Sedins left
The 1ST thing that needs to happen in Vancouver is the Owners need to be fired and get some REAL owners with real BRAINS and then go from there
Love the vid!!! Keep it up!
Just a note on the Guenther topic. He has 9 points in 17 games. Garland has ten points in 21. If Guenther turns out elite this trade will go down as perhaps the worst in franchise history. If I had to choose today, salary concerns aside, between one of these players with a view of the present to 5-6 years forward, Guenther wins easily. If you factor in the salary realities (cap hits, controlabilty) it becomes a no brainer.
Which move was worse? Chiarelli signing the GK to a long term contract and getting fired the next day, or Benning making the OEL/Garland trade? As bad as Chiarelli was as GM, Benning was worse based on that one move alone. Completely hamstrung the Canucks for the entire decade of the 20s
If Arizona retained 50% cap hit on OEL most people complaing would stop.
Not Vancouver related but remember when dale hunter played beagle more than ovechkin. Yikes
I love how poolman and Meyers combine for a 8.5m cap hit. Ruining your own team is nice, but screwing over another team that's trying to rebuild a defense group at the same time is downright impressive. I've never been angrier about a UFA signing than those two. So stupid
Canucks spent an immense amount of energy to sign Kuzmenko. What was the point, they cannot even come close to keeping him unless the move Horvat.
Shannon, was this hard for you to put together? Or cathartic?
What is common from Gillis, Benning and now Rutherford/Allvin is the owner. If somehow in fantasyland the Aquilini family can get fired that would be great. I bet the owners have been pressuring Gillis and Benning to "get better right away" because the Aquilinis had no issues with Benning signing Myers, Beagle, OEL etc while foolishly trading away draft picks. Vancouver has always attracted "get rich quick" tycoons who never learnt to start businesses or hire the right management since they got in the NHL 50+ years ago. Look at how a true entrepreneur like Mike Ilitch was able to build the Detroit Red Wings from scratch and make it Stanley Cup winners in the 90s--- and many other businesses that Ilitch ran.
If I had to guess, JB fired off the trade for OEL because his bosses and shareholders wouldn't allow another year of tanking, and if he didn't make a move to try and make the team better, then he'll sealed his own fate.
You'd think moving Pearson would require giving up more picks. If you needed a second to move Dickinson, you'd think Pearson would cost the same or more. There is no value in that contract.
Great video, as a longtime Canucks fan I can't disagree with anything you say. However, when you correctly say "Mismanaged assets"--- perhaps you might want to do another video about the exact opposite---- "Managed assets". Just look down the road to Seattle Kraken, who are one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now. Explain to me how in the hell the GM/Player Development in Seattle managed to take a brand new team and turn it into such a success? They don't have superstars, or the veterans that Canucks do, and they don't have the years of experience. On paper they shouldn't be so much better than Canucks. But they sure have a lot better people running the show behind the scenes, that is for sure!!