If Jim Benning were a better public speaker, people would probably have a better opinion of him as an NHL General Manager. That may not be entirely fair, but it’s true.
Even if Benning were a management genius and a hockey savant, his inability to express himself clearly in public forums would undercut that brilliance. When Benning has a microphone in front of his face, he tends to stumble.
It led to a fine for tampering when he talked about P.K. Subban and Steven Stamkos when they were still signed by other teams. He seemed unable to understand the concept of a “seller’s market” heading into this year’s trade deadline. Other times trying to figure out what he means is a confusing endeavour as he (and Trevor Linden) makes contradictory statements that don’t jibe with reality. And sometimes he busts out tired old cliches that verge on unexamined xenophobic beliefs.
More than anything, Benning’s inability to clearly express himself, combined with some of his poorer moves as Canucks GM, has given him a reputation as a bit of a rube. At times, we’ve had to question whether Benning has painted a picture of himself around the league as an easy mark.
At Pass it to Bulis, we may have exploited that reputation for some cheap jokes at Benning’s expense from time to time, but we also have to be fair to Benning: once reality finally set in and he and his management team committed to rebuilding, they started making a lot of smart moves.
Benning nailed the trade deadline, adding two promising prospects to the pool. At the draft, Benning focussed on speed and skill, selecting a potential first-line centre fifth overall, two high-scoring wingers in the second round, one of the top goaltending prospects available in the third round, and made some thoughtful gambles in the back half of the draft.
In free agency, Benning filled in gaps left by departing players with some savvy signings that seemed influenced by analytics. He seemed to have learned his lesson from past summers, avoiding shackling the team with any long-term contracts. In addition, his re-signing of restricted free agents this off-season has shown an uncharacteristic restraint, in particular with Erik Gudbranson, who he signed to just a one-year deal.
All in all, these past several months have given off the impression that the Canucks have a clearer vision for the future than at any point in Jim Benning’s tenure.
But these past several months haven’t been enough to salvage Benning’s reputation around the league or even with Canucks fans. Dom Luszczyszyn at The Hockey News published his annual ranking of NHL team’s front offices based on survey results from 1300 hockey fans. The Canucks ranked just short of dead last.
In fact, they landed in 30th place, ahead of only the Colorado Avalanche. Fans around the league rated the Canucks front office as below-average in every element of the poll: roster building, cap management, drafting and development, trading, free agency, and vision.
Even taking into account the rankings only by Canucks fans who responded, the Canucks were still below-average in every element except for drafting and development. If you look only at responses from Canucks fans, Benning and his team still finish 28th overall.
It’s not hard to understand why: the Canucks have made some seriously questionable moves in the past, several of which will continue to impact the team for years to come. Benning has a long way to go to salvage his reputation and prove that he can put together a winning roster, but his recent moves have put him on the right track.
In the meantime, Benning will just have to take a page from Joan Jett and Lindsay Weir:
