GM for a Day – Vancouver Canucks

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This morning, general manager of the Vancouver Canucks Jim Benning hosted a press conference to provide his thoughts and a recap of the Canucks’ season to his point.

Despite the lackluster results that see his team near the basement of the North division, Benning is sticking to the script and reinstating the idea that the Canucks are a rebuilding team headed in the right direction, and this season’s lack of success is a by-product of being in a tough division.

In his seventh season as the GM of the Canucks, and his third without the eyes of franchise legend Trevor Linden watching from above, the team has seen its wild share of ups and downs throughout. Right now would be considered one of those excruciating downs.

It is clear that for the last few years Benning and his job security have been under the microscope of fans and media in this city. For all of the fantastic moves made, mainly throughout the NHL entry draft, there have been just as many, if not more questionable decisions.

For every Elias Pettersson, there is a Loui Eriksson in the press box collecting a $6 million cheque.

With every Quinn Hughes, there is an Antoine Roussel, a Jay Beagle, and a Brandon Sutter making far too much money for the roles they currently have on this underwhelming roster.

During the primal years of their young stars making under a million dollars towards the cap, the Canucks have been ravaged by the repercussions of poor asset management and money allocation.

Looking at the leagues’ teams in similar positions, you can’t help but look at Benning’s former team the Boston Bruins, who are contending for championships year in and year out all while managing their players and bankroll to perfection. Outside of David Pastrnak and Brandon Carlo, they haven’t even really drafted well as a whole, but they were able to micro-manage their team to the point where there is no such thing as a 7-year rebuild plan, it’s just retooling.

In his press conference on Friday morning, instead of taking ownership behind the poor decisions that were rushed into in the early stages of Vancouver’s rebuild, Benning took the time to instead reassure fans that the team is still “close but a couple of years away.”

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I guess that is fair enough, with players like Pettersson, Hughes, Boeser, and Höglander learning the everyday challenges of being successful in the NHL, the Canucks await more young and cheap help in the form of Vasili Podklozin, Jett Woo and Jack Rathbone.

Although that is a valid reason to believe this team is still years away from contending, that doesn’t mean that the moves made in the present won’t go a long way in boosting the teams potential when the time for winning is here.

To play a fun game of “be a GM” I want to lay out a few moves that I believe would be smart both financially and from a competitive point of view. There is nothing that can be done in the ‘now’ to salvage what feels like a lost season, but I believe there are things that can be done to boost the morale of the current locker room and the future of some of their players.

What I would do if I was the GM of the Vancouver Canucks for a day – 

So I have just relieved Jim Benning of his duties for 24 hours and it is immediately time for me to get to work with what I have. As the Canucks are a team that is against the cap, whatever comes in must have something else going out.

Trade Jake Virtanen, Jordie Benn and a 3rd round pick to Nashville for D Mattias Ekholm:

The bittersweet move of trading away Jake Virtanen is a decision I believe has to be made for the better of the team and for the payer. Virtanen came out of the WHL as a lottery pick that many people suggested was a tad too high for the type of player he was.

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A quick-moving power forward who could score goals from anywhere on the ice. In Vancouver, Virtanen has only been a shell of that player, some nights being all over the ice and instinctive, while others are nearly invisible.

Virtanen is the type of player that could thrive under a change of scenery, and Nashville is an organization known for reviving careers. Virtanen is a cheap, expiring deal for the Preds to take on in hopes he can go spark a very dull lineup in the Music City.

Predators GM David Poile has been shopping Ekholm for a while with how his team has performed in 2021, and Vancouver could be the place for him to get into some big minute roles and thrive in a division that lacks true defensemen like him. Ekholm’s $3.6 million is met by sending Jordie Benn the other way, and the 3rd round pick is a standard addition to a deal involving a team’s top-pair defenseman.

Relieve assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner of his duties, hire Bruce Boudreau:

If it wasn’t already glaringly obvious, the Vancouver Canucks are a horrendous defensive team this season. Not only this year for that matter but last year as well. For the last little while, the team has been bailed out by the consistent and stellar play of Jakob Markstrom between the pipes, this season without him, a developing goaltender Thatcher Demko and below-average netminder Brayden Holtby have been left out to dry on several occasions.

I have nothing against the work of Nolan Baumgartner, but clearly, the box and one system he deploys nightly hasn’t provided the statistical results he envisioned. Especially in the games against top opposition like the Leafs or Oilers, who have too much talent to just sit back against.

With head coach Travis Green’s deal set to expire this Summer, Boudreau can add a new piece of mind to a team that needs a new defensive voice, and perhaps be an option for the team to pivot to if Green’s contract doesn’t get retained.

These are a couple of changes I think can be realistically made without wagering too many assets or cap dollars, as well as significantly rejuvenate a lost locker room and provide new life to a roster that just wants to win.

Evan Power, Evolution 107.9

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