The Vancouver Canucks hired Jim Benning as General Manager in late May of 2014—meaning that the fifth year of his tenure has already come and gone. In this series of Five-Year Rewinds, CanucksArmy will be taking a look at some of Benning’s most notable transactions—with the added benefit of a half-decade worth of hindsight. With…
In Part 1 of this two-part look at the future of fighting in the Vancouver Canucks organization, we reached some rather illuminating conclusions. The team fought only 13 times each in the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons. This marked a rapid decline in those totals from previous seasons, which was in line with—but slightly steeper than—the…
When Jim Benning and his Vancouver Canuck entourage stride up to the stage at Rogers Arena on June 21, they’ll have their choice of a handful of talented prospects despite sitting at 10th overall in the first round. One of the most enticing potential selections is center Peyton Krebs of the Kootenay Ice—who received devastating…
The subject of fighting in the National Hockey League has been subject to much questioning lately—specifically, questions about whether or not it will continue to be a part of hockey in the face of increased awareness of brain injuries and an overall downward trend. Such questions are too complex and layered to be answered in…
Stephan Roget is a Jim Benning apologist. A “meat and potatoes” cultist. A shill for the Acquilini Investment group! This author has heard it all before, and so we’ll start with a confession—this article is going to have a pro-Jim Benning bias. It’s not because this author is related to Benning, and they’ve never received…
If the semi-retired team slogan is to be believed, then “We Are All Canucks”—and there doesn’t appear to be a statute of limitations on that distinction. Vancouver fans have a tendency to think of individual players as Canucks long after they’ve left the city—even if said player has gone on to play several seasons in…
It’s early June, and there’s yet to be any concrete news about the signing of Alex Edler to a new contract—something that once seemed like a foregone conclusion. The longer the process takes, the closer Edler comes to actually hitting the unrestricted free agency market—and that’s where things could get complicated. Jim Benning says the…
As the 2019/20 season slowly drifts closer, fans of the Vancouver Canucks can take solace in the fact that the core of a future contender is also slowly drifting into place. GM Jim Benning has assembled a collection of young players that have already taken their place in the franchise’s core—with the hopes that they…
Following Sharks’ elimination at the hands of the St. Louis Blues in the 2019 Western Conference Finals, Erik Karlsson took to Twitter in order to pen an ambiguous ode to San Jose. Thank you to the entire @SanJoseSharks organization, fans, and especially teammates. It was a great run that ended too early. But lots of…
Heading into the 2019/20 season—and with several players still without contracts—Ryan Spooner currently sits with the seventh-highest cap hit on the Vancouver Canucks roster. $3.1 million is an awful lot for a player who posted three goals and six points for three NHL franchises across 52 games in 2018/19—and it could be worse! Without the…
The 2019 NHL Entry Draft is rapidly approaching, and—as this author outlined previously—the chances of the Vancouver Canucks trading up to acquire a higher pick are slim to none. As well, with the draft located in Vancouver, there’s just no way that GM Jim Benning will make the presumably unpopular move of trading down. With…
The Vancouver Canucks are scheduled to host the 2019 NHL Entry Draft on June 21 and 22 at Rogers Arena, and they’re currently slated to select 10th overall—their lowest first round selection since selecting Brock Boeser 23rd overall in 2015. The 2019 draft class looks to be a deep one—and there will be multiple high-level…
