Pick Your Least Favourite Benning Move

[Boston Canucker]

I can find a defensible logic behind every one of those moves (even those I don't agree with) except the Sbisa extension. That one is the fart in the elevator...winner, winner, smelly chicken dinner!

[Hockey Widow]

Even the Sbisa deal you can make sense of. No NTC, 3year term to show if he is a top 4, no one in the system to play his minutes, a horrible UFA crop, experience for an up and coming young back end.

Benning could not add a top 4 last year without giving up high picks or prospects. He believes Sbisa is/will be top four. In that light the deal makes perfect sense. As a 3-5 type of D man Sbisa is moveable due to the short term. If he develops into a 3-5 reliable guy he is a bargain.

[2Fingers]

Okay but we have seen what happens when you throw a bunch of kids out there on their own in Edmonton. You need to insulate them and I can see very clearly why playing in front of a veteran goalie could give young skaters more confidence etc. Lack was not someone anyone expected to be a starter. Vrbata is a filler for a couple years. There's no one he's blocking.

Kesler had to be moved and had an NTC, Lack was going to get expensive and wasn't near the top of the shelf on the goalie market, and Bieksa is an old, brittle declining asset who will walk in a year. He was basically forced to make a move or was moving a pretty middling asset.

I agree - there is a need for some vets but the Nucks had enough, Sedins, Hamhuis, Bieksa, Richardson, Edler..... They had enough vets except a goalie of course. They may have been able to sign a 2a goalie to play 50% of the games and let Lack play more.

Of course this all relies on having prospects ready to play and I am not the Nucks have many of those.

Oh well the next 2 - 3 years will be interesting.

[Boston Canucker]

Even the Sbisa deal you can make sense of. No NTC, 3year term to show if he is a top 4, no one in the system to play his minutes, a horrible UFA crop, experience for an up and coming young back end.

Benning could not add a top 4 last year without giving up high picks or prospects. He believes Sbisa is/will be top four. In that light the deal makes perfect sense. As a 3-5 type of D man Sbisa is moveable due to the short term. If he develops into a 3-5 reliable guy he is a bargain.

You don't think he could have bargained and got that salary number down? Seems like an overpayment. The old regime got burrows for 4 years at 2 mill. I hope Sbisa lives up to all expectations but I have a hard time believing he, and likely Dorsett, couldn't have been negotiated down a little bit...I could see contracts like this, esp. Sbisa, being things Gilman had an issue with...

[Chef Boi RD]

Even the Sbisa deal you can make sense of. No NTC, 3year term to show if he is a top 4, no one in the system to play his minutes, a horrible UFA crop, experience for an up and coming young back end.

Benning could not add a top 4 last year without giving up high picks or prospects. He believes Sbisa is/will be top four. In that light the deal makes perfect sense. As a 3-5 type of D man Sbisa is moveable due to the short term. If he develops into a 3-5 reliable guy he is a bargain.

Thank you

Nice to see an independent mind amongst the bunched up panty cyborgs

[Cousin Strawberry]

Even the Sbisa deal you can make sense of. No NTC, 3year term to show if he is a top 4, no one in the system to play his minutes, a horrible UFA crop, experience for an up and coming young back end.

Benning could not add a top 4 last year without giving up high picks or prospects. He believes Sbisa is/will be top four. In that light the deal makes perfect sense. As a 3-5 type of D man Sbisa is moveable due to the short term. If he develops into a 3-5 reliable guy he is a bargain.

Thank you

Nice to see an independent mind amongst the bunched up panty cyborgs

Its weird having the dude as the voice of reason...
Remember all the hatred he used to spew out about Gillis...
Let me guess...you're now sharing pulls off the volcano with yer old lady

[Chef Boi RD]

[Chef Boi RD]

Even the Sbisa deal you can make sense of. No NTC, 3year term to show if he is a top 4, no one in the system to play his minutes, a horrible UFA crop, experience for an up and coming young back end.

Benning could not add a top 4 last year without giving up high picks or prospects. He believes Sbisa is/will be top four. In that light the deal makes perfect sense. As a 3-5 type of D man Sbisa is moveable due to the short term. If he develops into a 3-5 reliable guy he is a bargain.

Thank you

Nice to see an independent mind amongst the bunched up panty cyborgs

Its weird having the dude as the voice of reason...
Remember all the hatred he used to spew out about Gillis...
Let me guess...you're now sharing pulls off the volcano with yer old lady

Listen jabrone, Gillis deserved every bit of Chef Boi RD's vitriol thrown at him, and was I ever so right.

Rogers Arena - "FIRE GILLIS" (except Blob McKenzie who was at that infamous game)

[Hockey Widow]

Even the Sbisa deal you can make sense of. No NTC, 3year term to show if he is a top 4, no one in the system to play his minutes, a horrible UFA crop, experience for an up and coming young back end.

Benning could not add a top 4 last year without giving up high picks or prospects. He believes Sbisa is/will be top four. In that light the deal makes perfect sense. As a 3-5 type of D man Sbisa is moveable due to the short term. If he develops into a 3-5 reliable guy he is a bargain.

You don't think he could have bargained and got that salary number down? Seems like an overpayment. The old regime got burrows for 4 years at 2 mill. I hope Sbisa lives up to all expectations but I have a hard time believing he, and likely Dorsett, couldn't have been negotiated down a little bit...I could see contracts like this, esp. Sbisa, being things Gilman had an issue with...

As Benning said, he bought two years of FA status. Burrows contract was signed a few years back, he has a NTC and its for a lot more than 2 million per year, double that. If you are talking his contract before that, that was what 6 years ago?

Every GM will tell you how hard it is to find guys on the back end. I too would have like to see it for less cap, I'm sure Benning would too. I'm not thrilled with the amount, I'm fine with the term. I am thrilled there is no NTC. In the grand scheme of things his cap won't hurt us. If we had qualified him we would still be paying about the same this year. Then next year what? Let him walk. Ok. Or re-sign him before he hits UFA for what? Certainly not less than he is making now but the risk is for a lot more, more term, and some type of NTC.

Sbisa is not a bad signing even though most of us are against it. He played well for us when we had all those injuries on D. I don't agree with Benning that he is top four but I'm willing to find out. If he sucks eggs these next three years I doubt he will be back.mand what are we winning over these next three years anyway?

[Strangelove]

You make some good points Wids.

Sbisa camp was probably saying "We want the qualifier at $2.9M and then we want to try UFAgency next year".

At that point Benning probably figures what the hell offer him more $$ for a bit more term.

A huge gamble but what does he have to lose really because the rebuild is going to take at least that long.

People worry about using cap-room, but you're not supposed to worry about cap-room in a rebuild.

People worry the salary structure, but you're not supposed to worry about salary structure in a rebuild.

I keep hearing Gilman screaming "Give him a NTC, give him a NTC!!!"

... and seeing Benning writing a memo to himself: "Fire this putz in early July"



Anyway, so yeah, Sbisa's contract will be up before the rebuild is done.

Having said all that, I must say... aside from a 3-week period mid-season...

Luca Sbisa was absolutely the worst Canuck Dman in recent memory.

The weird part is, he was really good right when we needed him to be.

Right at the point with all the injuries, folks were saying "Okay, here's where we slide out of the playoff race".

I dunno, it's like you say, does one huge overpayment really matter over the rebuild years?

Personally I would not have even qualified Sbisa, I would have let him walk.

But hey, I have no delusions of being a better judge of a player's future than master-scout Jim Benning.

Personally I think all of Sbisa's problems are of the panic variety.

Big guy who skates well and likes to hit, maybe they can settle him down?

[Strangelove]

The reason I didn't like the Miller signing had more to do with I wanted the rebuild to start last season.

SHHHHH...... the rebuild did start last season.

3 rookies made the team (Vey, Horvat, Kenins) and another had a long look (Clendening).

BTW Miller is still here.

Of course this all relies on having prospects ready to play and I am not the Nucks have many of those.

Aside from the guys mentioned above, this year there is at the very least...

Corrado/Cassels/Gaunce/Baertschi/Virtanen/Shinkaruk/Grenier... to choose from.

You'll probably see a few of those guys make the jump next season.

Wake up, you're going to sleep right through the rebuild!

[2Fingers]

Not having watched Virtanen why is everyone down on the guy. Hell he is only 18 and people are already down on him.

Another year with his Junior team and then maybe 1/2 a season in the AHL and he could be a very serviceable 2nd liner.

[Hockey Widow]

Not having watched Virtanen why is everyone down on the guy. Hell he is only 18 and people are already down on him.

Another year with his Junior team and then maybe 1/2 a season in the AHL and he could be a very serviceable 2nd liner.

I haven't really read anybody being down on him.

[2Fingers]

Not having watched Virtanen why is everyone down on the guy. Hell he is only 18 and people are already down on him.

Another year with his Junior team and then maybe 1/2 a season in the AHL and he could be a very serviceable 2nd liner.

I haven't really read anybody being down on him.

I think Tops is, and if I'm wrong I apologise.

We just need to give the kid a chance.

[SKYO]

LoL you idiots actually voted. smh