Hockey Widow wrote: ↑Sat Jun 30, 2018 10:00 pm
The funny thing about this debate is that Benning hasn’t changed his approach from day one. A slow transition /rebuild..... How he managed that philosophy changed based upon the needs from year to year, his approach shifted. But his goals have remained unchanged.
Mëds wrote: ↑Sat Jun 30, 2018 10:55 pm
Nice dose of perspective, thanks HW.
A nicely balanced perspective, but that's not how it looks from here. Of course I am not privy to the ownership/management's reasoning process, and I have already conceded that it can be wise for them to lie to the press in the interest of the franchise, but I think that the moves that we can observe are more consistent with another interpretation.
It looks to me as though for almost 3 seasons, they really did believe in that "retool on the fly" idea. It would be why they wanted young roster players, rather than draft picks, ("filling the age gap") and a competent veteran goalie, plus free agents who could potentially mesh with their aging stars (Vrbata, Eriksson), and rushed draft picks into the lineup. Had they chosen a more suitable coach, or had the Sedins proven to have Selänne-like longevity (not a ridiculous gamble back in '14), it might have worked. As it was, by the end of the 2017, it seemed clear even to the authors of the plan that a retool on the fly was not going to fly; they started actually using the "Rebuild" word, and dumped a couple of veterans at the deadline for futures, more in keeping with strategies some of us associated with a rebuild. Criticism of Benning (as the nominal strategic director of the ownership/management group) on this board has decreased since that time.
It will be a long time (if ever) before we can collect any direct evidence concerning if or how the Canucks ownership/management group's strategy has evolved by way of candid testimony from retired members of the group, but I think the pattern of behaviour reflects a change of plan. I would also suggest that Benning's drafting pattern implies that the blueprint has changed from the one Hockey Widow graciously explained to me at the outset of Benning's tenure (
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9706&hilit=model&start=5010), although Strangelove has implied he believes (has always believed ?) that model was just a smokescreen, anyway (
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11648&p=308616&hili ... es#p308616).