LATEST | Jim Benning's legacy has now hit rock-bottom with the most recent development
Jim Benning was the general manager for the Vancouver Canucks from May 21, 2014 to December 5, 2021. A former NHL player, Benning, was a polarizing figure in Vancouver because his teams failed to meet expectations. Benning's best year as General manager came in 2019-2020, where the Canucks lost in the second round.
Benning made multiple questionable trades in his tenure. One trade that did not work out well for the Canucks was the Jared McCann trade. McCann was moved after one season with the Canucks.
The trade was Erik Gudbranson and a 5th round pick for McCann, a second-round pick and a fourth-round pick. McCann has turned out to be a very talented player, while Gudbranson would play 3 seasons with the Canucks before being traded for Tanner Pearson.
Benning's trade legacy is still alive in the Oliver Ekman-Larsson trade. The trade was Oliver Ekman-Larsson along with Conor Garland in exchange for a first round pick which turned into Dylan Guenther,
Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle and Antoine Roussel.
The trade allowed the Canucks to remove a few large contracts while acquiring a top dman in Ekman-Larsson. Unfortunately, Ekman-Larsson was not able to continue his high level of play and was bought out this year. Along with Ekman-Larsson, Garland has now requested a trade from Vancouver. This will likely result in a contract dump. The biggest negative is that Dylan Guenther is looking very good for the Coyotes.
Jim Benning was fired December 5, 2021. Patrik Allvin was later named general manager on Jan 26, 2022, where he is now tasked with retooling the Canucks.
| POLL | ||
Was Benning the worst Canucks GM in franchise history? | ||
| Yes | 1850 | 82.6 % |
| No | 391 | 17.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
