MAJOR | Francesco Aquillini reveals what he thought has been his biggest mistake

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Felip Gosselin
May 22, 2023 (6:02 PM)

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The Canucks management and ownership have been harshly reviewed as of late and with reason. Today, Matt Sekeres and Blake Price received a special guest on their show Gary Mason, and the latter made quite the revelation regarding Francesco Aquillini's handling of Jim Benning.

Most will remember Benning as one of the worst GMs in Canucks history as he now has a compilation of terrible signings, bad trades, and even worst draft picks. It appears that Francesco is currently biting his nails over some of the moves he made. Mason made major revelations today regarding the Aquillini and Benning shared:

» I think the biggest mistake Francesco has made during his time as the owner was with Benning. We've had conversations about this over lunch and he totally agrees that he left Benning in that position far too long and that's come back to bite him in the ass.»

Benning was acting as the team's GM from 2014 to 2021, while many thought he was in power too long, it appears that Benning's undeniable ability to convince Aquillini that he was only �one move away' got the best of the ownership group.

One thing that Aquillini will most likely never be over, is when Benning chose to draft Oli Juolevi instead of who may end up being the 2023 Conn Smyth Winner (Playoffs MVP), Matthew Tkachuk:

�'That probably still eats Francesco up to this day. He was absolutely livid about that. That they missed that mark so badly.''

Oli Juolevi over Matthew Tkachuk, Oliver Ekman-Larson and Conor Garland trade, Tyler Myers signing, and Loui Erikson signing are only a few calls Benning poorly executed. Had Aquillini intervened faster, perhaps the new management would not have been left with that big of a mess to deal with?