If I sound like a broken record, it’s only because Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning does as well and every time he vocalizes something that shows he has little to no understanding of where his club is at right now, it drives me to hysterics.
Earlier in the year, Benning made it pretty clear that he doesn’t quite grasp the concept of rebuilding when he told TSN 1040 radio that the team is going to put maximum effort into making the playoffs and that he refuses to think about trying to position the franchise to get a higher pick in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft.
This past week, with the Canucks sitting several points removed from making the playoffs and prior to Vancouver losing to the Toronto Marlies Maple Leafs, Benning doubled down on his determination to get this team into the playoffs, even if it has negative repercussion down the line.
“We want to make the playoffs,” Benning told TSN 1040 when asked about moving impending unrestricted free agents Dan Hamhuis and Radim Vrbata in advance of the February 29 Trade Deadline. “Unless somebody phones us and knocks our socks off with something we can’t say no to. But our goal is to make the playoffs and be competitive.”
Following Saturday night’s loss to the Leafs – a team ravaged by injuries that got three goals from Mark Arcobello (who had two) and Brendan Leipsic – the Canucks have a 20 percent chance of making the playoffs. To put that another way, there is an 80 percent chance that Vancouver misses the playoffs, at which point retaining Hamhuis and Vrbata would have been futile.
Now, to be fair, both have no-trade clauses and may not want to get moved, plus the market for rentals doesn’t often yield a high return, but Benning has to investigate the possibility of getting something for one or both of these players, right? He has to at least do his due diligence on seeing if someone out there in a better position to advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs wants to cough up a second- or third-round pick for either one of these guys before just saying, “We want to make the playoffs and we’re not moving these guys because they’re integral to helping up get close,” no?
Apparently not and that’s where my head starts hurting because even if the Canucks do scrape their way into the playoffs, then what?
This isn’t a team that is going to make some kind of Cinderella run and win the whole damn thing. They haven’t put together a single three-game winning streak all season, so why Benning is bent on getting this team into a situation where they need to win four of seven from one of the top teams in the Western Conference is beyond me, but that seems to be his mission and it’s why teams like Vancouver are destined to remain in the middle of the pack unless they manage to hit a home run in free agency or land a surprise gem in the draft.
This is the perfect year for the Canucks brass to say, “It’s not our year,” sell off whatever pieces are not going to be part of the plan going forward and get as many assets back as possible. Take whatever someone is willing to pay for the various lost causes currently skating for the Utica Comets (Higgins, Prust), see where Vrbata and Hamhuis would be willing to go and then call each of those teams asking if they’re interested.
Name your highest price right out of the gate and work backwards from there, making the deal when you’ve landed on something agreeable to both sides because neither guy should be on this team next season since they’re aging veterans taking up roster spots and ice time that should be dedicated to the younger players that Vancouver needs to develop because like it or not, this club has to move on from The Sedin Era and that means going young and taking a step backwards at some point.
Instead, Benning and the brain trust are committed to landing the 8th seed in the West and delaying the inevitable for one more year because… because… because…
Yeah, I’m not sure either.
