The biggest reason why I'm reluctant to jump on the "Jim Benning's Destroying the Canucks" bandwagon is because the team did so much better than expected last season.
Individually, I was skeptical about most of the moves Benning made during his first summer as Vancouver's general manager. I never thought Radim Vrbata could step in and lead the team in goals, earning his first trip to the All-Star Game along the way; I had huge doubts about the aging Ryan Miller and his massive contract; I wasn't sure about the spoils from the Ryan Kesler trade or the wisdom of jettisoning Jason Garrison. I was okay with the Derek Dorsett deal and (yep) thought Linden Vey showed great potential.
I did, however, feel pretty good about the idea that we'd see bounce-back seasons from the core players who had struggled so much under John Tortorella.
Last summer, there wasn't a lot of talk about the Canucks. I think it was widely assumed that the team's decline was irreversible due to the aging core.
But there they were—eighth overall at season's end with an impressive 101 points. And they did it with scoring—tied for sixth in goals for, while 17th in goals against. And after a terrible start on the power play, Vancouver finished up tied for eighth at a solid 19.3 percent—as well as being second overall with an 85.7 percent kill rate on the penalty kill.
Individually, the Sedins bounced back marvellously from a 2013-14 season that was uncharacteristically marred by injuries to both twins. Each played the full 82-game schedule last year, where Daniel finished the year in ninth place in the NHL scoring race while Henrik finished 13th.
I seem to recall that going into the season, I figured the twins would have earned their $7 million salaries if they each potted 70 points. So, no complaints here about 76 points from Daniel and 73 from Henrik.
The disappointment of losing to Calgary in the playoffs was bitter, but at the beginning of the year, the idea of making the playoffs at all seemed like a pretty lofty objective.
So—if I owned this franchise and was giving my new braintrust a performance review after Season 1, I'd have to give them full marks for doing what they came to do—keeping the team competitive and playing an entertaining, offense-first style.
What will the Canucks need to do in order for Year 2 to be considered a success? I'm thinking the only way they'll earn any sort of respect is if they outdo last year's performance—more than 101 points and at least one playoff series win.
Is that possible?
Looking back on last season's moves, it's clear enough that Benning didn't knock every single one out of the park. Vrbata was awesome and Derek Dorsett certainly delivered as promised, but Ryan Miller still hasn't won the hearts of many fans in this city and it's hard to characterize Linden Vey's contribution so far as anything but disappointing.
The team was able to pull Shawn Matthias back from nearly being sent to the minors and squeeze 18 goals and a career-high 27 points out of him, but the player with all the promise, Zack Kassian, was ultimately discarded after being deemed untamable.
My best guess is that next year's moves will also be a mixed bag of hits and misses.
Here are the key variables in play:
Goal - Jacob Markstrom...and, in some ways, Ryan Miller. How will he bounce back after his knee injury? His win total was good last season but his other stats were just OK. Can he improve on those numbers as he grows more comfortable—and maybe with a better defense in front of him?
Defense - Matt Bartkowski, Frank Corrado...and, in some ways, Yannick Weber. Can he harness the potential he showed working as a power-play quarterback with the Sedins towards the end of last season?
Forwards - Sven Baertschi, Brandon Sutter, Brandon Prust...and Jake Virtanen? Will he or one of the other youngsters crack the lineup? Will injuries create opportunities that we haven't factored into our depth charts?
Coaching - I'll throw Willie Desjardins in here too. How much did he learn from his first year as an NHL head coach, and will he be able to use that knowledge to generate more points next season?
The Canucks will look different on the ice next season as Benning continues to mold this team to fit his vision. Do you think the 2015-16 edition has what it takes to eclipse the performance of the surprising 2014-15 club?
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