With the Vancouver Canucks now in full-scale rebuild mode, I'm more interested than ever at looking what other teams are doing—what's working and what's not.
We could argue that the Canucks, at least, are in a slightly better spot than the Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo installed Tim Murray as their general manager following their scorched-earth talent purge during the summer of 2014—the same time that Trevor Linden, Jim Benning and Willie Desjardins were hired by Vancouver.
The Sabres had gone three years without a playoff appearance and seven years wtihout a series win when Darcy Regier was replaced by Tim Murray.
Ted Nolan remained in place as Buffalo's coach until the end of the 2014-15 season, then was replaced by Dan Bylsma.
Now, the Sabres are up to six years without a playoff appearance and 10 years since their last series win, and they're no further ahead. Here's how they've fared in the last decade:
• 2006-07 - 113 points - tied for 1st overall - reached Eastern Conference Final
• 2007-08 - 90 points - 18th overall - missed playoffs
• 2008-09 - 91 points - 18th overall - missed playoffs
• 2009-10 - 100 points - 11th overall - lost in first round
• 2010-11 - 96 points - 15th overall - lost in first round
• 2011-12 - 89 points - 19th overall - missed playoffs
• 2012-13 - 48 points (48 games) - 23rd overall - missed playoffs
• 2013-14 - 52 points - 30th overall - missed playoffs - Darcy Regier replaced by Tim Murray
• 2014-15 - 54 points - 30th overall - missed playoffs - Ted Nolan replaced by Dan Bylsma
• 2015-16 - 81 points - 23rd overall - missed playoffs
• 2016-17 - 78 points - 26th overall - missed playoffs - Tim Murray & Dan Bylsma fired
The Sabres went full tank—purging their high-priced veterans and accumulating picks and prospects. They also spent money and tried to bring in promising young stars to build their franchise around.
But in the two years that they finished last overall, they lost the draft lottery both times. Jack Eichel's looking like the real deal as a No. 2 pick, but Sam Reinhart has languished after having been chosen second overall in 2014. Buffalo has also had limited success with its later-round picks, and plenty of stories of locker-room dysfunction seem to bubble up out of Buffalo on a regular basis.
Word is that Jason Botterill will be name the Sabres' new GM on Monday. He has been learning his craft with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization and was expected to succeed Jim Rutherford, but I guess he decided he couldn't wait any longer to take the reins.
Still no word on who will be Buffalo's next coach.
My point is that even when an organization takes steps to follow the traditional path to turning a franchise around, it may or may not work, or may not work quickly enough to save the jobs of the architects that are working on the project.
In Vancouver, Willie Desjardins has been the first casualty after his three years of duty. With that change made, it would make sense that the clock is now ticking on Jim Benning and Trevor Linden. I don't think anybody's expecting a big turnaround for Vancouver next year but there will need to be some signs of hope that things are starting to head in the right direction.
At the other end of the spectrum, you've got the Toronto Maple Leafs, whose fans were told to "prepare for pain" when Mike Babcock took over two years ago, but have quickly seen their team turn around and get back into the playoff picture.
Babcock is here in Paris right now, watching games and scouting European players. He sat down for an interview with TSN's Darren Dreger that I found very interesting—admitting that Toronto has been very lucky to have its plan come together as successfully as it has this year.
This is worth your time to watch:
Babcock is candid about how much his team benefitted from the huge contributions of Auston Matthews and Nikita Zaitsev this year, as well as the strong performances that he got out of many of his other players—rookies and veterans alike.
He also says their work's not done—and specifically mentions that they're looking for a right-shot defenseman that can play 25 minutes a game.
Chris Tanev fits that bill nicely, doesn't he? He's from Toronto, he shoots right and he has averaged over 20 minutes per game in each of his last four seasons.
If the Canucks are serious about trying to trade Tanev, Jim Benning should definitely give Lou Lamoriello a call and see if there's a deal to be made.
Tanev is a valuable asset, and it's possible that he could inspire a bidding war among interested teams. Off the top of my head—the Oilers blue line could still use help, too, and Connor McDavid was impressed with Tanev at last year's World Championship.
Benning would be well served to make a call to Edmonton, too, once the pain of last night's loss to Anaheim has worn off.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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