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GM Bracket Battle: Zito vs. Benning

November 29, 2020, 10:26 PM ET [6 Comments]
Michael Stuart
Ottawa Senators Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
It was much closer than I expected it to be, but St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong eked out a win over Ottawa’s Pierre Dorion in the last round of the General Manager Bracket Battle. Today, we’re faced with an interesting matchup between someone brand new to the job and someone with a leash that might be just a little too long:

15 – Florida Panthers: Bill Zito
Bill Zito has his work cut out for him as the new General Manager of the Florida Panthers, but his extensive record with the Columbus Blue Jackets suggests that he might be the right guy to get the job done. Previously a player agent, Zito joined the Blue Jackets in 2013 and was part of the management team that took the organization from afterthought to consistent playoff presence. The Panthers will be looking for the same sort of thing from their new front office hire.

While Zito wasn’t particularly busy during his first run at free agency, his big move so far came when he dumped Mike Matheson’s absurdly large contract on the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Patric Hornqvist. It’s not a move that will do much to change Florida’s fortunes this coming year, but it certainly should provide the rookie GM with more flexibility down the road. Perhaps more significantly, it’s a sign that Zito is ready and willing to go about the job of undoing some of Dale Tallon’s more questionable decisions.

The other thing to note with respect to Zito is his aforementioned experience as an agent. If the success that saw him negotiate huge deals for players like Tuukka Rask, James Wisniewski, and Kimmo Timonen in his previous life translates to his role as Florida’s GM, the Panthers will be in good shape for a long time.

18 – Vancouver Canucks: Jim Benning
The biggest net positive for the Vancouver Canucks under Jim Benning’s leadership has been on the amateur scouting side. While missing on Jake Virtanen and Olli Juolevi near the top of the draft order hurts, landing Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, and Brock Boeser provides the franchise with more reason for optimism than it has in a long time. Those players are cornerstone pieces that could be the core of a contending team right now in the NHL. Pairing them with a coach that is willing to play up-tempo hockey like Travis Green has made Benning's Canucks one of the more exciting teams to watch in hockey.

The trouble for the Canucks is the work Benning has done around those talented young players he’s acquired. With a penchant for signing on the basis of “toughness” and “leadership” over hockey skill, the Canucks find themselves in a bit of a cap mess. They have a boatload of third and fourth line players on depressingly expensive contracts inked by Benning, which is going to make it virtually impossible for the General Manager to turn that exciting young core into a Stanley Cup championship roster. The cap woes already cost the Canucks their all-star goaltender, Jacob Markstrom, and the situation isn’t going to get any simpler when Pettersson and Hughes are due for new deals.

Having been in charge in Vancouver since 2014, it’s reasonable to think that Benning should have this team further along in its rebuilding efforts than it appears to be right now. With the team looking like it will take at least a small step back in 2020-21, it will be interesting to see how long Benning’s leash truly is.

Who is the better NHL GM?
Bill Zito
Jim Benning



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As always, thanks for reading.
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