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Originally Posted by Fire of the Phoenix
Has he been that bad at UFA with the exception of Eriksson? And who could've foreseen that he would turn into an AHL player so fast? His other signings are all role players like Roussel and Beagle, contracts that will be off the books by the time they actually need the money. They are actually really well set up. Benning takes a lot of flak even though he is better than BT. He just isnt a smooth talker like BT so he doesnt inspire confidence that way. He also doesn't come across like he's all that intelligent but his body of work is starting to look real good. He has a great scouting background and has helped build a good young team with a great farm system. I would take goofy memes of Treliving if he could deliver like that. With BT we have a guy who can clearly talk the talk but what evidence do we have that this rebuild was even successful? No success so far and the future looks uninspiring. I'd prefer if we heard less smooth talk and he delivered better results instead. Enough about 'the process' ffs. I'm starting to think there is no process really. Just another buzz word BT likes to drop. If it is legit, I think you need a new process. This one isn't working.
Imo, BT is the ultimate mixed bag. His rfa deals are great, has made two good trades in seven years and hemorrhages picks at an alarming rate and we now see the effects in the farm system. His ufa deals are legendary for their pure awfulness. Our rebuild was half baked while it seems that Benning actually had a plan after all. For years I was relieved we 'dodged a bullet' in benning when he was rumored to come here. BT really fooled me with his ability to talk while I was way too harsh on benning for basically sounding like a moron half the time. I think BT would be a better GM on an established team with a good base of assets. Benning is clearly the better rebuilder.
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Benning had a plan? Benning promised playoffs every year and being an elite cup contender in year 5 (last year). The only time they've made the playoffs was in Benning and Treliving's first years, and the Flames came out on top. The Flames have made the playoffs twice since then, the Canucks haven't.
Benning's record: 211-213-55
Treliving's record: 248-190-42
Benning wiffed on TWO high first rounders (Joulevi and Virtanen). He traded McCann, a 2nd, and a 4th for Gudbranson, who turned into a turd. He's traded plenty of draft picks himself, either for bad players, players not worth the pick, or even just trading down in the draft. He chronically overpays guys, including Eriksson, Sutter, Sbisa, Beagle, Gagner, and Baertschi (who they're paying 3 million to play in the AHL). He's held on to players when they had no shot at the playoffs, letting them walk for nothing instead (Hamhuis, Miller). He's also just plain unlucky, with multiple signings/trades resulting in players that either don't fit or can barely suit up for a game (Ferland, Gudbranson, Del Zotto, etc.).
So, this idea that Benning has it all figured out and had a plan all along is pretty laughable. He hasn't met his own expectations and promises, most of his draft successes and failures seem to have come down to luck (both good and bad), and his signings and trades have ranged anywhere from decent to atrocious.