Green fired as coach of Canucks, Benning as GM

Travis Green and Jim Benning were fired by the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.

Green, who was in his fifth season as coach, was replaced by Bruce Boudreau. Benning, in his eighth season as general manager, was replaced by Stan Smyl.
Assistant GM John Weisbrod and assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner were also fired. Scott Walker was named an assistant coach.
The Canucks said the search for new personnel in hockey operations is underway.
"First, I want to sincerely thank Jim, John, Travis and Nolan for their passion and dedication to the organization and our community," Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini said. "We are grateful for everything they have done for the Canucks during their tenure and we wish them nothing but success in the future."
The Canucks (9-15-2) were last in the eight-team Pacific Division entering Monday. They lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 on Saturday and were 3-9-1 in Green's final 13 games.
"These are difficult decisions, but we believed we would have a competitive group this year," Aquilini said. "As a result, I'm extremely disappointed in how the team has performed so far. I'm making these changes because we want to build a team that competes for championships, and it's time for new leadership to help take us there."
During the 13-game stretch, the Canucks received little production from forwards Elias Pettersson (two goals, two assists), Brock Boeser (four assists) and Bo Horvat (two goals, one assist). The three had one assist (Boeser) and three shots on goal in the loss to the Penguins.
"I think we're going to try to be a very aggressive offensive team, but at the same time we're going to hopefully be a responsible team in that we don't turn pucks over and we're very responsible in our own zone," Boudreau said. "As far as I'm concerned, all of these guys have opportunities right now to start over. I'm not going to look at somebody and say 'Jeez, you weren't very good for the first 15 games so you're not going to get a chance to play.' It's, 'This is what you're supposed to be. Let's see what you've got.'"
Green, hired to replace Willie Desjardins on April 26, 2017, was 133-147-34 and qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs once with the Canucks (10-7 in 2020). He agreed May 21 to a two-year contract to remain coach.
"We're trying to find solutions to our problems, and Travis and his staff are working hard," Benning said Nov. 18. "This is wearing on them like it's wearing on all of us. This is something that I didn't expect to happen after the moves we made this summer, but it's happening, and we have to deal with it and find answers and get things back on track."
Green was the third NHL coach fired this season. Alain Vigneault of the Philadelphia Flyers was also fired Monday, and Jeremy Colliton of the Chicago Blackhawks was fired Nov. 6. Joel Quenneville resigned as Florida Panthers coach Oct. 28 after being implicated in an independent investigation into the Blackhawks for allegations by former player Kyle Beach of sexual assault by then-video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010.
Prior to the season, the Canucks acquired defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and forward Conor Garland in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes for forwards Antoine Roussel, Jay Beagle, Loui Eriksson and three draft picks. They also acquired forward Jason Dickinson from the Dallas Stars, traded defenseman Nate Schmidt to the Winnipeg Jets, bought out the contracts of forward Jake Virtanen and goalie Braden Holtby, and signed defenseman Tucker Poolman, forward Justin Dowling and goalie Jaroslav Halak during free agency. Defenseman Alexander Edler signed with the Los Angeles Kings as a free agent.
"We do have the core pieces here that we need to be a successful hockey team and I really believe in our group," Horvat, the Vancouver captain, said. "I believe in our core players. I believe in our young guys, and I want to win here. I want to be a Canuck. I want to win here as a Canuck and I really believe in our group. Just looking at management, they believe in us too, and we have to go out there and it's up to us now to go out there and prove what type of team we're going to be, our identity and what we're establishing here going forward. It's really important. It starts now."
Vancouver was 23-29-4 and finished last in the seven-team Scotia North Division last season. During the season, the Canucks had a COVID-19 outbreak that led to 22 players and four staff members, including Green, testing positive. As a result, they had nine games postponed and were 4-10-1 in their final 15.
In 2019-20, the Canucks were 36-27-6 and fell one win short of advancing to the Western Conference Final. It was Vancouver's first postseason appearance since 2014-15 and deepest playoff run since 2010-11, when it lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Boston Bruins.
Boudreau last coached with the Minnesota Wild before being fired Feb. 14, 2020, his fourth season. In 14 seasons as an NHL coach, he is 567-302-115 with the Washington Capitals (2007-11), Anaheim Ducks (2011-16) and Wild (2016-20), and won the Jack Adams Award voted as NHL coach of the year in 2008.
Boudreau won his debut as Vancouver coach, 4-0 against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.
"Bruce has a lot of positive energy and he wants to get the best out of his players, and he has a few new ideas and ways he thinks we can improve as a team, and excited to get that going here tonight," Horvat said prior to the game.
Walker played 17 NHL seasons for the Canucks, Nashville Predators, Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals. The forward scored 397 points (151 goals, 246 assists) in 829 regular-season games and eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 30 playoff games.
"I am excited to add Bruce Boudreau as our new head coach and Scott as assistant," Aquilini said. "Bruce is one of the most experienced coaches in the NHL, with nearly 1,000 games behind the bench and a successful track record working with some of the game's best talent."
Smyl has spent his entire professional hockey career with the Canucks.
Selected by Vancouver in the third round (No. 40) of the 1978 NHL Draft, he scored 673 points (262 goals, 411 assists) in 896 games and was captain from 1982-90. His No. 12 was retired Nov. 3, 1991.
Smyl was named director, collegiate scouting June 19, 2008, before becoming senior adviser to the GM on Sept. 11, 2008. He was promoted to director of player development Oct. 10, 2013.
"Our search for new leadership is underway. In the interim, Stan Smyl will lead our hockey operations team with the strong support of Ryan Johnson (assistant GM), Chris Gear, Daniel [Sedin] and Henrik Sedin, Doug Jarvis and others on the team to ensure day-to-day continuity," Aquilini said. "Stan has been a very loyal and committed member of our hockey operations senior management structure for many years and is someone whose experience and leadership we value greatly."
NHL.com independant correspondent Kevin Woodley contributed to this report