Canucks 'looking at everything,' including coach Green, amid struggles
GM says key players need to perform up to potential with Vancouver having lost nine of 11
By
Kevin Woodley
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
"We're looking at everything right now," general manager Jim Benning said Thursday. "I've been working with the coaches, the coaches work with the players, we've been talking to agents about their players to just see where they're at and what they're thinking and how we can help.
"I've looked to the outside talking to other general managers from other teams to see what's available."
Benning, addressing the media for the first time since the start of the season, said the fans' frustration with Vancouver's 5-10-2 record extends to ownership. The Canucks have lost five games in a row and nine of their past 11.
Asked if Green's job is safe, Benning reiterated that he's looking at everything. Green is 130-142-34 in five seasons as coach.
"We're trying to find solutions to our problems, and Travis and his staff are working hard," Benning said. "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."
The Canucks turned over close to one-third of the roster in the offseason via trades, buyouts and signings after finishing last in the seven-team Scotia North Division and missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fifth time in Benning's seven seasons as GM.
They acquired defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and forward Connor Garland in trade with the Arizona Coyotes on July 23 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 backup goalie Braden Holtby; and signed defenseman Tucker Poolman, forward Justin Dowling and backup goalie Jaroslav Halak each as a free agent. Defenseman Alexander Edler left to sign with the Los Angeles Kings as a free agent.
The goal was a return to the playoffs, but Vancouver is seventh in the eight-team Pacific Division, ahead of only the expansion Seattle Kraken, leading some fans to chant "Fire Benning!" during a 4-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.
"It's really upsetting," Benning said of the chants. "Of course I feel responsible. I'm the leader of this group. And [with] the moves we made this summer, I would have never envisioned we got off to this start, but we have. Now we have to deal with it and we've got to figure it out. It's hard. I'm not going to sit here and say it's not hard. It's really hard."
Garland is third on the Canucks with 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 17 games after ending a 10-game goal drought Wednesday. Ekman-Larsson has scored three points (one goal, two assists) in 17 games, Poolman has scored three points (one goal, two assists) in 14 games, and Dickinson has scored two points (one goal, one assist) in 15 games.
"Part of our problem is a lot of our good players aren't playing to their potential," Benning said.
The biggest such concern is top center Elias Pettersson, who has scored nine points (three goals, six assists) in 17 games after signing a three-year, $22 million contract ($7.35 million average annual value) on Oct. 3. He scored 153 points (65 goals, 88 assists) in 165 games in his first three NHL seasons.
Pettersson missed the final 30 games last season with a wrist injury, and training camp and the first half of the preseason before signing his contract.
"It's concerning," Benning said, "but we all know the type of player he's capable of [being]."
There are questions about Benning's job security after he met with ownership this week.
"I'm not going to worry about that," he said. "That will be an ownership decision, and if they get to a point where they don't feel like I'm doing a good job or I need to be replaced, they'll make that decision."
Benning said the Canucks instead are focused on finding solutions. One area that needs improvement is special teams. Vancouver is last in the NHL on the penalty kill (60.3 percent) and has allowed 19 power-play goals on 41 chances over the past 10 games, including the first three goals allowed Wednesday.
It hasn't helped that penalty-killing center Brandon Sutter, the only right-handed face-off specialist on the roster, has not played this season because of COVID-19 complications. Benning said Sutter is feeling better but not close to returning.
Penalty-killing forwards Tyler Motte and Matthew Highmore also have dealt with an injury. Motte missed the first 15 games recovering from offseason neck surgery; Highmore has missed the past seven with an upper-body injury.
Vancouver is 27th on the power play (14.5 percent).
"We're a fragile team right now, whether it's we take a penalty and we can't kill it off or a bounce go doesn't go our way," Benning said. "It's not just the players, it's the strategy in how we're going to kill penalties."
