Canucks ownership beyond frustrated, might fire GM Benning shortly!

I feel like we could have predicted this after the Vancouver Canucks’ offseason was this uneventful. Sure they brought veteran goalie Braden Holtby back in October, but the netminder isn’t the Stanley Cup champion he once was and the rest of the roster changed after losing key players. And I’m not the only one saying it. After losing - once again - to the Toronto Maple Leafs, young defenseman Quinn Hughes dropped a stunning line, saying “We have a lot of new pieces — we lost a lot of players from last year.”

The Canucks are now sixth in the North Division with a 6-11-0 record, putting them 24th in the NHL, and can’t get out of this losing streak. Vancouver lost its sixth consecutive game on Thursday night and The Fourth Period now reports that, according to two separate sources, “Canucks ownership is beyond frustrated with the team’s start and is considering a change at the general manager position.”

It is even believed that if the Canucks can’t get a win against the Calgary Flames on Saturday, we could see the end of Jim Benning’s tenure in Vancouver.

This would be a significant move for the Canucks who signed Benning through the 2022-23 season and is in his seventh season as GM. He took over for Mike Gillis on May 23, 2014. If he’s let go, his contract remains on the books.

The Fourth Period hints that team Chairman Francesco Aquilini might have already begun exploratory calls to fins a replacement for Benning. Fans would love to see former Canucks goalie and current Special Advisor to the GM in Florida Roberto Luongo takes the reins. 

The Canucks play the second of four straight games against the Flames on Saturday night. And it could be Benning’s last in the GM chair in Vancouver.