Canucks: General manager Benning believes in his players

Article content

Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning met with the media Thursday and said he continues to believe in his players, despite their struggles to date.

Article content

But he avoided directly endorsing his head coach’s position, even as he praised how hard Travis Green and his staff were working.

Benning, who is in his eighth season in charge of the Canucks, acknowledged there is no hiding from the team’s record. By no means did he expect his club to have just five wins in the first 17 games of the season. He said his team would be a playoff team.

And even with the climb against them being very difficult (they will need at least 40 wins out of 65 remaining games), he said he still values ​​his group.

“I believe in this group, I think we still have enough veteran leaders to show (the younger players) the way and take some pressure off them,” Benning said.

When asked if he felt his job was safe, he said it depended on the property. When asked if it was Green’s, he did not answer directly.

Article content

“We are analyzing everything. We are trying to find solutions to our problems and Travis and his staff are working hard. Losing wears them down, like all of us. This is something I didn’t expect to happen after the moves we made this summer. But it’s happening and we have to deal with it, ”Benning said.

He said that, as the media, his coaching staff and his fans have pointed out, they need their best players to be better.

“Whether it’s working harder, winning more puck battles, going to the net harder, getting rebound goals, dumping goals… those are all the things we have to do better to win hockey games,” he said. “Our special teams are hurting us. We have the staff that I think have a really good power game and for some reason we’re not playing the power game. And then our penalty, it really hurts us this year ”.

Article content

Benning believed his team was deeper than last season and cited the additions of Conor Garland, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Tucker Poolman as moves designed to give the team the depth it was missing as it exited the 2020-21 season.

He has not ruled out the possibility of a trade, saying he has been speaking with the general managers of other teams. He also met with the property on Tuesday, he acknowledged.

“Obviously, the property is not happy with the start that we have had and we have talked about the problems that we are having as a team and as a group, and I tried to give them solutions to our problems, how are we going to solve this and how we are going to improve and how we must be, ”Benning said.

When asked why owner Francesco Aquilini never speaks on behalf of the team, Benning said that he, as general manager, should be the main spokesperson for the team. He said he heard chants calling for his firing at various points during Wednesday’s 4-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

Article content

“It’s really disturbing because I think that as a management team, in the last seven years or more, we have worked very hard to recruit well and develop our players properly,” he said. “It’s wearing us all down from the property to the management team to the coaches… The fans are frustrated, I understand their frustration. We are frustrated. “

Benning said he was actually concerned about Elias Pettersson’s struggles.

“It is worrying, but we all know the type of player that he is capable of. And it comes from a hard injury. He hasn’t played in a long time. I think if he continues to work hard and compete hard on the disc, he will regain his confidence, and I think he will continue to be the really good player that we all thought and saw that he was in the last three years, “he said. said.

Article content

Ultimately, the team’s struggles fall on the DJ, above all else.

“I feel responsible. I am the leader of this group, ”Benning said.

The playoffs are still the goal, even if it’s an uphill sled.

“It will be difficult. It’s not going to be easy, ”he said. “We are going to have to string together a group of victories now to get back (to the race). And like I said, I still believe in this group of players and we’re going to keep working hard to find solutions to our problems, and we still want to be a playoff team. “

VIRTANEN RESEARCH: When asked about the status of Jake Virtanen’s independent investigation, Benning said he could not comment on what is an open police matter.

“I’m not going to comment on that until we hear from the police,” he said.

That said, Postmedia News understands that the investigation has concluded, but it is not considered closed should new information be presented. Vancouver police confirmed to Postmedia earlier this month that their investigation is continuing.

BAILEY ON WAIVERS: Winger Justin Bailey received waivers on Thursday, intending to reassign him to Abbotsford. Green didn’t say if another roster move was imminent. Luke Schenn has been skating in recent days, but is still on injured reserve.

[email protected]

twitter.com/risingaction