Weeks after stepping in as general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, Jim Benning has already had a huge impact on the club. It is now very obvious that the Canucks have committed to a a semi-rebuild, adding new prospects, draft picks and also making signings to keep the club in the playoff hunt for the 14-15 season.
The biggest news of the Canuck’s offseason was Benning trading Ryan Kesler. Kesler was traded to Anaheim for defenseman Luca Sbisa, center Nick Bonino and the 24th overall & 85th overall picks in this year\'s draft. Overall it is not as big of a haul that we all expected Kesler would be able to get for the Canucks. While most Canuck fans are shaking their heads they shouldn\'t be so upset. The trade gives them two young players and a first round draft pick.
Sbisa will be a solid stay at home defence man. He is still very young and has lots of room to improve. Nick Bonino is a very good third line center, not quite good enough to be a second line center yet but it is expected that he may have to fill that role next season as the Canucks now lack strength at center. It is important to remember that Kesler seemed to be a cancer in the locker room and has also had a slew of injury issues over the past few years. A year or two from now we may be claiming that Benning got away with bloody murder.
Benning used the last of Vancouver\'s two compliance buy outs on David Booth. The move alleviates 4.25 million from the Canuck\'s cap. Booth had many injury problems over his two and a half year stint with the team. In 66 games this season, Booth was only able to put up 19 points.
Benning also traded Jason Garrison to Tampa Bay in exchange for the 50th overall pick in this years draft. Garrison has four more seasons left on his contract with a cap hit of 4.6 million per year. While Garrison is a good defensman, there is no doubt that previous GM Mike Gillis over paid for his services in free agency. The move is great from a salary cap perspective and the Canucks won\'t be hurting too much from the absence of Garrison. With Edler, Tanev, Hamhuis, and Sbisa their back end won\'t be hurting too badly.
The Canucks also added some grit. They traded for forward Derek Dorsett from the New York Rangers in exchange for the third round pick from Anaheim in the Kesler trade. Dorsett has one year left on his contract with a cap hit of 1.6 million. He will add toughness and is expected to fit in on the team\'s fourth line.
Two significant signings were made. Ryan Miller was given a three year deal worth 6 million per season and will start ahead of Eddie Lack. Miller had a rough season with a record of 25-30-4. However it must be taken into account that 40 of the 59 games played were for The Buffalo Sabres. Surprisingly he had a .923 save percentage and a 2.47 goals against average in Buffalo last season. He will have a much better year for the Canucks. The Second significant signing was Radim Vrbata. He signed for two seasons at 5 million per season. He scored 20 goals last season and is two years removed from a 35 goal campaign. He is expected to play on the top line next to the Sedin twins and should be a safe bet for more than 20 goals next year.
The Canucks took Jake Virtanen with the 6th overall pick in the draft and took Jared McCann with the 24th overall pick that was given to the Canucks as part of the Kesler trade. It is unlikely that either of them make the team at training camp but it is probable that Bo Horvat, Vancouver’s 9th overall pick in 2013 will make the team, or at least make his NHL debut to give management a chance to assess if he is NHL ready. The future is looking a little brighter for the Canucks who suddenly have some young talent in their system and are poised to get back into the playoffs after a disappointing season.
