Rejoint: févr. 2017
Messages: 443
Mentions "j'aime": 78
Two moments that were disastrous for Benning.
One, the Juolevi pick, but not how you think. He should have taken Sergachev, who was hailed at the time as the most NHL ready defenseman in that draft. Yeah, I know, Tkachuk, Tkachuk, Tkachuk. But here we are 5 years later, and what's this team's biggest need, by a country mile? Lesson here, don't be dazzled by players on stacked teams.
Two, the Toffoli trade. And I think this was his single biggest mistake. It lead to them losing not only those assets, but Tanev and Markstrom in free agency. The smart play was move Tanev at that deadline for future returns, keep Madden and the second and then resign Markstrom. Then you sell as high as you can on the remaining potential on Gaudette and Virtanen. And you still have Demko to move. Instead he chased a single playoff run to save his job. Lesson here, when you're rebuilding, stick to the plan, no matter what.