According to a report from TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Vancouver Canucks are expected to name Boston Bruins assistant general manager Jim Benning as their new general manager. An official announcement from the Canucks is expected later in the week.
The Canucks have been searching for a new general manager since firing Mike Gillis shortly after the end of the regular season, and installing long-time Canuck Trevor Linden as team president. The team has also fired head coach John Tortorella, and one of Benning’s first tasks will be finding a replacement behind the bench. He will also have to run the NHL Draft, where the Canucks hold the 6th overall pick, the highest the team has selected since taking the Sedins 2nd and 3rd overall in 1999.
Jim Benning was an NHL defenceman for nine years, playing for the Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs. Benning was the Leafs first pick, sixth overall in the 1981 NHL Draft. Overall he played 605 NHL games, scoring 52 goals and 191 assists for 243 career points.
Linden and Benning were teammates as Benning was ending his career, and Linden was starting his with the Canucks. Rumours have considered him the frontrunner for the Canucks GM job for quite some time, especially after Linden began saying he would like to build the Canucks to emulate the Bruins style of play.
Jim Benning, 51, began his front office career scouting for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. In 1998 he moved to the Sabres where he became the team’s director of amateur scouting. Finally he joined the Bruins in 2006 and was part of putting together the team that defeated the Canucks for the 2011 Stanley Cup.
TSN is also reporting that former Nashville Predators head coach Barry Trotz is a leading candidate to become the Canucks next head coach.
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