VANCOUVER – A better season for the Vancouver Canucks will make it a harder off-season for general manager Jim Benning.
Even with Vancouver’s disconcerting first-round playoff elimination by the Calgary Flames, the Canucks’ 18-point improvement over the train derailment that was their 2013-14 National Hockey League campaign represented a huge rebound for the organization.
Better coaching and better health was going to enable the Canucks to bounce back regardless of who was in charge, but Benning nudged things along with a couple of big trades last June that improved depth and created payroll flexibility and opportunities for younger players.