The Canucks are a trainwreck and two different Jims have helped make it possible

Quinn’s Questions is a feature where you the fans tell us your thoughts, through your vote and hopefully in the comments, as well. It’s named after Quinn Hughes, Pat Quinn, or both, depending on your age and era.

Results of previous Quinn’s Questions: Do you want to see the Canucks host another outdoor game?

No - 57%

Yes - 43%

Overall, this is roughly what I expected — a pretty close result leaning no. I think the last one permanently scarred a lot of us, and I think the novelty is wearing off a bit overall, quite frankly.

I feel like I say this every week, but the Vancouver Canucks are in a bad spot right now. They’re losing constantly, there are rumours around a coaching change, there’s relentless drama off the ice. Nothing is going well, and there’s a lot of blame to go around. To paint in a very broad brush, there are two people that most are blaming for the Current state of affairs: Jim Benning, the previous general manager, and Jim Rutherford, the current President of Hockey Operations. So this week I ask you: who do you personally blame more?

I personally find this to be a very easy question to answer, and it’s Mr. Benning. Benning handcuffed this team with multiple anchor contracts, including Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Tyler Myers. He failed to develop any sort of meaningful prospect pool, due to poor development and a ceaseless trading of draft capital. The blue line, terrible for the entirety of his tenure, was never even remotely close to being fixed. The team was an absolute trainwreck under Benning and all the problems we have now — a bad defence, no cap space to make any improvements, and a team not even close to competing for the playoffs — stem from his work.

However, this is not to entirely absolve Jim Rutherford (and Patrick Allvin and the whole management group, really). Yes, he did not have many options because of Benning’s handiwork. I’m sympathetic to that, and frankly, I give him a ton of leeway for it. It’s almost impossible to do anything of substance with their current cap situation. However, he has largely doubled down on Benning’s bad process. Signing Miller JT Miller to a seven-year deal at $8 million per year is exactly the kind of hamfisted move the previous regime was known for, and there is no doubt in my mind that it will be unmovable in a couple years time. He has also failed to make any sort of dent in the backend, and hasn’t moved surplus wingers like Conor Garland or Brock Boeser — and in the latter’s case, he once again double down, signing to a 3-year deal at just under $4.5 million per season. So listen, Rutherford is not in an enviable position at all, but if you want to play his almost total inaction and reinforcement of Benning’s failures on the team’s current downfall, hey, I’ll listen to that.

Vote away, and have at it in the comments. Which Jim is most responsible for this dismal 2022-23 campaign — Benning or Rutherford? I’d love to hear your rationales, as well. Just another fun week of being a Canucks fan.