NO LACK OF CHATTER ON NHL DRAFT DAY
Canucks, Benning in the thick of trade talk
On the way to his own press conference Thursday, Jim Benning’s phone wouldn’t stop ringing.
“Teams are still calling me, making new offers,” the Vancouver Canucks’ general manager explained later.
The Canucks called the Boston Bruins to inquire about power forward Milan Lucic, but apparently didn’t get very far in talks. Several teams have called Benning to ask about his goalies, Eddie Lack and Jacob Markstrom. One of them almost certainly will be traded before the National Hockey League draft starts this afternoon, and the betting is that Thursday was Lack’s final day as a Canuck. And then there is the issue of Vancouver defenceman Kevin Bieksa, who, as of the afternoon, had not been asked to waive his no-trade clause but was ready for that possibility. There are more moving parts to this than a James Brown-Michael Jackson dance-off.
In his team’s hotel, Benning hardly needed his phone. Seven other NHL teams are headquartered in the hotel, and each has conference rooms booked. So in one small area, the Canucks were next to the St. Louis Blues, who were next to the Winnipeg Jets. One of the conference spaces was named “Strategy Room.”
Benning was waiting to see what the best offer would be for one of his goalies. He was waiting to see if the Bruins, facing a salary-cap crunch, really do make Lucic available and what the frenzied bidding would be for one of the league’s most fearsome players.
Benning was waiting to see what salary space his own team might require before approaching Bieksa, or another Canuck veteran, to waive his no-trade clause.
Oh, and if he retains his firstround pick, 23rd overall, Benning will draft another elite prospect tonight to join the four first-rounders selected by the Canucks the last two years.
There’s always something, or someone, at the draft.
One year ago, Benning was finalizing the blockbuster trade that sent unhappy centre Ryan Kesler to the Anaheim Ducks. The year before that, former Canucks manager Mike Gillis shocked the draft by trading goalie Cory Schneider to the New Jersey Devils.
Don’t be surprised if the Canucks are involved in something big today.
“There’s some big-name players in the marketplace right now,” Benning told reporters. “A lot of teams are exploring all their options … and then they’re going to decide either later today or tomorrow what’s best for their organizations.
“I think there’s more talk (this year) on lots of different players. There’s some teams that want to move money to get under the salary cap. And other teams are looking to get better and make trades to make their teams better.
“I can see it being an active day tomorrow.”
Benning has been soliciting offers for weeks on Lack, the Canucks’ popular backup, and minor-league star Markstrom. After surrendering his secondand third-round picks in earlier deals, Benning is determined to fill in one or both gaps in his draft order.
Lack has more value, and his place on the Canucks is complicated by his eligibility after next season for unrestricted free agency. The goalie is reportedly seeking $4 million US per season for three or four years.
But with starting goalie Ryan Miller under contract for two more years at $6 million, that new deal for Lack would leave the Canucks paying $10 million for goaltending during the 201617 season.
“Ryan is a proven No. 1 goalie in the league, so we want to keep Ryan and we have to make a hard decision on the other two guys,” Benning said. “Part of that decision is going to be based on ... who we think has the most upside, and part of it is going to be how he fits in in our salarycap situation. If nothing makes sense for us, where we think we’re not going to get good value for moving one of them, we don’t have to move them. But with all the interest that we have (from teams), I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”
A handful of teams are chasing New York Rangers backup Cam Talbot, but there’s only one of him to go around.
Lack could be Plan B for the Edmonton Oilers, Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars or San Jose Sharks.
Lack’s agent Kurt Overhardt, who also represents Bieksa, reiterated Thursday that Lack wants to remain a Canuck but understands Benning could make a business decision to trade him.
“Eddie’s not sour about it,” Overhardt said. “Eddie’s not sour about anything. In life, if each of us had Eddie Lack’s attitude, we’d all be better off.”
Benning understands dealing the engaging goalie would be unpopular with Canuck fans.
“I know if that’s the way we decide to go, I could get criticized,” Benning said. “But that’s part of the job.”
At this point, a small part of the job.