The Vancouver Canucks cleaned house after missing the playoffs in a disappointing season, and now the front-office rebuild has begun in earnest.
Trevor Linden, who took over as team president after Mike Gillis was fired in April, is reportedly set to make his first major hiring with the addition of Jim Benning as GM.
The Canucks will introduce Benning, an assistant GM with the Boston Bruins, on Friday, according to TSN's Darren Dreger. A source also confirmed the hiring to ESPN.com's Scott Burnside.
Jim Benning has agreed to a multi-year deal as Canucks gm and will be officially introduced in Vancouver on Friday.- Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) May 21, 2014
Benning and Linden have a history dating back to 1988, when the two played together with the Canucks for the first of two seasons - the last two years of Benning's playing career and the first of Linden's.
Following a nine-year NHL career split between Toronto and Vancouver, Benning worked as a scout for the Anaheim Ducks and Buffalo Sabres before taking over as the Sabres' director of amateur scouting. He joined the Bruins in 2006.
'Jim should have been a general manager a long time ago. He'll succeed out west. He's a veteran hockey guy who knows what it takes to build a winner,' Benning's former boss with the Sabres, John Muckler, told the CBC.
'He's so dedicated. He loves everything about the game. He loves the history of hockey. He works hard and he's a good communicator. He will forge strong relationships with his players and the people around him because he is so genuine.'
The Canucks have another major decision ahead of them, this one on the coaching front. John Tortorella was fired at the beginning of the month following one drama-filled season behind Vancouver's bench.
The Canucks got off to a promising start under Tortorella but had just 13 wins in 41 games starting Jan. 1. Vancouver finished with a 36-35-11 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2007-8, finishing 25th in the standings.
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