Go West, young men, go West!

It was in the early 1980s when the late Ed Chynoweth, then the WHL’s leader, admitted that his greatest fear had to do with NHL teams moving affiliate teams into Western Canada and setting up a new league.

At the time, he said he could see the day when pro teams were in Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Regina and Saskatoon, just for starters.
The Saskatoon Blades are near the end of lease negotiations with the SaskTel Centre. When the papers are signed, the Blades will again have hockey exclusivity in the building. That is something that Chynoweth, all those years ago, felt was of the utmost importance and something that most, if not all, WHL teams insist upon in their leases.
Now here we are more than 30 years later and NHL teams are moving affiliates west, just not into Canada.
The AHL made it official on Thursday — it will have a five-team Pacific Division next season, with all teams located in California.
The Anaheim Ducks will move the Norfolk, Va., Admirals to San Diego; the Calgary Flames will move the Adirondack Flames from Glens Falls, N.Y., to Stockton; the Edmonton Oilers will move the Oklahoma City Barons to Bakersfield; the Los Angeles Kings are moving the Manchester, N.H., Monarchs to Ontario; and the San Jose Sharks are taking the Worcester, Mass., Sharks and relocating them to, yes, San Jose.
The Adirondack Flames are in their first season in Glens Falls, after relocating from Abbotsford, B.C. Adirondack head coach Ryan Huska left the Kelowna Rockets after last season to sign with the Flames.
Mike Stothers, who left the Moose Jaw Warriors after last season, is the first-year head coach of the Monarchs.
San Jose will play its AHL affiliate out of its home building — the SAP Center. Interestingly, San Jose is planning on scheduling Saturday doubleheaders, with the AHL team playing matinees and the NHL team playing at night.
The primary reason for the moves is to get affiliate players closer to the parent clubs to make it that much easier for recalls. Scheduling details are scarce but the five Pacific Division teams will play fewer games than other AHL teams. That and less travel should result in more practice time, all of which should make for happy coaches and better development.
There also is speculation that more NHL teams will get involved in moving their AHL teams in the near future.
The Vancouver Canucks are in their second season with the AHL’s Utica, N.Y., Comets. Pat Conacher, a former head coach of the Regina Pats, is the Comets’ director of hockey operations, with Travis Green, the former assistant GM and assistant coach with the Portland Winterhawks, the head coach.
There is speculation that the Canucks will move the franchise to Abbotsford or Langley, B.C. The Abbotsford Centre seats 7,046 and no longer is home to a hockey team. The 5,276-seat Langley Events Centre is home to, among other things, the BCHL’s Langley Rivermen and the National Lacrosse League’s Vancouver Stealth.
Jim Benning, the Canucks’ general manager, told TSN Radio Vancouver on Thursday that his organization will continue to monitor the situation.
“We're really happy in Utica — players love it there,” Benning said. “We'll continue to monitor it.”
The Winnipeg Jets’ AHL affiliate is in St. John’s, Nfld. There have been rumours since the Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg that the Jets would like to have that franchise in Thunder Bay, Ont. That’s hardly close to the Pacific Northwest or California, but it’s closer than Newfoundland.
The Arizona Coyotes, who are hooked up with the AHL’s Portland, Me., Pirates, also are said to be interested in having a team closer to Phoenix.
Some of the communities being vacated by AHL teams are expected to end up being home to ECHL franchises. There also is speculation that the QMJHL would like to expand by two teams and is looking at the vacant arenas.
What impact, if any, will this have as far as the WHL is concerned?
I doubt that there will be any immediate impact, but it certainly could have repercussions down the road.
When these AHL teams get relocated and organized, you can bet that they will be pouring resources into minor hockey programs as they attempt to attract fans. Eventually, that will mean more and better hockey players coming out of those areas.
It all could lead to a WHL team with a completely American roster. Don't scoff. The Portland Winterhawks have 12 players on their 23-man roster right now.


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Will Willie be a Star in Vancouver?

The offseason of change continues for the NHL's Vancouver Canucks.
Last season, the Canucks, who signed Willie Desjardins to a four-year contract as head coach on Monday, weren't the high-scoring, highly entertaining team their fans had grown accustomed to watching. Instead, they struggled to score goals and played a much more defensive, slow-paced style.
People who spent their hard-earned money to buy tickets were beginning to lose interest by season’s end.
If Vancouver had won with that style, things may have been different. But the Canucks finished 36-35-11, which wasn't good enough to make the playoffs.
Fans weren’t impressed; neither was ownership.
So . . . there were changes, most notably the firings of general manager Mike Gillis and head coach John Tortorella. The Canucks had decided to go in a different direction.
Trevor Linden, a centre for 16 seasons with the team, was named the president of hockey operations on April 9, and he introduced Jim Benning as the team's general manager on May 23.
The two had many beliefs in common, one being that they want to provide a team that will entertain the fans again.
“When you think about what's going on at Rogers Arena, it's on the ice (and) with us,” Linden explained at a town hall meeting for season-ticket holders on June 17. “We want to bring excitement back to the game and to the ice and have a product that is fun to watch, (a game) that is coached the way we want it, and that the players are excited about playing. That's going to energize the building.”
No matter what sport it is, fans want to enjoy what they're watching. They want to feel that they have received fair value for what they have paid.
Linden’s mother, Edna, is no different.
She, of course, is a big hockey fan, especially of the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers. Considering the Linden family is from Medicine Hat, it's understandable that she would be a passionate follower of the team. Let's not forget, too, that her son played for the Tigers.
Yes, Edna loves attending Tigers games. Perhaps one of her most enjoyable times as a fan came when Medicine Hat won the Ed Chynoweth Cup by sweeping the Everett Silvertips and earning the chance to play in the 2004 Memorial Cup tournament, which was played host to by the Kelowna Rockets.
Most Tigers fans followed the team’s run on TV or online or via radio or newspaper. Edna wasn't one of them.
She, along with some friends and family, made the trip to Kelowna. Desjardins, the Tigers’ head coach at the time, met with the family for the first time during the tournament.
Medicine Hat failed to win the Memorial Cup, which eventually went to the host Rockets, but one thing was for sure -- Desjardins had proven he had the ability to lead a team to success and he did it in a fashion that was fun to watch.
Desjardins proved that again as he coached the Tigers to the Memorial Cup one more time three seasons later, this time losing to the host Vancouver Giants 3-1 in the championship game.
After eight seasons with the Tigers, two of them winding up with WHL titles and Memorial Cup appearances, it was time to move up.
The NHL’s Dallas Stars named him their associate coach in 2010-11, and he worked under head coach Marc Crawford. However, Crawford was fired and Glen Gulutzan, the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, was promoted to replace him, with Desdjardins staying on.
But even then, Desjardins wanted to be a head coach. So after two seasons with Dallas, Desjardins chose to go to the AHL with Texas, which plays out of Austin.
He was 55 years of age at the time and having his doubts as to whether he would be given a chance to coach in the NHL.
But, just like he did with Medicine Hat, he led the Stars to success and proved adept at developing players for the big club. Last season, Desjardins helped Texas to 48-18-10 regular-season record, and the Stars then went on to win the Calder Cup as AHL champions.
While Desjardins was chasing that cup, there were NHL teams making coaching changes. But with the Stars in the playoffs, those teams were having to wait if wanting to speak with him.
The Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators and Carolina Hurricanes either weren’t interested or weren’t willing to wait for him, perhaps afraid they might lose out on other candidates.
So by the time Texas won the AHL title on June 17, only the Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins were still without head coaches.
Luckily for Desjardins, both teams were interested and received permission from Dallas to speak to him.
Texas scheduled an event to celebrate its championship on June 19. However, Desjardins had to skip it as he flew to Pittsburgh to meet with management, something that caused some observers to speculate that he was going to be named the head coach of the Penguins.
It wasn't to be, though.
Instead, Desjardins picked the Canucks.
He had spoken to Linden last week, then met with team officials on the weekend.
“I've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time,” Desjardins said at a press conference on Monday. “To be part of such a great organization and an NHL city is just a real honour, and I can't say enough about how fortunate I am to get this chance.”
That being said, why did he turn down the Penguins' offer to be the head coach, something that would have allowed him to work with Sidney Crosby, arguably the best player in the NHL?
“(The Penguins) are a great organization,” Desjardins stated. “Jim Rutherford, their general manager, is a great man. There's just a couple things that didn't work out. It wasn't his fault and it wasn't mine, it was just something that wouldn't work. Crosby is a heck of a player, but for me, when I looked at what was
here, I looked at the two guys that are leading this. I (also) looked at the quality of the players. It's a Canadian city, with (great) fans. It was a great choice to come here.”
The Canucks are hoping that Desjardins is able to create an entertaining, competitive style that will lead to victories.
Just like he did with the Tigers back when they entertained their fans, including Linden's mother.

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Linden turns to former teammate as Canucks' GM

Trevor Linden has reconnected with a former teammate.
In 1988-89, Linden was an 18-year-old from Medicine Hat, playing his freshman season with the Vancouver Canucks. Jim Benning, on the other hand, was a 25-year-old defenceman from Edmonton who was in his third season with the NHL team, the Canucks having acquired him from the Toronto Maple Leafs for whom he had played five seasons.
As surprising as it might seem, the following season with the Canucks was Benning’s last in the NHL. He would play one more season, 1990-91, with the IHL’s Milwaukee Admirals and call it a career
Linden and Benning walked their separate paths, then, and each had a different vision for his career in the game.
For one, it was to play in the NHL for 20 seasons and start a gym business. The other stayed in hockey in many different roles.
Nobody knew when or if they would meet again.
Meanwhile, Mike Gillis was the general manager during Vancouver's run of playoff appearances during which it reached the 2011 Stanley Cup final against the Boston Bruins. He was sitting in his chair at Rogers Arena for Game 7 as the Canucks worked to win hockey's ultimate trophy for the first time in franchise history.
They didn't.
Instead, Gillis watched his players with their heads bowed, most trying to hold
back tears, some winning the battle and some not.
The Bruins, a team constructed by general manager Peter Chaiarelli and his assistant, Benning, were understandably ecstatic.
The Canucks' goal was to return to the final again in the following seasons, but they weren’t able to come close.
In their latest attempt, they didn’t qualify for the post-season. Shortly after the season, Gillis was relieved of his duties.
The Aquilini family, which owns the Canucks, turned to a long-time friend, in Linden, offering him the position of president of hockey operations, which he was pleased to accept.
It was the start to a new chapter in his life.
That being said, Vancouver still needed to find a general manager.
When Linden was hired and addressed the media on April 9, he was asked what he was looking for in a general manager. At the time, he wasn't willing to say.
Days went by, and there was no still announcement regarding a hiring.
But after the Canucks fired head coach John Tortorella and associate coach Mike Sullivan on May 1, there was some speculation that Benning was on top of the list of candidates for the general manager position.
“I'm not going to comment on specific candidates,” Linden said that day. “I think that that stays somewhat confidential.”
As time went on, more teams, like the Canucks, were looking for a general manager. Now the Canucks had competition. But even with that, Benning, 51, was believed to be the leading candidate.
As it turned out, Linden had talked with Benning, and was impressed with what he had to offer. They had the same beliefs and ideas of what they want the Canucks to look like. In the end, the speculation became fact.
Linden introduced Benning as the Canucks’ general manager on Friday, two days after making the announcement.
“You may have heard some news about our general manager search today, or perhaps the last couple days,” Linden said at a town hall meeting for season-ticket holders on Wednesday. “You want to be careful reading that stuff because you don't know what to believe out there.
“I'm very thrilled, and I'm very honoured to announce to you . . . that, in fact, Jim Benning is going to become our new general manager.”
At the same time, Linden revealed what he was looking for in a general manager.
“For me,” he told the season-ticket holders, “it was all about having someone that had experience at all levels who was a talent evaluator, whether it would be amateur or pro. (As well), someone who built teams.”
But, like anything, it wasn't a simple process to find someone who fit the criteria of what Linden wanted.
“Obviously I had a list of people that I felt could meet (our requirements),” Linden said Friday at Benning’s introductory press conference. “I had a focus list, I would say. I didn't have the luxury of a lot of time because it was (best) that I identified the right person as quickly as possible. The candidate list changed over time, due to various circumstances.
“I don't think you really know until you sit down with that person and spend multiple hours digging into areas that you feel are very critical to that profile. So, I can't say that he was the guy I wanted, because I hadn't spoken to Jim for 25 years.”
But once they spoke, Linden found that Benning matched the profile.
He had been Boston's director of player personnel for one season prior to becoming the Bruins' assistant general manager, a role he filled through eight seasons.
There was more to his resume than just his experience with Boston, though.
Benning was a scout for the Anaheim Ducks for one season prior to spending four seasons in the same role with the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres then named him director of amateur scouting and he stayed for eight more seasons.
“I started from the ground up,” Benning told reporters. “I learned every step of the way. I feel like at this point I'm ready. I have a good foundation on what it takes to build a winning team, so I've paid my dues, but I was happy every step of the way. I'm grateful for this opportunity today.”
After all those seasons of moving up the ranks, Benning has reunited with Linden once again.
If they didn't get to know each other when they were wearing the same uniform as players, they will do so now.
Only this time, they will be wearing suits and ties.


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