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Benning says Canucks have ‘too much pride’ to tank

2015 NHL Draft - Round One

2015 NHL Draft - Round One

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The Vancouver Canucks have won just 15 games this season.

Do you know how many teams have fewer wins than that?

Not a one.

Philadelphia, Toronto, Buffalo, and Columbus also have just 15 victories.

Hence the growing feeling among much of the Canucks fanbase that the best thing for the future of this franchise would be to keep losing, sell at the trade deadline, and get a blue-chip prospect in the draft, possibly even Auston Matthews.

The worst-case scenario for those who feel that way would be another first-round playoff exit, just like last year.

Management, however, feels otherwise.

“I understand the thinking in that, but we have too much pride in this organization,” GM Jim Benning told TSN 1040 radio this morning. “That’s just not an option for us. We’re going to go out and compete hard every night and try to win games.”

And if they go out again in the first round? Because thanks to their membership in the Pacific Division, that’s a distinct possibility.

In that case, Benning -- who won a Stanley Cup in Boston with a roster chock-full of savvy draft picks -- is willing to bank the Canucks’ future on his abilities as a talent evaluator.

“I’m confident in the job that we’re going to do scouting,” he said. “Wherever we pick we’re going to get a good player in the first round.”

Related: Canucks ownership not veering from plan to remain ‘competitive’