from Ed Willes of the Vancouver Province,

Shortly after he fired Paul Fenton this off-season, Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leopold laid out his reasons for dismissing his general manager after just one year.

“Paul is a really strong, strategic scout, all of that,” Leopold told The Athletic’s Mike Russo. “But there were parts of his role that just weren’t working out to my satisfaction....

In his five years as general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, Jim Benning has demonstrated he has a keen eye for young talent. The draft picks you know about. The secondary wave of prospects you know about. Yes, the jury is still out on some of his selections, but Benning has laid a foundation for the Canucks’ future and he’s been rewarded for his work with a multi-year contract extension.

Just waiting for Elliotte Friedman to supply the exact terms of the deal.

But, like Fenton, Benning has yet to demonstrate he has the other skills required of his office and, ultimately, that’s how he’ll be judged.

read on

added 1:58pm on 8/20/19, The extension is official, see below.