Why Judd Brackett was let go as the Canucks' Director of Amateur Scouting

The Canucks announced the departure of Judd Brackett on Friday, the generally accepted day of the week for burying news, but the writing has been on the wall for months.

Patrick Johnston at The Province was the first to report on the issues behind the scenes between Canucks GM Jim Benning and Director of Amateur Scouting Brackett. The Canucks' recent success at the draft table has turned Brackett into a bit of a folk hero in Vancouver, but his contract was set to expire at the end of the season.

Benning said that he had offered Brackett a two-year contract extension, but it was rejected. There was speculation as to why, but it narrowed down in recent months to an issue of autonomy. Brackett wanted to be able to run his own department, while Benning and Assistant GM John Weisbrod had expressed their desire to be more heavily involved in scouting.

On a conference call with the media on Friday, Benning confirmed that autonomy was one of the primary issues, but suggested that Brackett was asking for too much.

Jim Benning confirms that autonomy was the big divide with Judd Brackett.

"I believe in a chain of command... I don't know too many places where a team is going to give a head scout total autonomy to make all the picks without collaborating with people higher up..."

— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) May 29, 2020

That statement seems at odds with Brackett's approach to drafting, however, which has always emphasized collaboration. He has never taken sole credit for drafting any player. In many ways, Brackett's success as Director of Amateur Scouting has been more about his emphasis on a collaborative process than on his own keen eye as a scout.

Brackett's own statement on his private Twitter account made it clear that the issue of autonomy wasn't about who gets credit for draft picks, but about "personnel and process."

Judd Brackett, Star Wars, and the importance of disagreement

Judd Brackett at the Canucks' 2019 scouting meetings. photo: Canucks/YouTube

If the hockey season hadn’t been canceled, there’s a possibility that the Canucks would be in the playoffs right now and the off-ice, front-office drama of the last few days would have been a minor subplot or footnote.

Instead, there’s nothing else going on in the world of the Canucks, so the ongoing question of Judd Brackett’s future with the team is not just a story — it’s the story.

As of right now, Brackett is still the Canucks’ director of amateur scouting, a role he’s filled since he was promoted in the summer of 2015 after playing a key role in the scouting of Brock Boeser and Adam Gaudette. He’s been in charge of the Canucks’ drafting for the last four drafts, which have resulted in two true superstars in Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes, along with a handful of other intriguing prospects that could play a large role in the team’s future.

Since amateur scouting and drafting have been the primary strengths under Jim Benning’s tenure as general manager of the Canucks, it’s surprising that Brackett’s future with the team is in doubt.

Actually, it wouldn’t be surprising if Brackett’s future with the Canucks was in doubt because another team wanted to hire him to give him a bigger role with more responsibility and higher pay. After all, that was the path Jim Benning took to becoming a general manager. He was first a scout, then the director of amateur scouting for the Buffalo Sabres before the Boston Bruins hired him as Director of Player Personnel, then promoted him to Assistant General Manager.

What’s unusual is that Brackett seems likely to lose his job despite being very good at it and with no other team headhunting him.