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.

The 2019-20 Canucks Top Meme Awards

Guest Post by Natalie Hoy

It may be a shortened Canucks season, but there's been no shortage of meme-able Canucks content. Here is a top 8 in honour of defenseman Chris Tanev’s first full season in the NHL.¹ We are all very proud of you.²

8 | Hockey hugs (of quality)

Will Graham wrote an entire article on the tangible intangibles of hockey hugs, and it goes to show how embraced they were by the fanbase this season. There was a lot of skill on display, but a lot of camaraderie also.

1st place in the Pacific Division at the break? That deserves some #HockeyHugs #Canucks pic.twitter.com/OI1CjCtJ9w

— Sportsnet 650 (@Sportsnet650) January 19, 2020

7 | Yep, that’s me, Jacob Markstrom

The *record scratch* *freeze frame* meme is an amalgam of several 80s/90s film clichés and one of my favourites, because everyone knows the best memes are the ones derived from sheer panic.

On Nov. 5th, the Canucks and St. Louis went to overtime and Tyler Myers shot wide, lost an edge, and took J.T. Miller down with him. It was a rare 3-on-0 heading the other way, and you gotta love Markstrom’s aggressive goal post tap as he readied himself for the challenge. The team’s social media even used the still in their dos and don’ts of social distancing, so it’s nice to know someone is laughing about it now.

pic.twitter.com/sdBQYwPqwK

— Austinrotten (@AustinRotten) March 30, 2020

Oh yeah, we're at the Vancouver Courier now

So, we apparently forgot to tell you this: we have signed on with the Vancouver Courier, clearly the best newspaper in Vancouver. Also, happy belated birthday. We forgot that too.

The blog can now be found at http://www.vancourier.com/pass-it-to-bulis.

Alternately, you can just bookmark http://passittobulis.com, which should always lead to the right place.

Have a puppy.

Canucks trade Nick Bonino for Brandon Sutter, throw in Adam Clendening for kicks

Canucks fans have had to cope with the loss of several fan favourites this season, so it was nice change of pace when the team announced on Tuesday that they had traded Nick Bonino instead.

Save for two weeks in late October, when we entertained the idea that he was better than Ryan Kesler, the man he replaced, Nick Bonino didn't accomplish much in his time in Vancouver. And in the playoffs, he was arguably Vancouver's least effective player. It was enough to wish that Jim Benning had a do-over on the deal.

Benning must have felt the same way, which is why Bonino is outbound, and centre Brandon Sutter, now formerly of the Pittsburgh Crosbies, is the newest Canuck. Sutter was, you may recall, the centrepiece of a collapsed trade deadline deal that would have sent Ryan Kesler to the Penguins.

But, alas, time travel comes at a cost. Doc Brown warned us about paradoxes; Trader Jim didn't listen. The full deal sends Nick Bonino, Adam Clendening and a second-round draft pick to Pittsburgh for Sutter and a third-round pick.

Canucks 2015 prospect development camp invitees: goaltenders

View image | gettyimages.com

The Canucks' goaltending depth took a hit this off-season, as they traded Eddie Lack to the Carolina Hurricanes and chose not to qualify RFA Joacim Eriksson after he signed in the KHL. Meanwhile, goaltender of the future Thatcher Demko will head back to Boston College in the Fall and is at least two years away from competing for a job in the NHL.

Though the Canucks still have Joe Cannata and signed journeyman Richard Bachman to compete for starts in the AHL, they could still use another goaltender to start in the ECHL and step up to the AHL in case of injury.

That makes the goaltenders the most interesting group of invitees. There's a real need for another goaltender in the system and these invitees represent a cheap and easy way to plug that hole.

This is the final instalment of invitee profiles, having already covered the forwards and defencemen. Here are the four free agent goaltenders invited to development camp: Matt Ginn, John McLean, Jackson Whistle, and Clay Witt.

Canucks 2015 prospect development camp invitees: forwards

View image | gettyimages.com

PITB's annual look at the invitees to the Canucks' development camp continues. Yesterday, we looked at the defence; today, it's the forwards.

Once again, there are two 21-year-olds from the NCAA -- Matthew Lane and John Stevens -- and a teenager from the CHL, this time a 19-year-old from the WHL: Reid Gardiner.

Thatcher Demko gives the Canucks another goofy goaltender

Eddie Lack was a fan favourite in Vancouver for a few reasons. His on-ice play had a lot to do with it: he twice came into difficult situations to be the team's starting goaltender and performed remarkably well.

But where Lack will be missed the most is off the ice. Lack is an entertaining personality and a great person: his cheerful smile masked his competitive nature. His calm demeanour seemed ideal for a tough market like Vancouver. Then there was his oddball goofiness: the side of him that would put Swedish Chef on his goalie mask, tweet emoji-filled overtures to Roberto Luongo, and do a silly dance after every win.

Lack is a big loss for Canucks fans on the entertainment front, but there is some good news. There's another goofy goaltender on his way to Vancouver: Thatcher Demko.