Bewerbungen » to be any different."

VANCOUVER -- Trevor Linden hadnt spoken to Jim Benning in 25 years before interviewing his former teammate for the Vancouver Canucks vacant general managers position. It didnt take long for the pair to realize they shared a blueprint for what it will take get the franchise back on track. In his first significant hire since being named the Canucks president of hockey operations last month, Linden officially introduced Benning as the teams 11th general manager on Friday, two days after the club announced the move. "I wanted a builder with similar views that could help us set up the Vancouver Canucks for the next decade and beyond," Linden said at a press conference at Rogers Arena. "What really became apparent during our interviews is how much we connected on our vision and our values and how we see winning organizations in the National Hockey League." Linden and Benning played together with the Canucks for two seasons when the former was just starting his career and the latter was seeing his wind down. "Trevor was a teammate 25 years ago, but when I interviewed with Trevor, I thought we shared the same values and principles," said Benning, who has spent the last seven seasons as an assistant GM with the Boston Bruins. "Hes cut from the same cloth I am. Hes going to work hard, hes going to do everything that he can do to make the organization successful, so I wanted to tie myself to somebody that had the same thoughts and beliefs that I did." The Canucks fired president and general manager Mike Gillis and head coach John Tortorella in the wake of a nightmarish 2013-14 season that saw the club tumble down the standings and miss the playoffs for the first time in six seasons. Tortorella spent just one campaign behind the bench after his puck-pressure, shot-blocking style woefully failed to mesh with a Vancouver roster that had been more free-wheeling under former head coach Alain Vigneault. Apart from preparing for the NHL draft where the Canucks hold the sixth pick at the end of June, Benning will be looking to hire a coach that shares his and Lindens thought process on how the game should be played. "This organization needs to play an up-tempo, fast-skating, skilled game," said the 51-year-old Edmonton native. "Before last season, this team had almost a relentless attitude about them that they were going to skate and to wear teams down and to score, and for whatever reason that didnt happen last year." Benning was one of the architects of a Bruins organization that defeated the Canucks in seven games in the 2011 Stanley Cup final. He said he had never heard of the "Boston model" in terms of building a team before arriving in Vancouver, but added that he wants the Canucks to incorporate younger players into the lineup with a level of both physicality and skill. "We want to become a four-line team," said Benning. "You watch the playoffs now, the final four teams that are playing, they have four lines that contribute. We want our third and fourth lines to have an important role in the team winning. "We have some work to do there in getting to that point, but we want to be a four-line, six-(defencemen) complete team." Tortorella leaned hard on Vancouvers top players and it cost the team in the second half of season when injuries and fatigue started to pile up. With that in mind, Benning said he specifically wants more out of the clubs bottom-six forwards. "Im not talking about fighting, but Im talking about between the whistles getting in on the forecheck, hitting, playing with a little bit more grit to take some of the heat off the first two lines," said Benning. "Theyre skill guys and let them play, but when the third and fourth line plays, lets get some offensive zone time and spend some time in the other teams end." Tortorella criticized the Canucks roster as being "stale" and in need of new blood in his last press conference before getting axed by Linden, but Benning said that despite last seasons performance, he still believes the core group of veterans can be part of a quick turnaround. "Theyre high-character people. When Trevor did the exit meetings with them, they felt bad about what happened this last year," said Benning. "Were going to try and help them out by having more depth on our roster, playing four lines and (hiring the right coach). "Some of the players, for whatever reason, just didnt have a good year last year. Its a good team, its a talented team and I feel confident that these guys are going to have a good year next year." The Canucks have been criticized for a poor draft record in recent years, however Benning pointed to 2013 first-round pick Bo Horvat as an example of a player who might be ready to step in. "I think hes a player that is going to be an important guy around here for us going forward," said Benning. "Vancouver plays in maybe the toughest division in the league. To win our division and keep going, were going to have to go through the (L.A. Kings, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks). "Theyre big heavy teams so when we talk to our scouting staff, one of our mandates is Lets try to get a little bit bigger, lets get a little more rugged so we can play both styles -- we can play a skilled skating style when need be, but when its a rugged physical game, we can play that game, too." Linden made a point of thanking the Bruins for allowing Benning to leave the club prior to the NHL draft, a situation that could have made for some uncomfortable conversations. "I was surprised that it wasnt a longer process. It actually moved quicker than I thought it would," said Linden. "I know it was not an easy situation to have someone knocking on your door wanting to talk to someone whos important to your organization." The Canucks job is Bennings first as a general manager and he said he has a type of coach in mind for his new team. While past success is key, experience in the league is not necessarily a prerequisite. "We want a coach thats firm but fair (and) has good communication skills so he can relate to the players," said Benning. "We want a coach thats going to play a structured style of game when we dont have the puck, but give the players the freedom to skate and create when they do have the puck." Meanwhile, a number of Canucks have no-movement clauses in their contracts, but Benning said those should not be an impediment to improving the roster. "Weve got to do whats right for the organization," said Benning. "If we feel that we need to approach a player about asking him to waive his no-trade clause, were willing to do that. "I want to do everything I can to make this team successful. Its a different style team than Boston, but that doesnt mean the recipe for building the teams going to be any different." Notes: Apart from helping to shape a Bruins Cup-winning team in 2011, Bennings managerial resume also includes 12 seasons with Buffalo Sabres, with eight of those spent as that clubs director of amateur scouting. ... Selected sixth overall by Toronto in the 1981 NHL draft, Benning played nine seasons with the Maple Leafs and Canucks, collecting 52 goals and 191 assists in 610 career games. Nike Air Max Outlet Nederland . The 23-year-old restricted free agent appeared in all 48 games last season, finishing second among all Sabres skaters with 15 goals and 34 points. Air Max Outlet Goedkoop . The Bulls seem to be getting along fine without him. D.J. Augustin scored 27 points in a start for Kirk Hinrich and Taj Gibson matched a career high with 26 filling in for Carlos Boozer as the Bulls improved to 7-2 since trading the popular Deng with a 98-87 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. http://www.airmaxoutlet.nl/ . Dougie Hamilton and Jordan Caron scored in the first period after the Red Wings had miscues on the ice and Tuukka Rask finished with a 23-save shutout, giving Boston a 3-0 win over the Red Wings and a 2-1 series lead in their first-round series. Nike Air Max Goedkoop Bestellen . The future hall of famers stole the show at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night, with Jagr moving into seventh place in all-time goal scoring and Brodeur stopping 29 shots as the Devils downed the Montreal Canadiens 4-1. Nike Air Max Nederland Bestellen . "It was a little weird looking over and seeing all the green uniforms," he said of his first game against the Boston Celtics.PARIS - Scuffed balls, scratched balls, balls switched mid-game. Ball-doctoring isnt only an issue for the NFL, which is investigating a report that the New England Patriots used underinflated footballs in the AFC championship game while beating the Indianapolis Colts 45-7.A look at dirty tricks in other ball sports:CRICKET: Ball-tampering is so common in cricket that some of the sports most famous names have argued it should be legalized.Spitting sugary saliva on the ball, gouging at its leather covering with fingernails or biting it, picking at its seams, scuffing it with dirt, bottle tops or sandpaper are some of the ploys used by teams over the years to alter the bounce of the ball and flight through the air to make it harder for batsmen to hit.In a 2010 interview with The Associated Press, former Pakistan bowler Sarfraz Nawaz said some cricketers even put glue on their trousers and shirt, and then it goes hard and scuffs the ball when they rub it against their doctored clothes.In a more recent example, South Africas Faf du Plessis was fined half his match fee in 2013 after he was caught on camera rubbing the ball on the zipper of his trouser pocket. The umpires changed the ball and, in an extremely rare punishment, awarded Pakistan five penalty runs.BASEBALL: Nippon Professional Baseball Commissioner Ryozo Kato resigned in 2013 to take responsibility after the Japanese leagues official ball was made to livelier — it would fly farther after being hit — without his knowing. Major League Baseball has outlawed spitballs since 1920, and pitchers have been repeatedly suspended for using pine tar and emery boards to alter the ball.TENNIS: At the 2013 Madrid Open, Anabel Medina Garrigues was filmed furiously scuffing new balls by rubbing them hard one after the other against her racket strings, apparently to make them slower and take some sting out of the game of opponent Serena Williams.Williams won the match. Asked aggain this week about the incident, Williams said she didnt realize at the time what the Spaniard was doing.dddddddddddd. At the end of the day, whether the ball was fluffy or slow or fast, (the result) I think really depended on what I was able to do and how I was able to play.In a statement, the WTA said: Had the umpire witnessed the scuffing of the balls, the umpire would have instructed the player to stop.If the player did not stop, it could have led to a code violation, the WTA added.RUGBY: At the 2011 World Cup, England suspended two coaches for illegally switching balls during a 67-3 victory against Romania.Englands kicker, Jonny Wilkinson, was unhappy with what he felt were substandard match balls. England got into such a fret about his kicking problems that two support coaches swapped balls for two of Wilkinsons place kicks after tries were scored. The coaches were subsequently banned for one match each. Unless it is damaged, the ball used to score a try must also be used for the subsequent kick for two extra points.In his autobiography, Wilkinson claimed the match balls veered right.The organizers claim that all the balls are the same, but theyre not, Wilkinson said. Its not exactly surprising that I wouldnt want a ball that flies miles from where its supposed to.OTHER SPORTS: Badmintons code of conduct bars players from deliberately tampering with the shuttle to affect its flight or speed.In table tennis, players have tampered with their rackets to get more grip, spin and speed on the ball, applying banned racket-enhancing substances that go by various names — speed glue, booster or tuner.In Premier League soccer, supplier Nike provides each team with 120 match balls for each season. One ball is used per game and match officials check before kickoff that it is correctly inflated. Players can ask the referee to look at the ball and have it replaced if they believe it is incorrectly inflated. 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