Rumor: Vancouver Canucks Getting Close to Cleaning House

The Vancouver Canucks were supposed to be an up-and-coming team with a wide range of young talent and were expected to hang around this season in the North division. That hasn't been the case at all, after their first 16 games has resulted in a 6-10 record, good for 6th out of seven Canadian teams. 

According to Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet, Thursday's game against the Calgary Flames is a must-win for the franchise and if they aren't able to take two points off the Flames, you will likely see some massive changes.

Lose the series and they’re likely out of playoff contention. Lose badly and it’s possible Jim Benning or Travis Green or both could be out of a job.

The stakes are clear for the Canucks in this set against the Flames.

(@imacSportsnet)https://t.co/CdDGOWd6A9

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 11, 2021

General manager Jim Benning and head coach Travis Green are on the hot seat and are certainly standing on some very thin ice. There's been a ton of chatter about how Benning let the likes of Tyler Toffoli and Jacob Markstrom leave in free-agency, and some are starting to question Green's decision making with his goaltenders and line combinations.

If the Canucks don't start turning things around, expect to see some new faces all over the organization. It would certainly be ironic if the Canucks lost to the Flames and it was Markstrom who caused Benning to lose his job.

Photo credit: Bob Frid/Icon Sportswire