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Canucks fans salute new GM Jim Benning in a video tribute

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward. The new GM of the Vancouver Canucks, Jim Benning

Vancouver Canucks fans Clayton Imoo and Marie Hui have expressed their love and support of the team in their numerous music videos on YouTube, but their latest creation is a tribute to the Canucks’ newly hired General Manager Jim Benning.

A former Canucks defenceman and Boston Bruins assistant general manager, Benning was the first hire made by the team’s new president Trevor Linden.

Imoo and Hui decided to dedicate a song to the new GM on the day of his appointment, but ran into the problem of finding a song that rhymes with ‘Benning.’

When Imoo took to Twitter for inspiration, he got a reply from Victoria resident Steve May, with a suggestion to rehash the Beatles classic ‘Let it be.’

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“Before I knew it, Steve sent me an email with a song completely written out already,” he says.

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May’s lyrics call on Benning to become “a new direction” and “Boston model” for the Canucks “in times of trouble” and wrap with, “lead us to tomorrow, Jimmy B.”

That is a sentiment echoed by many in the Canucks nation, hoping for a better season next year after the team’s disastrous performance under the guidance of coach John Tortorella and GM Mike Gillis. Both have been fired in recent months.

Benning’s entrance into the Vancouver hockey scene is viewed by many as a fresh start for the team.

“He seems very bright and calm,” says Imoo. “I certainly think it marks a new day for the franchise.”

With a coaching decision still up in the air, Imoo says they will have to flex their creative muscle once again.

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Hopefully this time around, it is a name that rhymes, he adds.

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