Why The Canucks Are Keeping Allvin, Etc.

There have been plenty of arguments made as to why the Canucks should or shouldn’t keep general manager Patrik Allvin and president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford in their positions, both with one year remaining on their contracts.

The number one argument for retaining them is found in the last part of that first sentence. They have a year remaining on their deals, and it’s doubtful that Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini will want to pay them for sitting at home. Hand-in-hand with that is the fact that Mr. Aquilini has an immense amount of respect for Mr. Rutherford and it’s highly unlikely he’d axe the Hockey Hall of Famer without some type of unexpected mutual consent.

The concept of Rutherford potentially stepping down creates another existential conflict that he created with his own statements when he was hired and re-signed.

“What else am I gonna do?”

As in, he was in his early-70’s when he arrived, he’s now 77, and if he stays in hockey at this point, it’s in Vancouver. After this stop, one would finally expect him to wind it down at home with the missus, play some golf, fish, and play with the great grand kids.

Rutherford simply wasn’t, and still might not be, ready to ‘hang em up’.

On the contrary; “I’m not here for a rebuild.” Variations of this sentiment were repeated along the way more than once, even in a one-on-one with me, early on in his tenure. Guess what Jim, it’s a rebuild.

Some fans will immediately scream, “who cares if they have a year left! Find someone else to guide the ship!”

A completely understandable sentiment for a number of reasons. Here’s just 3:

Naming Quinn Hughes captain. It was a no-cost, simple way of trying to influence him into staying long term. It didn’t have any real effect, other than contributing to the alienation of J.T. Miller. Miller liked Huggy, but Huggy was no captain, especially at the time it was handed to him. The Canucks were successful to a great extent in the season that followed, but the captaincy meant nothing in the long run.

The Elias Pettersson contract. It came during that euphoric run that saw Vancouver on top of the league during the regular season. In March of 2024, just a couple of months after Rutherford and Allvin signed their extensions, ‘Petey’ got his $11.6-million per season over eight years. Only six left.

Brock Boeser signing. In a flurry of last minute decision making, the then 28-year-old winger signed a seven-year, $7.25-million per contract last July 1st. Diminishing returns to be determined. Particularly odd considering that both the current and the previous Canucks GM had this forward’s name legitimately involved in trade talks along the way.

Management structure, Rick Tocchet bails, Bruce Boudreau’s treatment, etc. etc. etc. Many of you could come up with many more, including a list of short term signings that didn’t work out. That includes the current head coach.

So we circle back to logic and practicality. Aside from the fact that he’s still under contract, Allvin has apparently been flying all over the globe scouting for the upcoming NHL Draft and off-season, as has been reported multiple times by local TV sports guy Rich Dhaliwal.

And the other biggee: Land draft pick number-one or number-two and your rebuild jumps into overdrive. Snag Swede Ivar Stenberg for example, and you suddenly have two top flight, number-one centres.

Presuming Pettersson gets his you-know-what together, and he probably would in this scenario, the Canucks are off to the races.

One can also expect that Rutherford would lobby for his longtime mentee, Allvin. He might even view it as a passing of the torch in about a year after the elder statesman turns 78. That might mean a bump up for Allvin, as well as for current assistant GM / Abby Canucks GM Ryan Johnson. “RJ” is part of the Vancouver hockey “family” and has great respect from the hierarchy, as he should. He brought a Calder Cup to Abbotsford and is dialed into the franchise’s player development.

Sticking with Allvin for now obviously brings risks, but there’s a safety net in Johnson. This stand-pat option also avoids another long process of shopping for a Canucks hockey big wig elsewhere, at great cost, and with extensive indoctrination required.

Sound logical?