The Vancouver Canucks and president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford aren’t parting ways, but they have agreed to lessen his role.
“I’m going to get away from the day-to-day operations,” Rutherford announced Tuesday. “I’m going to stay with the team as an adviser and alternate governor. But as far as the day-to-day operations, we’re going to put together a really good staff here going forward.”
Why not keep him around in some capacity; he’s getting paid through next season.
The club has interviewed more than a dozen candidates for the vacant general manager job — Patrik Allvin was fired on April 17th — but there hasn’t been a forefront discussion about replacing the president on the hockey side.
Rutherford’s tenure in that position lasted almost exactly four-and-a-half years. He was hired on December 9th, 2021, a little before hiring Allvin as his hand-picked GM. The two had success together working for the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. Allvin worked for the club in scouting and later as an assistant GM.
The end of this Vancouver roller coaster ride, that saw the team peak atop the NHL standings in the winter of 2024, ends with a crash. The Canucks finished with the fewest points in the league, 58, and for their efforts, just found out via the draft lottery that they’ll be picking third overall in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft.
Rutherford also won a Cup in 2006 while guiding the Carolina Hurricanes organization. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 2019.
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