The Canucks Need a GM. Soon They Will Need a President Too.

 

The Vancouver Canucks are closing in on a new general manager, but by the time that search ends, they will have another vacancy staring them in the face.

Jim Rutherford announced Tuesday, following the NHL Draft Lottery, that he will be stepping down as President of Hockey Operations after the draft in Buffalo this June. His plan is to transition into a senior advisory role once a new GM is seated, but until that happens he will continue steering the ship through what is arguably the most important organizational decision the Canucks have made in years.

The timing creates an uncomfortable wrinkle. Rutherford is currently leading the search for his own GM, which means the incoming general manager will be hired by a man who will not be there to work alongside him in any meaningful capacity. Whoever sits in the president's chair next may well want to install their own GM, leaving the incoming hire in an awkward spot almost immediately.

It is not the first time Vancouver ownership has gotten the sequence backwards.

The same decision-makers who brought Rutherford in back in 2021 had already hired Bruce Boudreau as head coach before Rutherford arrived, a structure that led to a messy public divorce midway through the 2022-23 season before Rutherford installed his own coach in Rick Tocchet. The organization has a pattern of creating front office complications that did not need to exist, and the current situation carries echoes of that same tendency.

Who Fills the Void?

The list of GM candidates has been lengthy and well-publicized. The conversation around a potential president has been far quieter. Shane Doan, currently with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, was floated at one point for a non-GM role with Vancouver, but that discussion appears to have faded. Lawrence Gilman, currently a VP with the Columbus Blue Jackets and a former Canucks executive, has drawn public interest, but the team has not sought permission from Columbus to speak with him.

With so few names in serious consideration for the president role, the most likely outcome is that Vancouver operates without one for a period following the draft, at least until the new GM is settled and the organizational structure becomes clearer.

The One-Person Solution

There is a cleaner path available, and it is one other franchises have used effectively. Combining the president and GM roles under one person, with the expectation that the GM title gets passed down over time as the structure matures, has worked elsewhere in the league. Joe Sakic held both responsibilities in Colorado from 2016 until handing the GM job to Chris MacFarland in 2022. George McPhee did the same in Vegas before promoting Kelly McCrimmon in 2019.

The Canucks may already have a candidate internally for exactly that kind of arrangement. Ryan Johnson has been part of the Vancouver organization since 2013 in a variety of capacities and led the Abbotsford Canucks to a Calder Cup championship as GM last season. His institutional knowledge and recent success at the AHL level make him a legitimate option if ownership wants continuity alongside a fresh start.

For now, finding the GM takes priority. But the president question is coming, and Vancouver would be wise to have an answer ready before the draft clock runs out in Buffalo.

Vancouver Canucks | Jim Rutherford | Canucks GM Search | Canucks President Hockey Operations | Ryan Johnson | NHL Front Office 2026