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The Vancouver Canucks have appointed Daniel and Henrik Sedin as co-presidents of the hockey team, and Ryan Johnson as the club’s new general manager.
Team owner Francesco Aquilini made the announcements at a news conference Thursday, speaking glowingly of all three hires.
“This is a very important day for our organization and marks a significant step in guiding the future direction of our hockey team,” he said. Aquilini did not take questions.
The trio faces a daunting task of turning around a last place NHL team that has seen more than its share of turmoil and dressing room drama over the past few seasons.
Their unified message stressed the need to build a sustainable winning culture within the club through preparation, professionalism and commitment.
WATCH | Sedins, Ryan Johnson speak to reporters:
New Vancouver Canucks GM and co-presidents speak to reporters
The Vancouver Canucks name three former players to their front office: former forward Ryan Johnson as general manager and star forwards Henrik and Daniel Sedin as co-presidents.
But considering how far the team has fallen, building a winner won’t happen quickly, with Johnson stressing a “slow” and “purposeful” rebuild through draft picks and prospect development.
“We’re not going to race through it,” he said. “We need to be strategic.”
The Sedins and Johnson took questions from the media for the better part of 45 minutes, covering a lot of ground:
On the future of head coach Adam Foote, Johnson was non-committal, saying the tumultuous and injury-filled past season made it hard to evaluate his performance.On whether they have concerns about ownership meddling in hockey-related decisions, as has been rumoured in the past, the Sedins said they have “100 per cent autonomy.”On the under-performance of $93 million forward Elias Pettersson, Johnson said he’d like Pettersson to arrive at training camp for next season prepared and with a clean slate.On whether the Canucks have a deal to build a dedicated training facility, something the other 31 NHL teams already have, Henrik said the club was “getting close.”The Sedins said they intend for the team to become more active in the community, as was the case when they were players.
The twins bring their stellar reputations as solid citizens to the job, not to mention on-ice credential as the most prolific scorers in Canucks history. Their promotion comes after spending the past four years as development coaches within the organization.
Johnson won the GM job over external candidate Evan Gold, an assistant general manager with the Boston Bruins.
Vancouver Canucks’ Ryan Johnson, left, knocks Calgary Flames’ Mark Giordano to the ice during second period NHL hockey action in Calgary on Oct. 1, 2009. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)
He spent the past 13 years working his way up through through the Canucks development department and administration, most recently serving as GM with the farm team Abbotsford Canucks, winners of the 2025 Calder Cup.
Vancouver is coming off one of its worst regular seasons in club history, finishing dead last in the NHL by a wide margin with a record of 25 wins, 49 losses and eight overtime losses.
The dismal results led to the firing of former general manager Patrik Allvin. Jim Rutherford, former president of hockey operations, announced last week he was stepping down into an advisory role.
The Sedins, 45, and Johnson, 49, are relatively young NHL front office rookies.