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An entirely new regime will mastermind the\u00a0Vancouver\u00a0Canucks’ rebuild following a surprise announcement.<\/p>\n
Jim Rutherford revealed on Tuesday that he’ll step down from his role as the team’s president of hockey operations following next month’s NHL entry draft.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I’m going to get away from the day-to-day operations,” he said at an unrelated press conference. <\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
The 77-year-old three-time Stanley Cup winner said Tuesday that he’s been thinking about his future a lot recently.<\/p>\n
“This is something I’ve thought about anyways for a couple of years,” Rutherford said. “But it’s time for me to do that. I feel bad that I have to do it at such a young age, but decided to do it anyways.\u201d <\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778049490_185_default.jpg\")
Rutherford stepping down from his role means an entirely new front office will be responsible for rebuilding the Canucks. (Ben Nelms\/CBC)<\/p>\n
The news comes after the team finished the season last in the standings with a 25-49-8 record.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vancouver\u00a0fired general manager Patrik Allvin on April 17, the day after the Canucks capped the dismal campaign with a 6-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rutherford said the search for a new GM has involved more than 15 candidates, and the list has now been narrowed down to five. A final decision is expected by next week, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We’re a long ways along. The process has been good. We’ve interviewed a lot of people, a good cross-section of people in the hockey world,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Just digging deeper and deeper and deeper into people and what they’ve done in the hockey world.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
WATCH | Allvin fired after miserable season:![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778049490_695_default.jpg\")
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Canucks fire general manager after disappointing season<\/p>\n
The Vancouver Canucks’ tumultuous season has come to an end, and the team has fired its general manager. The club’s president vows the team will be better next year. As the CBC\u2019s Jon Hernandez reports, it was a tough year for fans.<\/p>\n
How Vancouver’s front office is structured following the new hire remains to be seen, Rutherford added.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
“I’ll help with the transition and the new person, new people, new positions, things like that,” he said. “But I’ll still be part of the organization. When someone wants to bounce something off of me, I’ll be happy to do it.\u201d <\/p>\n
Hired in December 2021<\/p>\n
Rutherford and Allvin orchestrated an era that saw the Canucks go from playoff outsiders to Pacific Division winners and back again.<\/p>\n
Rutherford was initially hired as Vancouver’s president of hockey operations and interim general manager on Dec. 9, 2021, four days after then-general manager Jim Benning was fired.<\/p>\n
A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in the builders’ category, he previously served as GM for the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2014 to 2021, and led the team to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and \u201817.<\/p>\n
He was also Carolina’s general manager for 20 years, and helped the Hurricanes win the Cup in 2006.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778049491_831_default.jpg\")
Rutherford had told media on April 17 that he was considering his future with the team after the firing of GM Patrik Allvin. (Ben Nelms\/CBC)<\/p>\n
Rutherford admitted in January 2023 that turning the Canucks around was a bigger job than he’d expected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“When I came here, I knew it was going to be a big challenge. And I thought, ‘You know, we’re going to have to do minor surgery,'” he said. “Have I changed my position? Well, yeah. We have to do major surgery.” <\/p>\n
As president of hockey operations, Rutherford oversaw the hiring of three separate head coaches \u2014 including current head coach Adam Foote \u2014 and several blockbuster trades.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of the biggest moves came on Dec. 12 when the Canucks dealt captain and star defenceman Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild for three players and a first-round pick in the 2026 draft.<\/p>\n
“I’d known for some time that Quinn was not staying in\u00a0Vancouver, and I’ve known before this season started,\u201d Rutherford said at a season-ending press conference.<\/p>\n
WATCH | Quinn Hughes traded:![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765787049_899_default.jpg\")
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Fans frustrated as Vancouver Canucks trade captain Quinn Hughes to Minnesota Wild<\/p>\n
Canucks fans are still reverberating with the seismic news of captain Quinn Hughes being traded. One of the best players in Canucks history, Hughes is now a member of the Minnesota Wild. CBC’s Cory Correia walks us through the blockbuster deal and where the team goes from here.<\/p>\n
He added that\u00a0Vancouver\u00a0tried to entice the blue chip blue liner to stay by signing some of his good friends \u2014 including wingers Brock Boeser and Conor Garland, and goalie Thatcher Demko \u2014 to long-term deals last summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c[We were] hoping for a little bit of a chance right down to the end, that he would decide to stay here, but I don’t think that was ever in the cards,” Rutherford said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After finishing at the bottom of the standings, the Canucks had the best odds at claiming the top pick in next month’s draft, but the Ping-Pong balls did not fall their way in Tuesday’s lottery.\u00a0<\/p>\n