Canucks hint at analytics importance with subtle website update
It’s been a month of change for the Vancouver Canucks, which is why this latest change flew under the radar.
At the beginning of the month, we didn’t yet know that Jim Rutherford would be permanently stepping down from his president position. But, perhaps with the draft lottery as the last straw, the 77-year-old will now operate as a senior advisor for the Canucks, largely out of his home in North Carolina.
Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, and Ryan Johnson are now running the show as co-presidents and GM, respectively. There will be changes behind the bench as well, with the new regime jettisoning Adam Foote and his assistants, Kevin Dean, Scott Young, and Brett McLean.
Based on the plethora of changes, it makes sense that one subtle switch flew completely under the radar.
Since all of these changes have been announced, the Canucks have also made a subtle update to their website.
On the hockey operations page of the Canucks website, Vancouver now has an entire analytics section
(Canucks)
Earlier this season, The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman posted a graphic showing every analytics department across the NHL. The Canucks had three staff members listed, making them one of the leaner analytics departments. At the time, 25 NHL teams had four or more members of their analytics staff.
Since then, the Canucks have seemingly added another staff member, as Luke Wismer shows up on the website as an analyst. According to his LinkedIn, he’s been working full-time with the Canucks since May 2025.
Johnson suggested on Tuesday, when he spoke to the media, that there may be some other additions to the analytics staff.
“We’ve got great leadership and a great director there, and Aiden Fox does phenomenal,” he said.
“Now, I just want to say [to him], what more do you need? How do we build this out so that you feel like you’ve got it? Is it more resources? Is it more people? That’s something as a group we have discussed and are fully prepared to do.”
Having a beefy analytics staff doesn’t necessarily equal success. Three NHL teams with the beefiest analytics staffs include the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, and Toronto Maple Leafs.
One of those teams is a perennial Cup contender, while the Blackhawks and Maple Leafs were among the NHL’s five worst teams this season.
While the Canucks decided to retain assistant general managers Emilie Castonguay and Cammi Granato, there’s room for the Canucks to add another analytically-inclined general manager, if they choose to do so. That’s what the Florida Panthers had in Sunny Mehta before he was hired by the New Jersey Devils. The Carolina Hurricanes also have an analytics guru as assistant GM in the form of Tyler Dellow.