Why do the Vancouver Canucks have three separate lists of GM candidates?
The search for the Vancouver Canucks’ next general manager is underway, but there’s already a cloud of confusion surrounding their process.
On Friday, Canucks president Jim Rutherford told the media he would take the weekend to formulate his list of candidates for the job, with the hope of conducting interviews this week.
Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who took on the homework assignment.
āWhat’s interesting about this is I’m starting to hear there’s probably two or three different lists,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman told Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now.
“There’s Rutherford’s list, there’s an ownership list, and there might be another one,” he said.
On Wednesday, CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal added to Friedman’s report.
“There are three lists, it’s not two,” Dhaliwal said. “Someone told me the third list is Michael Doyle’s list, but I haven’t confirmed it.”
Doyle’s title is President, Business Operations, and Alternate Governor, according to the Canucks website.
The Vancouver Canucks would be wise to cast a wide net as they search for their next general manager.
Although the Canucks have a ready-made GM candidate in Ryan Johnson, it is a prudent approach to speak with others for their thoughts and viewpoints about how they could steer the Canucks back towards respectability.
However, the three-list story probably isn’t what fans had in mind, and the reports from Friedman and Dhaliwal suggest some disconnection within the Canucks organization.
It makes you wonder how the lines of communication are between Rutherford and Canucks ownership. And, why is there a third list at all if the hiring decision lies with two primary people?
If the third list belongs to a third-party search firm helping the Canucks, that would validate a level of due diligence from the club. The Canucks have reportedly used third-party consultants for management hires in the past.
The disconnection isn’t a great look for the Canucks, but if it’s any saving grace, it’s not like all hires by Rutherford and the Aquilinis have turned out to be duds.
Rutherford, to his credit, has hired some well-respected hockey people in the past. That includes Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin, analytics whiz Sam Ventura, and Ryan Bowness, who’s reportedly in the running for the Vancouver job.
Of course, Rutherford also brought in his guy, Patrik Allvin, for the Canucks GM job back in 2022. He was reportedly hired over the likes of Mathieu Darche, among others like Scott Mellanby and Sean Burke. Darche is now GM of the New York Islanders.
In that case, Rutherford hired the guy he had a relationship with in Pittsburgh.
Canucks ownership has been credited with three main management hires themselves: Mike Gillis, Trevor Linden, and Rutherford. It’s also worth noting that Jim Benning was promoted following Linden’s departure in 2018.