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Jeff Tambellini among four new Canucks GM candidates revealed

Trevor Beggs
Trevor Beggs
|
Apr 30 2026, 6:52 pm
Jeff Tambellini among four new Canucks GM candidates revealed
Anne-Marie Sorvin/Imagn Images

Well, you can’t blame the Vancouver Canucks for not casting a wide net during the hunt for their next general manager.

Less than two weeks after Patrik Allvin was fired as Canucks general manager, a dozen names have been linked to the team during their search.

A third of those names have popped up since Wednesday afternoon. The latest, according to CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal, is former Canucks forward Jeff Tambellini.

Tambellini spent one season with the Canucks in 2010-11, playing six games during their run to the Stanley Cup Finals. He’s currently Director of Hockey Operations for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

This is his first season with the Lightning, as he was previously the Director of Player Development with the Seattle Kraken, a role he held for three seasons.

Tambellini isn’t the only recent name to surface as a potential GM for the Canucks.

One is a longtime NHLer and two-time Stanley Cup champion, Jamie Langenbrunner, according to Dhaliwal.

The 51-year-old is currently assistant general manager for the Boston Bruins. He’s been with the organization in various capacities since 2015-16. Lagenbrunner was promoted to assistant GM in 2022.

In case Canucks fans didn’t already have trauma about potentially hiring a Bruins assistant general manager, Lanenbrunner’s colleague was also connected to Vancouver.

Evan Gold is another Bruins AGM who was reportedly interviewed by the Canucks. Like Langebrunner, Gold has been with the Bruins organization since 2015. However, Gold comes from a legal background, holding a law degree from the University of Toronto.

Gold has been the Bruins AGM since 2019-20, and has been tasked with running the Bruins AHL affiliate down in Providence. For what it’s worth, the Providence Bruins have been a model AHL franchise under his watch. Gold has also been highly regarded by both traditional and progressive hockey minds, according to The Athletic’s Thomas Drance.

A fourth new name surfaced on Thursday morning, and that was Coquitlam, B.C., native Brad Pascall. The 55-year-old has been the Calgary Flames assistant general manager since 2014. He’s also held the title of Flames AHL general manager since 2015.

Multiple insiders have reported that Vancouver has had conversations with 15-20 people during the search for their new GM. Among those that have reportedly had interviews, or those that the Canucks have requested to speak with, these are the 12 candidates.

  1. Ryan Johnson, Vancouver Canucks AGM
  2. Kevyn Adams, former Buffalo Sabres GM
  3. Ryan Bowness, New York Islanders AGM
  4. Shane Doan, Toronto Maple Leafs special assistant to the GM
  5. Ray Whitney, 2023 Team Canada Spengler Cup assistant GM
  6. Bill Scott, Edmonton Oilers AGM
  7. Patrick Burke, Vice President, NHL Department of Player Safety
  8. Brett Peterson, Florida Panthers AGM
  9. Evan Gold, Boston Bruins AGM
  10. Jamie Langenbrunner, Boston Bruins AGM
  11. Brad Pascall, Calgary Flames AGM
  12. Jeff Tambellini, Tampa Bay Lightning Director of Hockey Operations

Dhaliwal also reported on Thursday that Langebrunner and Gold could be in line for second interviews. He also noted that Doan has impressed the Canucks during interviews, although if he were hired, it likely wouldn’t be for the GM role.

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