Sounds like more big changes could be coming to Vancouver Canucks front office
The Vancouver Canucks are on the verge of hiring their next general manager, but the changes might not stop there.
After the Canucks miserable season ended last month, the club fired general manager Patrik Allvin. That was followed by president Jim Rutherford announcing that he was stepping down from his everyday role following the NHL draft.
Those are big changes, but a recent report suggested that more might be coming.
Irfaan Gaffar recently reported on the DFO Rundown podcast that the Canucks could be making sweeping changes in the front office.
“Look, the scouting department, I believe, they all need contracts,” Gaffar said. “And I think that department is going to be completely overhauled.”
This news was previously reported back in April, with the majority of Vancouver’s scouting staff needing new contracts in July.
Perhaps it’s inopportune timing to have your scouting staff be sweating about job security, considering this might be the most important draft in Canucks history. They’re picking third overall for the first time since 1999, and they have two first and two second-round picks in the same draft for the first time ever.
In case that wasn’t enough change, Gaffar believes the changes won’t stop at GM, president of hockey operations, and the scouting staff.
“I think that the AGMs are going to be completely overhauled,” he said. “You can’t go in and run it back with people that clearly weren’t able to make proper decisions in trying to get a hockey team to where they want to go. I mean, one playoff series win in the last forever isn’t going to cut it.”
The Canucks staff could soon look much different compared to this 2023 photo. (Christopher Hanewinckel/USA TODAY Sports)
Aside from Ryan Johnson, who’s reportedly a finalist for the Canucks GM job, the only two AGMs on Vancouver’s staff are Emilie Castonguay and Cammi Granato.
Castonguay was hired by the Canucks just days after Patrik Allvin was named general manager. At the time, she became the second woman in NHL history to hold the assistant general manager title.
Just two weeks later, the Canucks added Cammi Granato to the AGM team.
The pair seemed to add balance to the Canucks front office, with Granato previously working as a scout, while Castonguay was a player agent.
On the scouting side, Vancouver’s department has been run by Todd Harvey ever since Judd Brackett’s departure in 2020.
In total, the Canucks have 13 amateur scouts and six pro scouts working for the organization, according to their website.
The irony in all of this might be, does Adam Foote suddenly have the best job security among Canucks coaches, scouts, and front office staff?