The Canucks’ Search For A New GM Could Include Assistant General Manager Ryan Johnson

TL;DR

The Vancouver Canucks are searching for a new General Manager after firing Patrik Allvin. Assistant GM Ryan Johnson is a potential candidate, but the team is open to various options.

Key points

Vancouver Canucks are looking for a new General Manager.
Patrik Allvin was recently fired from his position.
Ryan Johnson is a potential internal candidate for the GM role.
Jim Rutherford stated the search process will not be limited to specific candidates.
The Canucks denied reports of the Predators seeking to interview Johnson.

Mentioned in this story

Vancouver CanucksNashville PredatorsPatrik AllvinRyan JohnsonAbbotsford CanucksJim Rutherford

The Vancouver Canucks are officially in the market for a new General Manager after it was announced that Patrik Allvin had been relieved of his duties on Friday morning. While the search will officially begin on Monday according to Canucks President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford, there are still some in-house options that the team could be taking a look at — notably Assistant General Manager and Abbotsford Canucks General Manager Ryan Johnson.

“We have a very good candidate within the organization, Ryan Johnson, who I have a lot of time and a lot of respect for,” Rutherford said during his end-of-season media availability on Friday. “He built a championship team in Abbotsford when people weren’t expecting it, and he’s been a great guy to work with.”

Notably, Johnson’s status with the Canucks became a hot topic in recent weeks after a report circulated that the Canucks had denied the Nashville Predators the opportunity to talk to him about their open GM position. On Friday, Rutherford claimed that this report was false, and that the Canucks will not allow any other teams permission to talk to their current management staff until they have concluded their own search.

“He’s under contract, so he won’t leave. I know some people think we turned down permission to Nashville. They never requested permission from us. Somebody made that story up, but I can definitely tell you, through this process, until we get to the end, if somebody requests permission now, we will not grant them. We will not until our process is over.”

While Johnson appears to be a candidate for the Canucks’ newly-open GM position, Rutherford clarified that the team did not have their sights set on one particular person. Vancouver will not limit themselves to particular individuals or particular experience levels when it comes to this search.

“What I’m saying is experience counts, but you can look at experience in different ways. When I talk about experience, you have a guy that’s been a GM in the NHL for a few years, or a number of years, that’s an experienced guy. But there are guys that haven’t been in the NHL, but they’ve done a lot of things in hockey [and] they still have experience, and that’s what we have to see in these interviews. Who is that guy? Who is that guy that we’re going to feel comfortable can continue to build this team through a rebuild and take it to the steps that need to be taken so that the team can consistently be a winning team?”

Q&A

Why did the Vancouver Canucks fire Patrik Allvin?

The Vancouver Canucks relieved Patrik Allvin of his duties, but specific reasons for the firing were not detailed in the announcement.

Who is Ryan Johnson and why is he a candidate for GM?

Ryan Johnson is the Assistant General Manager and Abbotsford Canucks General Manager, noted for building a championship team and respected by Canucks President Jim Rutherford.

What did Jim Rutherford say about the GM search process?

Jim Rutherford stated that the search for a new GM will begin on Monday and emphasized that they will not limit themselves to specific individuals or experience levels.

Did the Canucks deny the Predators permission to talk to Ryan Johnson?

Jim Rutherford clarified that the Canucks did not deny the Predators permission to speak with Johnson, as they never requested it, and the Canucks will not allow other teams to contact their management until their search is complete.