How far are the Vancouver Canucks willing to go in their hockey operations reconstruction?
Will they take it down to the studs, or just make cosmetic changes, to give the appearance of a fresh approach?
How it all plays out this week should address what has handcuffed the franchise for decades. Their lack of drafting and player development success should be of paramount importance in the hiring process, especially with the 2026 NHL draft putting pressure on the Canucks to make the most of four picks in the first two rounds and 10 picks overall.
However, the Canucks have the worst drafting record in the salary-cap era. The numbers don’t lie.
“This is a pivot point,” long-serving NHL prospects scout Shane Malloy told Postmedia News on Sunday. “And if they fail this draft, the rebuild will extend two more years. Instead of five years, it will be seven or eight.”
Among interviews to fill general manager and president positions, the Canucks also spoke with Martin Madden of the Anaheim Ducks. As assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting, he’s had a major impact on rebuild manoeuvring to return the franchise to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in seven years. And also set up Anaheim for future success.
Since 2006, the Ducks had 103 draft picks and 34 became NHL players — meaning they played at least 200 games — and it’s the fourth-best league percentage of making that leap. And from 2009-2020, 28 players and three goalies made the grade to rate third.
First round 2023 pick Leo Carlsson’s ability to play in traffic put Ducks’ rebuild on fast forward. He had 29 goals this NHL season.
The Ducks are part of the power shift in the Pacific Division with the Utah Mammoth and San Jose Sharks. How much credit should Madden get?
“All of it,” stressed Malloy. “He’s the main reason for the result of the rebuild. And you can’t be successful without exceptional drafting. The measure of a great talent evaluator isn’t pro scouting, amateur scouting is the toughest job in hockey.
“And it’s what Anaheim has done in the second to seventh rounds — (Jackson Lacombe, John Gibson, Brandon Montour, Marcus Pettersson in second round; Lukas Dostal, third; Sami Vatanen, fourth; Chris Wagner, fifth; Josh Manson, sixth; Ondrej Kase, seventh) — and the only team consistently better than them is L.A.
“The advantage for Vancouver in a guy like Madden is he’s stoic and controls his emotions. And he’s not only exceptionally intelligent, he stands out in several areas. He has a civil engineering degree and an MBA in finance. He understands numbers probably better than anybody. There’s always this misconception that if you don’t work in analytics, you don’t know numbers.
“His degree and MBA, you can’t get better than that.”
There’s no blueprint for the Canucks to follow because clubs in a true rebuild have different pieces in place and different holes to fill. But there are four pillars to reconstruction:
• Hit with first-round picks, especially a high selection.
• Make prudent second- and third round draft plays.
• Trade veterans for futures to add rebuild options.
• Add support pieces who meet age, salary criteria.
The Ducks checked all those boxes. They have seven players between the ages of 20 and 24, nine veterans in their 30s. It speaks to future potential and the present push, which is a slippery slope. Desperate trades and expensive free-agent plays, they often sent the Canucks into the ditch.
Anaheim’s roster also sports 10 draft picks, including four first-rounders, plus seven free agents and seven via trades. Leadership deals for vets Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba and John Carlson, along with young sniper Cutter Gauthier, were prudent.
However, now comes the rub that could muddle the Canucks’ pursuit of a scouting, drafting and player development guru.
Boston Bruins AGM Evan Gold and Canucks AGM Ryan Johnson are reportedly front-runners to fill top hockey ops positions, but how that is actually applied remains to be determined. Madden, like his AGM peers, believes he’s more than capable of becoming a GM. And if he’s not part of that plan in Vancouver, he would remain in Anaheim.
“Madden is a GM,” said Malloy. “He’s one of the top-five decision makers in the NHL. Make him the GM.”
So, is that one part of the delay in determining how everything is going to sift out here? Maybe. Maybe not.
Gold and Bruins assistant GM Jamie Langenbrunner, who also interviewed with the Canucks, have kept Boston relevant and in the playoffs 10 of the last 11 seasons. Langenbrunner was instrumental in development of Charlie McAvoy, Trent Frederic, John Beecher, Mason Lohrei, Fabian Lysell and Jeremy Swayman.
Langenbrunner also believes he’s ready for a GM position, which brings us full circle with the Canucks.
What is the main priority? They need a GM, but do they really need a president of hockey ops? Can they go in a new direction that would put a greater emphasis on drafting and development? It’s imperative.
Madden has the chops to be GM and also help oversee the scouting department. And, perhaps, he would woo Kings’ director of amateur scouting Mark Yannetti to become AGM to work in tandem to attack the big problem and remake the NHL and AHL rosters.
The Canucks are going go the rookie GM route again, so their eyes should be wide open in these crucial decisions. Here’s a chart of drafting and development deficiencies the club should be wary of:
2006-2015:
Vancouver Canucks: 10 years — 62 draft picks — 11 NHL players = 17.7 per cent success rate.
NHL historical average: 10 years — 70 draft picks — 19 NHL players = 28.2 per cent success.
Los Angeles Kings: 10 years — 78 draft picks — 29 NHL players = 37.2 per cent success.
2016-2020:
Vancouver Canucks: Five years — 34 draft picks — four NHL players = 11.8 per cent success.
NHL historical average: Five years — 35 draft picks — nine NHL players = 28.2 per cent success.
Los Angeles Kings: Five years — 36 draft picks — 10 NHL players = 27.8 per cent success.