Sitting in last place in the National Hockey League and with no signs of hope on the horizon, the Vancouver Canucks are facing reality.
J.T. Miller is gone, so is Rick Tocchet, and Quinn Hughes could be next.
And if you take away Hughes, what’s left?
Big moves are coming, which begs the question: Is this the right management group to be making them? They’re the ones responsible for getting this team into this mess, after all.
Since Jim Rutherford took over as president of hockey operations four years ago, the Canucks have posted the 15th-best record (167-121-43) in the NHL. They’ve made the playoffs just once.
Is Patrik Allvin to blame? He’s the team’s general manager, but it’s unclear who’s calling the shots, since reports state that Rutherford is the point person on trade calls. Does that say something about the president’s faith in his general manager?
“There’s a curiosity that exists around the league in terms of how things work in general… Jim Rutherford still manages a lot of the trade calls,” NHL insider Frank Seravalli said in an interview with Mike Halford and Jason Brough on Sportsnet 650 Wednesday morning.
A “potential regime change” is a rumour that was referenced on local sports talk radio.
Then again, the Globe and Mail’s Gary Mason said that he believes Rutherford has the “complete support of ownership on whatever moves he ends up making.”
This is starting to feel a lot like the end of the 2013-14 season, isn’t it?
That was the season that Roberto Luongo and Ryan Kesler asked out. Mike Gillis, the team’s general manager at the time, had deals in place to trade both of them.
He was allowed to trade Luongo, but a Kesler trade was reportedly blocked. So was the trading of Alex Burrows.
Guess we’ll see how much autonomy the Aquilini family grants Rutherford once he asks for approval on a Hughes trade.
What about Shanahan?
Would Aquilini embrace the Shanaplan? (Dan Hamilton/USA TODAY Sports)
Even if Rutherford has the confidence of ownership, you have to wonder how much longer he’ll stay in the role. The Hockey Hall of Fame executive turns 77 in February.
If Francesco Aquilini is looking for a new hockey ops boss, whether it be now or later, there appears to be a great candidate available.
Brendan Shanahan is working for the NHL, but is clearly poised for another role similar to what he held as president of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“The competitive fire in me is still alive,” Shanahan admitted on Tuesday.
Shanahan oversaw Toronto’s rebuild and has experience working under the spotlight in a Canadian market, which seems important.
The Leafs never got over the hump in the playoffs, but the team became one of the NHL’s elite during the regular season in 11 years under Shanahan. Wonder if he’ll be more successful in his next landing spot.
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