Jim Rutherford Steps Down After Next Month’s NHL Entry Draft
Jim Rutherford will step down from his role as the Vancouver Canucks’ president of hockey operations after next month’s NHL entry draft and move into an adviser role. The change comes after Vancouver finished last in the standings at 25-49-8, with the front office already having shifted once this month.
Rutherford’s Vancouver shift
Rutherford said, “I will step down from my role as the Vancouver Canucks’ president of hockey operations.” He added that “He says he will move into an adviser role following next month’s NHL entry draft.”
That moves him out of the day-to-day job he has held since December 2021, when Vancouver hired him as president of hockey operations and interim general manager. The Canucks brought him in with a track record that included three Stanley Cup wins and prior work as general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes.
Canucks front office changes
The timing is the sharpest part of the move. Vancouver fired general manager Patrik Allvin on April 17, a day after the club capped its season with a 6-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.
That left the Canucks with a last-place finish and a leadership group that is now being reshaped from the top. Rutherford’s shift to an adviser role keeps him around the organization, but it also hands the next stage of hockey-ops decisions to a different structure after a season that ended at 25-49-8.
What the Canucks inherit
For Vancouver, the practical takeaway is simple: the front office will not look the same by the time the draft arrives next month. Rutherford remains part of the picture, but the club has already moved on from Allvin and is now resetting the role that once placed Rutherford at the center of every major decision.
That makes the period between now and the draft the key stretch for the organization. The Canucks finished last, changed their general manager, and are now preparing for Rutherford’s transition out of the president’s chair and into an advisory seat.
