Jim Rutherford stepping down as Vancouver Canucks’ president of hockey operations

The 77-year-old, three-time Stanley Cup winner said Tuesday that he’s been thinking about his future a lot recently.

“This is something I’ve thought about anyways for a couple of years,” Rutherford said. “But it’s time for me to do that. I feel bad that I have to do it at such a young age, but decided to do it anyways.”

The news comes after the Canucks finished the season last in the standings with a 25-49-8 record.

Vancouver fired general manager Patrik Allvin on April 17, the day after the team capped its dismal campaign with a 6-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

Rutherford said the search for a new GM has involved more than 15 candidates, and the list has now been narrowed down to five. A final decision is expected by next week, he said.

“We’re a long ways along. The process has been good. We’ve interviewed a lot of people, a good cross section of people in the hockey world,” he said.

“Just digging deeper and deeper and deeper into people and what they’ve done in the hockey world.”

How Vancouver’s front office is structured following the new hire remains to be seen, Rutherford added.

“I’ll help with the transition and the new person, new people, new positions, things like that,” he said. “But I’ll still be part of the organization. When someone wants to bounce something off of me, I’ll be happy to do it.”

Rutherford and Allvin orchestrated an era that saw the Canucks go from playoff outsiders to Pacific Division winners and back again.

Rutherford was initially hired as Vancouver’s president of hockey operations and interim general manager on Dec. 9, 2021, four days after then-general manager Jim Benning was fired.

A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in the builders’ category, he previously served as GM for the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2014 to 2021, and led the team to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and ‘17.

He was also Carolina’s general manager for 20 years, and helped the Hurricanes win the Cup in 2006.

Rutherford admitted in January 2023 that turning the Canucks around was a bigger job than he’d expected.

“When I came here, I knew it was going to be a big challenge. And I thought ‘You know, we’re going to have to do minor surgery,'” he said. “Have I changed my position? Well, yeah. We have to do major surgery.”

As president of hockey operations, Rutherford oversaw the hiring of three separate head coaches — including current head coach Adam Foote — and several blockbuster trades.

One of the biggest moves came on Dec. 12 when the Canucks dealt captain and star defenceman Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild for three players and a first-round pick in the 2026 draft.

“I’d known for some time that Quinn was not staying in Vancouver, and I’ve known before this season started,” Rutherford said at a season-ending press conference.

He added that Vancouver tried to entice the blue chip blue liner to stay by signing some of his good friends — including wingers Brock Boeser and Conor Garland, and goalie Thatcher Demko — to long-term deals last summer.

“(We were) hoping for a little bit of a chance right down to the end, that he would decide to stay here, but I don’t think that was ever in the cards,” Rutherford said.

After finishing at the bottom of the standings, the Canucks had the best odds at claiming the top pick in next month’s draft, but the Ping-Pong balls did not fall their way in Tuesday’s lottery.

Instead, the Toronto Maple Leafs will get the first overall selection. Vancouver will pick third.

“Despite the fact the fact that the Canucks aren’t going to pick No. 1, that doesn’t mean we need to be all upset over this,” Rutherford said. “This is a real strong draft. We really don’t know how the draft is going to fall. … But whatever way it falls, we feel very strong that we’re going to get a really good player. Who that player is, we’ll just have to wait and see.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Jim Rutherford stepping down as Vancouver Canucks’ president of hockey operations

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