Vancouver Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford, seen here speaking at the start of his team's season in September, will have much to address at his end-of-season press conference later this month.ETHAN CAIRNS/The Canadian Press
In a couple of weeks, Vancouver Canucks president Jim Rutherford is expected to take a seat behind a microphone at Rogers Arena and account for the season that was.
Whether there is anyone on the dais with him remains to be seen.
Whenever an NHL team has a season as disastrous as the one Vancouver has had, speculation runs rampant. Will the president of hockey operations be gone? The general manager? The coach? And sure enough rumours floated by NHL insiders have included everything from the coach being sacked and the president and GM staying, to the whole works of them being tossed aside.
My guess is we won’t know positively what the future of the team’s front office will look like even after Rutherford finishes talking, other than understanding he plans to finish his contract, which has one more year. Beyond that, who knows? It would not surprise me if the 77-year-old president is non-committal about the futures of GM Patrik Allvin and coach Adam Foote.
Team owner Francesco Aquilini is not expected to attend the news conference.
Cathal Kelly: Canucks' bottom-feeding season only gets worse off the ice
What do you say about this season for Vancouver? Arguably, or maybe inarguably, the worst ever? When you finish dead last in the league, a first for the franchise, how can it be judged as anything but the most dismal in history? And when Canucks fans had to watch the greatest defenceman to ever play for the team leave because he had no intention of re-signing it was vinegar in the wound.
December’s Quinn Hughes trade will go down as one of the most consequential milestones in the team’s rather checkered past. It could lead to years of desultory play, of one fruitless, frustrating season after another for years to come. Or it may end up being the inflection point that leads to an exciting new era powered by a vibrant and talented young core.
There is no question you can begin to see that core taking shape. The three young players Vancouver got back in the Hughes trade are all solid NHLers with bright futures. The defenceman Zeev Buium, only 20, has the potential to be a star. Forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren have legitimate upsides and could be pivotal pieces of a future playoff team. There is a small group of other young players who will certainly be major contributors to the Canucks in the years ahead.
In finishing dead last, which Vancouver has already sewn up, the team is guaranteed a top three pick in this year’s draft. Many Canucks fans, jaded as they are, are already bracing for the lottery balls to fall in someone else’s favour for the No. 1 overall pick. It’s fated.
The Canucks aren't guaranteed the top pick in this summer's draft, but they will have a shot at drafting a premium prospect. Canucks fans are hoping that translates into getting to select Penn State's Gavin McKenna.Vera Nieuwenhuis/The Associated Press
Regardless, the team will get a top-end prospect. They also have Minnesota’s first-round pick from the Hughes’ trade. And there are surely a few more years of struggles to come, which should net the team more high picks. That’s what rebuilds are all about. They are painful to watch and go through but if executed properly they can lead to, well, the Montreal Canadiens.
The question is who are the right people to lead the team through this critical transition? Do you trust Allvin with identifying the players who will pay off the most with these high draft picks? His record of identifying difference makers has been spotty so far with Vancouver. But then, there isn’t a GM in the league who doesn’t have a bad trade or six on their resumes.
And then there is the coach, Foote. The team’s record does not fall entirely at his feet. Look at the talent he’s had to work with. Look at the age of his lineup. Jon Cooper couldn’t have got this team to the playoffs. He might have had them playing well enough to miss out on a lottery pick, however, and what good would that have served?
But there were genuine issues with the way Vancouver played this year, without much structure in a lot of games. The players seemed uninspired, especially some of the veterans, and that was likely because after they lost Hughes they confronted a rebuilding future that wouldn’t be much fun. Their chances of being in the playoffs anytime soon are zilch.
Foote has two years left on his contract. So the owner would be eating some money if he was sacked. Same with Allvin, who has another year left on his deal. My guess is Rutherford will take a hard look at replacing them both. And there are two people inside the organization who look like natural fits to take the two jobs.
Manny Malhotra is one of the hottest names in the NHL right now in terms of the “next” young coach to get his shot with a big club. He’s done a wonderful job coaching the Canucks’ American League affiliate in Abbotsford, leading them to the Calder Cup championship last season. He seems like a perfect fit to take over a team of young, talented players.
The GM of that team, Ryan Johnson, has also earned an opportunity in the NHL. His reputation as a high-end talent evaluator and developer has put him on a trajectory to land a GM job somewhere. He’s worked with young players the last several years. He also knows who’s out there in terms of talent, both at the professional level and in junior and college ranks.
That eye for talent is going to be critical for the Canucks in the immediate years ahead.
I don’t know what is going to happen with the management team that is currently in place. But it would not surprise me to see significant changes made in the coming weeks.
Yes, the Canucks have had a lost season. But now they have a chance to start building something special. Getting the right people to oversee that critical endeavour is the first step that needs to be taken.