The Vancouver Canucks are flying high this season. Vancouver is near the top of the standings and has a handful of players heading to the NHL All-Star Game later this week. With everything going well, the team's recent contract extension was without a doubt the right call.
The Vancouver Canucks and team president Jim Rutherford have agreed to a 3-year contract extension.
The Canucks brought in Jim Rutherford to serve as team president on Dec. 9, 2021. In the time since, the Canucks have had a rollercoaster ride.
The Canucks finished last season 38-37-7, making a midseason coaching change for the second year in a row playing underwhelming hockey. This season the Canucks are 31-11-4 and look like one of the best teams in the league.
Most would have gone full rebuild mode after the struggles the last few seasons, but Rutherford stayed the course making hockey moves like bringing Filip Hronek and Sam Lafferty to name a few.
“We still have big goals ahead and work to do, but we do feel that we’re starting to build a structure of a team and that the players have bought in to the team concept, that we’re on the right road to be able to accomplish that.”
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 19, 2024
President of Hockey Operations, Jim Rutherford,… pic.twitter.com/GgKUAstsuX
The Vancouver Canucks still have a lot of questions facing their franchise, but with Jim Rutherford in the organization, they at least have one voice who knows where the team needs to go.
Rutherford has three Stanley Cup rings as general manager, he was the Hurricanes president and GM when the team won in 2006, and he helped take the Pittsburgh Penguins to back to back championships in 2016 and 2017.
Rutherford left Pittsburgh on Jan. 27, 2021 due to personal reasons. It took him less than a year to find a new home in Vancouver.
The Canucks do have some big questions facing their franchise as they head into the second half of the seasons.
Elias Pettersson needs a new contract, as do forwards Teddy Blueger, Sam Lafferty and Dakota Joshua.
The defense also has a lot of players that need extensions. Only Quinn Hughes, Carson Soucy, Tucker Poolman, Guillaume Brisebois and Noah Juulsen are signed through next season. That leaves guys like Myers, Hronek, Zaorov and Cole all looking for new deals.
The Canucks look like one of the top teams in the league, but that doesn't mean they might not make a few moves ahead of free agency. It will be interesting to see what Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin end up doing in the next month.