Canucks hire Jim Rutherford as president of hockey operations

The Vancouver Canucks have hired former Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford as their next president, the team announced on Thursday.

Rutherford will also operate as a stop-gap general manager, with the idea of mentoring a more permanent heir to the role, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Rutherford will replace Jim Benning, who was fired on Dec. 5 after serving as general manager since May 2014. The impending appointment is part of the Canucks’ larger overhaul, with Bruce Boudreau taking over as head coach from Travis Green, who was also fired on Sunday.

The 72-year-old Rutherford has an extensive track record and is best known for his stints with the Carolina Hurricanes (1994-2014) where he constructed the roster for the sole Stanley Cup win in team history in 2006, along with his role in engineering the Penguins to consecutive Cup wins in 2016 and 2017, while serving as their GM.

Rutherford resigned from his post with the Penguins in January, citing personal reasons.

This would likely represent one of the greatest challenges of Rutherford’s executive career, as Benning’s propensity to sign players to above-market deals and a poor draft record has rendered the Canucks' once-promising future stuck in neutral. Vancouver will have 17 players under contract through the 2022-23 season, via CapFriendly, and the team still needs to find a deal for impending restricted free agent Brock Boeser, who should command plenty of attention on the open market if the Canucks can’t reach a new contract.

Canucks interim general manager Stan Smyl, former Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin and Toronto Maple Leafs assistant general manager Laurence Gilman were also rumoured as potential candidates.

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