Canucks To Promote Ryan Johnson
5/14/26: The Canucks’ promotion of Johnson to the GM position will be announced today, Frank Seravalli of Victory+ reports. CHEK TV’s Rick Dhaliwal added that in today’s announcement, the Sedin twins will be elevated to new roles as co-presidents, presumably of hockey operations.
5/12/26: The Vancouver Canucks are expected to promote Abbotsford Canucks General Manager Ryan Johnson sometime in the near future. The anticipation is that the position will be that of either Director of Hockey Operations or General Manager, as reported by Rick Dhaliwal of Cheknews. Dhaliwal also stated that both Daniel and Henrik Sedin will have a big say in the final decision that will be a pivotal one for the Canucks’ front office.
The search itself has been an extensive one, with Canucks ownership and front office interviewing more than 15 candidates before narrowing the field. In recent weeks, the race had reportedly come down to Johnson and Boston Bruins assistant GM Evan Gold, before momentum shifted decisively in Johnson’s favor, and Dhaliwal reported he does not believe Gold remains in the mix.
The search to fill key front office vacancies has been ongoing for the last month following the dismissal of former GM Patrik Allvin. Adding to the shake-up, the team announced last week that President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford will also be stepping down from his role, though he will remain with the organization in an advisory capacity and as an alternate governor.
The changes in Vancouver do not come as a shock following an extremely disappointing 2025-26 season. The Canucks finished the season a staggering 25-49-8 with 58 points, which was last in the NHL by 14 points. Moreover, the Canucks were forced to part with franchise defenseman Quinn Hughes back in December, after he indicated he had no intention of re-signing with the team.
Johnson is no stranger to the NHL or to the Canucks organization. After wrapping up a 701-game playing career in 2011, he found his way back into the game in 2013-14, rejoining his former team of two seasons as a development coach. He climbed the ranks quickly: promoted to Assistant Director of Player Development within two years before being handed the reins of Vancouver’s AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, as General Manager in 2017. When the affiliate relocated in 2021, Johnson became the first GM in Abbotsford Canucks history. Two years later, Patrik Allvin promoted him to Assistant General Manager in Vancouver while keeping him on in his role with Abbotsford. Across five seasons as Abbotsford GM, Johnson has compiled a 191-134-31 record and captured a Calder Cup in 2024-25.
With the 2026 NHL Draft Combine just weeks away and Vancouver holding the third overall pick, whoever ends up running hockey operations won’t have much time to settle in. Johnson, if officially named, will inherit a roster in transition, a fan base running thin on patience, and the heavy task of building the Canucks’ first Stanley Cup contender in over a decade.
Latest On Vancouver Canucks GM Search
It appears that the Vancouver Canucks are down to their two finalists for the next General Manager of the organization. According to Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV, Vancouver has begun to tell prospective candidates that they are no longer under consideration, and the team is down to Ryan Johnson and Evan Gold as the finalists.
Johnson, 49, is an obvious choice to take over the Canucks front office, especially considering that the team denied the Nashville Predators permission to interview him. Even if they didn’t consider him a candidate, Vancouver can refuse any team’s interest in their staff, as is their right, but it likely would have lowered their credibility around the league if they denied Nashville and didn’t give Johnson a fair shot.
That’s not to say the Canucks ultimately have to promote Johnson, but he has been with the team for more than a decade and has dramatically improved the state of their AHL affiliate. After his playing career ended following the 2010-11 campaign, Johnson was hired by the Canucks as a development coach in 2013-14. He served in that role for two years before being promoted to the Assistant Director of Player Development in 2015-16.
Since the 2017-18 campaign, Johnson has served as the General Manager of their AHL affiliate and the Assistant General Manager of Vancouver. He spearheaded the transition from the Utica Comets to the Abbotsford Canucks for the 2021-22 campaign and oversaw the team that won the Calder Cup last season.
Meanwhile, Gold would be an outside hire if the Canucks landed on him. Gold has served as the General Manager of the AHL’s Providence Bruins and the Assistant General Manager of the Boston Bruins for several years, being considered more analytical than Johnson. Before that, he served in the legal affairs team in Boston for the Hockey Operations department after obtaining his law degree from the University of Toronto. Unlike Johnson, Gold doesn’t have any professional or even semi-professional playing experience to speak of.
Regardless, today’s update from Dhaliwal shows how much things can change. Only a few days ago, reports indicated that the Canucks had settled on Pierre Dorion as the team’s next General Manager, only to have today’s news indicate he’s no longer under consideration. Considering the lengthy duration of the process and Dhaliwal’s assertion that finalists have been selected, a definitive hiring decision is expected within the next few days.
Evening Notes: Scott, Panarin, Foegele
According to John Shannon of Sportsnet, the Vancouver Canucks are interviewing Bill Scott, Assistant General Manager for the Edmonton Oilers, for their vacant General Manager position. As Shannon noted, Scott has already interviewed for the same position with the Nashville Predators.
Scott has been with the Oilers for a little over a decade. He began as the Assistant General Manager ahead of the 2014-15 season, before being promoted to the Director of Hockey Operations role two years later. He held that position for six seasons, specifically focusing on the Oilers’ salary cap.
There’s no word on whether any other candidate has an edge, but the organization must think somewhat highly of Scott if they’re willing to interview him. The Canucks have also been linked to former player Shane Doan, who is currently with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a special assistant to the General Manager. Additionally, Vancouver already has a capable in-house candidate in Ryan Johnson, who has received interest from other clubs.
Additional notes from this evening:
- There were ramifications to the Artemi Panarin trade now that the Los Angeles Kings have been eliminated from the postseason. According to Peter Baugh of The Athletic, since the Kings did not win a series, they will send their 2026 third-round pick to the New York Rangers. If they had miraculously ousted the Colorado Avalanche, the Rangers would have received Los Angeles’ second-round pick.
- The Rangers weren’t the only team affected by the Kings’ loss today. According to PuckPedia, since it is now confirmed that Los Angeles will finish lower than the Dallas Stars in the standings, the Senators will receive Dallas’ 2026 third-round pick in the Warren Foegele trade.
West Notes: Buium, Canucks General Manager Search, Predators
Vancouver Canucks young star Zeev Buium won’t play for Team USA in the upcoming IIHF World Championships, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reports.
The 20-year-old is no stranger to the international circuit in early stages of his career, and winning, at that. Buium helped the United States take home gold last year at the World Championships, their first such title in 92 years, with four points in eight games. That came after back-to-back gold medals at the 2024 and 2025 World Junior Championships.
Assuming today’s news to be the case, the skilled lefty will focus on resting up after the long grind of 76 NHL games in his rookie year. After being dealt to the Canucks, Buium’s ice time jumped nearly two full minutes, averaging 20:21 wearing the blue and green.
Despite facing the challenges of being on the NHL’s bottom-ranked team, Buium escaped with a commendable 49.3% corsi for at five-on-five, with over 60% of his zone starts on the attack, with some shelter in mind. With plenty of gold earned in the past, it’s a well deserved break for Buium who will set his eyes on another big step coming in 2026-27.
Elsewhere across the conference:
- Also in Vancouver, Islanders Assistant General Manager Ryan Bowness was listed as a name to watch as a candidate for the team’s open General Manager position by Dhaliwal, and later relayed by Stefen Rosner of NHL.com. The 42-year-old, son of Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Rick Bowness, has ties to Jim Rutherford, having served in the Pittsburgh scouting department from 2016-2022. Bowness is just in his first year on Long Island, coming over after three years in the Senators organization. On the other hand, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet mentioned an internal candidate, Abbotsford Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson on yesterday’s edition of 32 Thoughts. Friedman speculates that Rutherford would make the recommendation for the 49-year-old after 13 years in the organization, and GM of their AHL affiliate since 2017-18. Johnson was a Canucks player himself from 2008-2010.
- With exit interviews coming from various Nashville Predators players, Brooks Bratten, Senior Content Manager, wrote on the team’s reflection from a season which came up short, and their optimism ahead. Interestingly, Steven Stamkos described the expectation to stay competitive and push for the playoffs in 2026-27. Such idealism is normal for non-playoff teams in an offseason so fresh, but Nashville will be a team to watch this summer, with a new general manager coming in and ample evidence it’s time for bigger changes. Likely to miss another top 10 draft selection, of which they have just one since 2013 (Brady Martin, 5th, 2025), the Predators once again find themselves in a difficult, middling ground. Even the 36-year-old Stamkos’ 42 goals weren’t enough to move the needle, and a real shake up could be on the horizon under a new regime.
Canucks Denied Predators Permission To Speak To Ryan Johnson
The Predators had interest in discussing their general manager opening with Canucks assistant GM Ryan Johnson, but were denied permission by Vancouver, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reports. As Thomas Drance of The Athletic adds, that stems from a willingness to keep Johnson in the conversation as a promotion candidate to replace Patrik Allvinas the Canucks’ GM if they decide to move in a different direction.
Not to be confused with Sabres defense prospect Ryan Johnson, the Vancouver exec played over 700 NHL games as a center with the Panthers, Lightning, Blues, Canucks, and Blackhawks from 1997 to 2011. After retiring as a player with the Hawks, Johnson returned to B.C. as a development coach two years later. He’s remained in the organization ever since.
Johnson has seen a ladder of promotions over the years. In 2015, he was promoted to assistant director of player development. Two years later, he had the assistant dropped from his title and also took over as the GM of their AHL affiliate, a role he still holds today. The Canucks made him a special assistant to Allvin in 2022, then formalized him as one of Allvin’s assistants in 2024.
While the Canucks’ AHL farm in Abbotsford is wrapping up a season nearly as dreadful as their NHL parent’s, Johnson did help build them into a Calder Cup winner just last year. Since taking over as the minor-league GM (then affiliated with the Utica Comets) back in 2017, Vancouver’s AHL teams have amassed a record of 309-227-57 (.569) under Johnson.
As for Nashville, they still have several other candidates in the running to succeed Barry Trotz. Several other AGMs around the league are believed to be in contention, plus a new face in the equation after the Devils fired former Predators captain Tom Fitzgerald earlier this week.