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.