Vancouver Canucks Hire Jim Rutherford as President/Interim GM

The Vancouver Canucks have found their new team president as the announcement dropped on Thursday that long-time NHL executive Jim Rutherford has been hired by the Canucks to serve as president and interim general manager.

Introducing our new President, Hockey Operations: Jim Rutherford.
Welcome to Vancouver, Jim.

DETAILS | https://t.co/iIXe4qJMow pic.twitter.com/TWw8gvcZIE
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) December 9, 2021

Rutherford who last worked for the Pittsburgh Penguins and left the organization in shocking fashion, was a teammate way back in the day with Canucks new head coach Bruce Boudreau. The Canucks shared this information via their public statement on Thursday:

It is time for a new vision and a new leader who will set a path forward for this team. Jim has tremendous experience building and leading winning organizations and I believe he will help build the Vancouver Canucks into a team that can compete for championships again

Rutherford's track record speaks for itself as he's a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and is one of the highest regarding executives in the NHL. He recently led the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016/17. The Canucks new President had this to say about the move:

It is an honour to join the Vancouver Canucks and to lead an NHL team in Canada. I would like to thank Francesco and the Aquilini family for the opportunity. The Canucks have an exciting young group of players, and I look forward to building a plan that will take this team to the next level and excite Canucks fans everywhere.

Next up, hire a general manager. Sounds like that could be done by early 2022.