Sedin twins helped decide new Canucks GM

The Vancouver Canucks officially entered their new era on Thursday by turning the clock back to the past, naming club legends Henrik and Daniel Sedin as co-presidents of hockey operations and former player Ryan Johnson as general manager. 

Addressing assembled media, the hiring marked the end of a tenuous process that saw each of former Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion, Boston Bruins’ assistant GM Evan Gold, Johnson, and several others connected to the role at points. 

The Sedins, however, admitted that Johnson was their selection when poised to select between two options, later confirming that Gold had been a part of the process, before they eventually landed on Johnson, who previously held the role with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks and led the team to the 2025 Calder Cup.

“Ownership approached us after Jim [Rutherford] made it clear that he was going to step away,” Henrik said. “We stepped in, and they gave us two very candidates, one external and one internal, and it was up to us to make the decision.”

Each of Henrik, Daniel and Johson focused on themes of culture and environment as their primary areas of focus, topics that will headline Vancouver’s rebuild after finishing 32nd of 32 teams in the NHL in 2025-26 by a wide margin. 

“We want to re-establish the connection from top to bottom between this organization… with the city and the Province of B.C.,” Henrik added, while also stating that the twins have been assured autonomy from ownership. Francesco Aquilini, the chairman of the Vancouver Canucks, officially introduced the leadership group, but did not take any questions. 

While the new leadership brings a new light to the Canucks, the team still has an uphill challenge towards any type of contention. That will begin with the NHL Draft, where they hold the third overall selection, and a decision on head coach Adam Foote, who faced several challenges that led to the poor 2025-26 performance. 

“I think to put any type of timeline on it is unfair to the process. I think it’s more about building the environment and first is making sure that the staples are there, the things that we believe in creating a safe environment, where players can improve,” Johnson said. 

“With everything, we’re going to evaluate and look at areas we can improve. We have a lot of departments that we think can get better, where we don’t just want to be good but where we can be elite.”

With the new leadership team in place, the mission to build out the project starts instantly, with key decisions likely to be made in the coming weeks, leading up to the Draft on June 26 and June 27 in Buffalo.