Adam Proteau says Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford made some tough decisions to get the team to where it is and earned his multi-year extension.

The Vancouver Canucks have been one of this season’s bigger surprises, riding the play of their top young players to the top of the Pacific Division and the NHL in general. And on Friday, the Canucks rewarded president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford with a contract extension.

The move was absolutely the right one from Vancouver’s ownership, as Rutherford has demonstrated yet again this year that he’s one of the sport’s brightest management minds, and a proven winner.

Since his arrival in Vancouver a little more than two years ago, Rutherford has presided over a Canucks team that’s been at all points of the win/loss spectrum, and he hasn’t been afraid to make big moves when he felt them to be necessary. One such move was the firing of coach Bruce Boudreau and the hiring of replacement Rick Tocchet; another was the trading of star center Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders last season. Throughout it all, Rutherford has been the voice of reason, and a calming influence for a fan base that has come to expect being disappointed by the organization at times.

By waiting for this season to play out, Rutherford gave a stamp of approval to the current makeup of the team. Youngsters Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson have led the way for the Canucks, as has veteran goaltender Thatcher Demko. But Rutherford and GM Patrik Allvin have shown restraint with the roster after that, adding players – most notably, defenseman Nikita Zadorov – rather than tearing down the roster. (Full disclosure: this writer wasn’t particularly high on Vancouver’s chances of being a Stanley Cup front-runner, but Rutherford and the Canucks have proven us wrong.)

Rutherford & Co. still have major decisions to make about the lineup. Four of the Canucks’ defensemen will be UFAs this summer, while Pettersson is due for a massive raise when he becomes an RFA at season’s end. However, with Rutherford at the helm, there’s a sense the right moves will be made, and that Vancouver’s future, short- and long-term, is getting brighter and brighter. Rutherford has the aura that comes along with winning multiple Cups as a management member, and the demanding Vancouver market is hard-pressed to imagine another top hockey mind could’ve done better.

Of course, playoff success is the only real metric that matters for Rutherford and the Canucks, but this season has made it clear the franchise is capable of taking that next competitive step and giving Vancouver fans legitimate cause for optimism. Rutherford has delivered as advertised, and you can’t say Canucks ownership was wrong to believe in him.

The Canucks winning the first Cup in franchise history would likely lead to a statue of Rutherford being erected in Vancouver, but the soft-spoken, humble executive doesn’t need any ego massaging. He had nothing to prove to anyone before he took the Canucks’ job, and this latest run of success only underscores Rutherford’s ability to build a winning organization.

At age 74, Rutherford easily could’ve decided to mosey on into the sunset and avoid the stresses that come along with being responsible for an NHL team. Canucks fans should be elated that he instead chose to take on what could be his last chance as an elite executive.

Vancouver now is looking like a legitimate Cup threat, and Rutherford deserves credit for turning them into one.