Jim Rutherford has one more year remaining on his contract with the Vancouver Canucks
Jim Rutherford has never been shy to share his opinions with the media. That was the case once again on Friday, as he spoke at the Vancouver Canucks' year-end media availabilities. Rutherford took questions for just over half an hour and touched on a multitude of topics surrounding the organization.
During the availability, Rutherford was asked about his own future with the Canucks. The 77-year-old President of Hockey Operations has one year left on his current contract and has been in the position since December 9, 2021. Based on Rutherford's answers, it is possible that his time in Vancouver could be coming to an end sooner rather than later.
"I've been here four full seasons now," said Rutherford. "And when I made the commitment to come here, it was, I believe, I told Francesco (Aquilini), two years. I'll come here and see if I can help. And I've been here four years. I got to tell you, like anybody else thinking about this team this year, I had a lot of thoughts about my future. But right now, my focus is on getting a GM and getting through the draft. And when I do that, then I will think a lot more serious about what makes sense. So I'm at least at that stage that I'm thinking about it."
As Rutherford mentioned, he will be busy over the next few weeks. His main job right now is to find a new General Manager, as the organization elected to fire Patrik Allvin after the season ended. In a question about the search for a new GM, Rutherford was also asked if part of the process would be to find someone who could also eventually take over his position.
"Yeah, I'm not worried about myself. It's more about what's best for the Canucks. We're going to look for a guy with good integrity that wants to buy into what the direction of the team is, which is a rebuild. That's going to be very important. No shortcuts on the rebuild. Buy into that and have the right to make his own decisions. So look, I can adjust to anybody. I've worked with so many people in this game. I can adjust to however a guy works. But we want a guy, and it could be a first-year guy. We're going to open the process up to guys that haven't been GMs in this league, and potentially guys that have some experience, and get all the different ideas and try to pick the best guy to take this team forward. So for me, it's more about what that guy can do, not whether he can work with me, because this isn't about me."
Finally, Rutherford was asked whether it would be easier to retire than to lead a rebuild. If the rebuild timeline is at least five years, that would mean he would be past 80 before the Canucks are competitive again. In his answer, Rutherford took responsibility for what happened this year and made it clear that he wants to help get Vancouver back on the right track.
Jim Rutherford of the Vancouver Canucks (Photo Credit: @Canucks on "X""I feel responsibility. Part of my job, despite the way things look right now. I mean, you look at the standings. 58 points, can't win games at home, and all the things everybody's frustrated with, I believe this organization is in a very good place to move forward. Now, talk about the culture and the chemistry and the young players that are here, and the young players in key positions. Got good young goalies coming. We got good young defence. Now the forwards have to get built up. So I feel that I haven't done as good a job as I would have liked to, and I would have wished we were in a stronger place by now. But where I'm at in my life now. I can do whatever I want and be very comfortable. And I like this franchise a lot, and I want to do what's right for them. So if I feel comfortable that we have a good, strong person in place, and maybe potentially add two people over time, I would feel comfortable making a decision to leave at some point in time."
The next few months will shape the Canucks future for the foreseeable future. Not only will a new GM be hired, but Vancouver could be adding a franchise-changing prospect at the draft. All the pressure is now on Rutherford as he looks to fix the franchise before eventually retiring.
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