New Vancouver Canucks president and interim general manager Jim Rutherford is making a list and checking it twice as the search for a full-time GM intensifies.
Rutherford will meet with the media Monday for the first time since taking the reins Thursday after the Canucks cleaned house earlier in the week.
Elliotte Friedman discussed a couple of GM candidates plus a potential hiccup for Rutherford during Saturday’s 32 Thoughts segment on Hockey Night in Canada.
“Now one of the questions is: Is he going to get permission to talk to people in-season?” Friedman asked. “That will be an issue.”
Friedman said there will be a lot of talk related to former Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill, who is currently the assistant general manager for the Seattle Kraken and previously worked with Rutherford in Pittsburgh.
Botterill is not the only name tied to Rutherford’s tenure with the Penguins who could be in the mix, though.
“One dark horse name to keep an eye on is Patrik Allvin from Pittsburgh,” Friedman said. “He worked with Rutherford with the Penguins and was the interim GM after [Rutherford] left and before Ron Hextall took over.”
Rutherford, 72, won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017 before resigning in January due to personal reasons.
Allvin returned to his post as assistant GM with the Penguins when Hextall was hired in February.
The Canucks fired general manager Jim Benning and assistant GM John Weisbrod and replaced head coach Travis Green with Bruce Boudreau last week. Vancouver (11-15-2) has won three straight since making the changes.
