Canucks name Johnson and Sedins to lead rebuild

Canucks rebuild – Ryan Johnson becomes Canucks GM with Henrik and Daniel Sedin as co-presidents of hockey operations, aiming to rebuild culture and compete.

Vancouver’s hockey future just took its biggest step yet, with the Canucks installing Ryan Johnson and the Sedin twins to steer a rebuild that starts with culture, not just outcomes.

After exhausting other options. the Vancouver Canucks moved to “do the right thing” by naming Johnson as general manager and Henrik and Daniel Sedin as co-presidents of hockey operations.. The appointments mark a deliberate handover at a time when the organization is widely viewed as being at a low point—an inflection moment framed around repairing how the team operates day to day. and how its players grow into consistent competitors.

Ownership involvement set the tone for the process.. Managing owner Francesco Aquilini and outgoing president Jim Rutherford conducted interviews with 17 candidates to replace former general manager Patrik Allvin.. Once the ownership group narrowed the selection. the Sedin twins were presented with the two finalists: Ryan Johnson and Boston Bruins assistant general manager Evan Gold.. Daniel and Henrik ultimately chose Johnson, the first candidate on that final list, to lead hockey operations.

The shared thread among the new leadership group—players and managers with National Hockey League backgrounds—was not presented as a coincidence. but as a foundation.. Johnson and the Sedins were introduced as leaders defined by intelligence and character. qualities the organization believes should be central to restoring trust and discipline in a dressing room that. over the past two seasons. deteriorated rapidly.

At Thursday’s press conference at Rogers Arena. the emphasis was immediate and consistent: the first mission for Johnson and the Sedins is to build a culture and dressing-room ecosystem that can support competitive improvement.. The Canucks. described as being in an early stage of re-building. already have pieces they view as promising. but everyone involved acknowledges the roster alone cannot carry the turnaround.. What happens around the players—how standards are set. how teammates support each other. and how professionalism is practiced—is positioned as the real starting line.

Johnson made that message concrete when asked about what comes first.. Rather than focusing on wins and losses. he stressed the need to establish an environment anchored in professionalism. daily preparation. and an intentional effort from players to be better teammates.. He said his biggest challenge to the group is the “quality of teammate” they can be in the present moment. and he described building that environment now. not waiting until September to set expectations.. In his view. the start of training camp becomes the moment players must decide who they are as professionals. people. and teammates.

The new GM’s background is closely linked to the organizational ladder the Canucks have trusted in the past.. Johnson. 49. had been hired as a consultant by Mike Gillis. then saw his responsibilities grow in player development under Benning. before being promoted to assistant general manager by Rutherford.. He also managed and largely built the Abbotsford Canucks. a role that led to the organization’s first American League championship 11 months prior—an accomplishment the Canucks clearly see as evidence of his ability to develop teams and sustain standards.

For supporters wary of Johnson because of connections to earlier “failed” hockey-ops regimes. the argument made by the organization’s new leadership centers on the fact that roster turnover and staff changes occurred widely under both Benning and Rutherford.. Johnson’s candid reminder of what he experienced when he arrived as a player in 2008 was offered as a contrast: he said he immediately felt the influence and leadership of the Sedins once he walked into the dressing room. and he suggested the state of culture that followed would have been unacceptable to them.

Henrik Sedin, speaking at the same event, underscored why culture is treated as non-negotiable.. He argued that winning is impossible without it and that sustainable success requires it. presenting the culture shift as the main focus in the early stages of the rebuild.. Like Johnson. Henrik tied the message to daily behavior. insisting that the leadership group must show up and do the work that created the standards that once elevated the team.

Even with the broader rebuild narrative, the new regime is not ignoring leadership inside the current roster.. Leadership among veterans was reset after the trade deadline. with experienced players—including Brock Boeser and Teddy Blueger. Filip Hronek and Marcus Pettersson. and Kevin Lankinen—discussing internally that the dressing room needed to become more positive and supportive for a team carrying many young players.

There is also a performance and accountability standard being communicated to the most established names.. Johnson indicated that it cannot be acceptable for veterans. including Elias Pettersson. to report to training camp with conditioning results that cannot be posted in the dressing room for younger teammates to see.. His framing was blunt: preparations must be visible and shared. and the goal is to raise everyone rather than allow standards to erode.

Johnson specifically spoke about Elias Pettersson’s approach at the start of camp. saying his early focus would be on wiping away expectations and resetting the lens to what matters most immediately for players and staff.. He described his goal as getting everyone—including the veteran leadership and the support structure—into September as physically and mentally prepared as they can be. and he reiterated that the challenge to the group is to become the best teammates they can be.. If the small commitments are made, Johnson suggested, the improvement should reach everyone in the room, including Pettersson.

While hockey questions naturally turn to personnel decisions, Johnson also acknowledged the limits of timing.. He repeatedly referred to Thursday as “Day 1. ” and said he could not provide substantive answers about the future of head coach Adam Foote. or about the roles of incumbent assistant general managers Cammi Granato and Emilie Castonguay. or what departments within hockey operations must be improved.. In discussing Foote, Johnson said judging him strictly off last season would be unfair.

Even with that restraint, Johnson made clear that he is willing to make difficult decisions.. He pointed to having had hard. honest conversations with players. coaches. trainers. and staff. adding that there is a false narrative that an empathetic leadership style would prevent tough calls.. People who work with him, he insisted, would recognize that is not the case.

Owner Francesco Aquilini began the press conference by introducing the hockey operations leadership, then stepped away from ongoing Q&A.. He did. however. deliver a message meant for fans: rebuild requires patience. but the team will still be put on the ice to compete hard every night.. In his view. rebuilding and playing with urgency are not mutually exclusive. and no firm rebuild timeline would be imposed simply to satisfy public pressure.

Johnson echoed that approach when asked about how long the rebuilding process might take.. He said putting a timeline on it would be unfair to the process. emphasizing that the priority is building the environment first and ensuring the organization’s “staples” and core beliefs are in place—creating a safe space where players can learn. make mistakes. and develop with the necessary resources.. He described the path forward as step by step, strategically paced rather than rushed.

Henrik Sedin reinforced the same philosophy with a statement that framed speed as a trade-off. To reach the desired end point as fast as possible, he said, the team would have to be careful and go slow—an approach he suggested is the quickest route to sustainable results.

The hiring also reflects a rare convergence of history and process.. When the GM search began four weeks earlier. Johnson was seen as a soft favorite. but few expected the job would place him directly under two of the most respected figures in Canucks history.. The Sedins’ closeness to the organization. and their firsthand experience with what went wrong and what needs fixing. was presented as a key advantage.

Henrik said the twins’ involvement across many aspects of the organization is a strength because it offers a clear understanding of what’s required.. Johnson, for his part, described his own rise as an organic journey rather than a calculated sprint.. He said he began as a consultant with Mike Gillis and Stan Smyl’s group. spending early time listening and observing. then moving through player development. managing in the AHL. and working alongside amateur scouting staffs and pro staffs.. In his telling. he never had an agenda to jump ahead—he simply focused on doing good work with good people. and that pathway ultimately led to the role.

For the Canucks, the appointments are not being sold as a quick fix.. They are being positioned as an overhaul of the daily foundation: who sets standards. how teammates support each other. how preparation is measured. and how leadership responds when the organization needs to correct itself.. In a rebuild where the margins often come from details. the message from Johnson and the Sedins is that the most important games start long before the puck drops.

Vancouver Canucks Ryan Johnson Henrik Sedin Daniel Sedin NHL rebuild hockey operations