Vancouver Canucks not rushing to make moves says Jim Rutherford
Anthony Scultore
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Last week, the Vancouver Canucks hired Jim Rutherford as president of hockey operations. The 72 year-old is one of the most highly regarded executives in the industry.
“It is time for a new vision and a new leader who will set a path forward for this team,” team chairman Francesco Aquilini said in a news release. “Jim has tremendous experience building and leading winning organizations and I believe he will help build the Vancouver Canucks into a team that can compete for championships again.”
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Canucks will not rush to make a move
As Vancouver searches for a new GM, Rutherford is acting as the interim general manager. Today, he addressed the media and was asked about making a move.
“I’ve already got calls even before I got to Vancouver,” Rutherford said with a laugh. “You know, ‘I like this player or that player – don’t forget me – give me a call if you decide to move somebody’, but if something pretty good comes along that improves out team now and in the long run, we’ll take a look at it.”
Rutherford, who has been at it for decades in management won’t be pressured. He wants time to evaluate what he has before making any deals.
“I’m not in a hurry to make a trade,” Rutherford explained.
In his last job as GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins, he guided the franchise to Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and 2017 during a 6 1/2-year run. He resigned in January, citing personal reasons.
Rutherford also won the Stanley Cup as GM of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. He was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019.
Canucks rolling under Boudreau
The Vancouver Canucks defeated the visiting Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday night. For new head coach Bruce Boudreau it was his fourth win in as many tires.
Since replacing the fired Travis Green following an 8-15-2 start, Boudreau has guided Vancouver to wins over Los Angeles 4-0, then got past Boston and Winnipeg in shootouts.
The happiest people of all are the Canucks fans, who have taken to chanting, “Bruce! There it is!”
It’s a play on the 1993 song, Whoomp! (There it is) by Tag Team. Although the new head coach is enjoying it, he wishes they would stop.
“I wish they’d stop singing that stupid song in the stands,” he said after a home win. The veteran coach knows that things in the NHL can change quickly. “It could be ‘Bruce! There he goes’ next,” he joked.
That’s going to be tough ask of the fans when even your own players are doing it.