By: Trent Leith / December 5, 2021 The Canucks have finally made several much-anticipated changes. First, there was the hire of Bruce Boudreau as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks. After that Scott Walker was added to assist Boudreau, it was followed by the replacement of GM Jim Benning assistant GM John Weisbrod. The interim GM is expected to be Stan Smyl as Rick Dhaliwal reported and there will be a group that will work collaboratively according to Ian MacIntyre of Sportsnet.
That group will include the assistant GM Chris Gear, director of player development Ryan Johnson and special advisors to the GM Daniel and Henrik Sedin.
These changes are coming in the week of the second 4-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night. It came after a jersey thrown on the ice and the loudest “Fire Benning” chants in the building to date.
After hiring Boudreau and Walker, reports indicated the coach’s hiring was not Jim Benning’s decision, which started to fuel rumours and speculation of job stability within Canucks management.
The interim basis that this group has been hired on implies that down the road a new General Manager and potentially a President of Hockey Operations will be hired. Nothing seems imminent at this moment.
The Canucks went all-in during the offseason, acquiring a multitude of players. One of the moves included a blockbuster trade landing OEL and Conor Garland, which was clearly not the right move. After an eight-year tenure and only two playoff berths, changes needed to be made.
NOTE: Changes to this article have been made to reflect new information that has come to light.