Canucks fans stunned by surprising GM shortlist name
Quinn Hughes and Adam Foote are now waiting on a Canucks GM search that just took a sharp turn toward Pierre Dorion.
That is the part Vancouver fans cannot shrug off. The Athletic reported Dorion is not only in the mix, but viewed internally as a strong possibility after interviewing in person.
And that is why this hit so hard. Dorion’s name had barely surfaced publicly in the early stages, then suddenly he is sitting there as a real threat to land one of the biggest jobs this franchise has opened in years.
From the Canucks side, that is a risky place to be. Dorion’s Ottawa run had some wins, but it also left behind too many misses, too many bad timelines, and too many questions about whether he made enough of what he inherited.
That history matters in Vancouver because this is not a team looking for a patient learning curve. The Canucks just finished 25-46-11, and there is no room for another front-office misread around Hughes and the next phase of this roster.
Jim Rutherford is still running hockey operations, and Ryan Johnson is still right there inside the building as assistant general manager and Abbotsford’s GM.
The more this search drags, the more that internal option starts to look cleaner.
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Naturally Canucks fans have some reservations about his candidacy.
The reaction to Dreger’s social-media post was pretty harsh...
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Another on said :
Canucks fans uneasy as new GM candidate emerges
That is really the tension in this story. Dorion brings past NHL GM experience. Johnson brings a fresher profile and a track record that lines up better with what Vancouver actually needs now.
The Athletic laid out Johnson’s strongest case well. His work building Abbotsford’s development layer, finding value on AHL deals, and helping create a more modern pipeline under the Canucks umbrella looks like the kind of thinking this organization should be rewarding.
There is also a communication piece here. Johnson has been described as polished, and that matters on a team where the next GM has to line up with Rutherford, Foote, and a room that already knows what a bad season feels like.
Dorion may still get the job. That is the uncomfortable part for Vancouver fans. The possibility is real enough now that it cannot be treated like background noise.
But if the Canucks are serious about picking the best fit instead of the biggest old title, Johnson still looks like the better swing. Vancouver does not need a louder résumé. It needs a sharper one.
Source : The ‘strong possibility’ of Pierre Dorion as Canucks GM, draft lottery stakes and Markus Naslund
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MAY 5, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Martin Necas | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Kirill Kaprizov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Landeskog | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Ryan Hartman | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brett Kulak | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mats Zuccarello | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nick Blankenburg | - | - | - | |
| Matthew Boldy | - | - | - | |
| Brent Burns | - | - | - | |
| Ross Colton | - | - | - | |
| Jack Drury | - | - | - | |
| Brock Faber | - | - | - | |
| Marcus Foligno | - | - | - | |
| Nick Foligno | - | - | - | |
| Filip Gustavsson | - | - | - | |
| Quinn Hughes | - | - | - | |
| Daemon Hunt | - | - | - | |
| Marcus Johansson | - | - | - | |
| Nazem Kadri | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||