Jim Rutherford threw a huge cobblestone into the pond at his first press conference in Vancouver on Monday.
“I’ll tell you what CEOs are always afraid to say, the most important part of our job is managing the ‘top’. ”
No one in the room needed an explanation. The media assigned to cover the Canucks know the dynamics of the organization: the owner, Francesco Aquilini, likes to stick his nose in the kitchen …
It took an old driver like Rutherford, 72, to burst the abscess without fear of the wrath of the big boss.
Nothing can make a general manager look worse than an owner who gets involved in hockey decisions. He must obviously give his approval before granting huge contracts, but disaster looms when he gets too involved in the daily management of a club.
A recurring problem in Vancouver
Former Canucks president Trevor Linden resigned with a bang a few years ago because his rebuilding plan was not followed. CEO Jim Benning wisely followed Aquilini’s guideline in order to stay in office. We can guess, reading between the lines, that the monstrous contracts offered to Loui Eriksson and Tyler Myers had probably been ordered at the top.
In fact, a healthy organization generally has an invested owner, but not an omnipotent one. Jeffrey Vinik in Tampa is a prime example. He has never been afraid to appoint strong men, Steve Yzerman, then Julien BriseBois, giving them free rein, while ensuring that they do not lack resources.
In Toronto, President Brendan Shanahan is not being told what to do by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment. Ditto for Joe Sakic in Denver and George McPhee in Vegas.
Bad examples
Buffalo Sabers love Terry Pegula. Former captain Jason Pominville has previously said that Pegula and his wife invite Quebec Sabers players to their yacht when they pass through the Old Port of Montreal.
But like Aquilini in Vancouver, Pegula likes to give her “recommendations” to her hockey men. The Sabers are in their third rebuild in ten years, after many ineffective shortcuts in large part because of the too much involvement of a boss with little knowledge.
A few years ago, Oilers owner Daryl Katz reversed a decision by his recruiters, who wanted to draft defenseman Ryan Murray at number one in 2012, to impose Nail Yakupov on them.
Murray isn’t the pick of the century, but he’s still in the NHL almost ten years later, while Yakupov has returned to Russia three years now, after four unsuccessful seasons (except the first) in Edmonton.
In Carolina, the decision to offer Jesperi Kotkaniemi six million to snatch him from the Canadiens’ organization certainly did not come from GM Don Waddell, but from an owner, Tom Dundon, eager to avenge the qualifying offer to Sebastian Aho two years earlier.
Jim Rutherford has a nice game to shed light in his subtle way on the omnipresence of the boss. Neither does he espouse the methods of reconstruction, so repugnant to Aquilini. The two are probably already on the same page.
Our man nevertheless wants to improve the speed and level of talent of the Canucks. The new president and interim CEO of the team also gives himself time to hire a CEO, whom he will oversee.
In the meantime, old driver Bruce Boudreau, despite all his faults, seems to have raised the bar. The Canucks have just won four games in a row, after a five-game winning streak in 16 games …
Russia says no to Miroshnichenko
The young 17-year-old striker Ivan Miroshnichenko is considered by many to be one of the best prospects of the 2022 vintage, so in principle a candidate of interest for the Canadian, who will likely draft in the top 5. Miroshnichenko, an explosive skater with a thunderous shot, opened his eyes to the Hlinka / Gretzky tournament with nine points in just five games. His rating has just taken a hit: the young man was cut off from the Russian junior training in anticipation of the World Championship. Coach Sergei Zubov spoke about his poor physical condition. Miroshnichenko is also having a difficult season in the VHL, the “American League” of the KHL, with only nine points, including four goals, in 22 games. Miroshnichenko cannot even use the excuse of having been excluded because he had dared to leave his country to play in the Canadian junior circuit…