Rutherford Press Conference on Dec. 13, 2021.

[JamesB]

I have not seen a new topic on Rutherford's introductory press conference (or "media availability" as they are now called), so I decided to start one. 

 

This is best Canuck press conference I have ever seen. There are two main reasons.

 

A. There were a lot of good questions and surprisingly full and honest answers from Rutherford. Even Aquilini was more forthcoming than usual.

B. I absolutely loved what I heard from Rutherford.

 

Here are some high points (from my point of view).

 

1. Coaching. I had been wondering about how the Boudreau hiring fit with Rutherford. The answer is that Aquilini was talking to both of them separately. Rutherford had to delay accepting the job because he was ill and Aquilini asked if it was okay if they went ahead with Boudreau and Rutherford was on board. Rutherford was very positive about Boudreau but was careful not to insult Green. I really liked the way Rutherford handled the discussion of coaching. (Rutherford noted that he and Boudreau have known each other for about 50 years and always wanted to work together,)

 

2. Trades. Rutherford said he is no hurry to make trades, He said he wanted to get to know the team better and will probably take from now till the end of January. He said people have been calling him about trades already but he is not initiating calls yet. He wants to get the front office sorted out first. He said the team is missing a few pieces but that, given the cap situation, it is hard to do a lot quickly. Everything he said makes perfect sense to me.

 

3. Draft Picks. Rutherford said that he did not want to trade high draft picks -- that the Canucks are not in the right phase of the cycle to do that. Agree 100%.

 

4. Wall and Gear. Rutherford apparently had no role in firing Wall and Gear. Aquilini had been reviewing the organization and apparently decided to fire those two guys on his own.

 

5. Demko, Hughes, and Pettersson. Rutherford said that Canucks already have one of the hardest pieces to get in building a Cup contender -- a franchise goalie in Demko. He also loves Hughes. He is high on Pettersson's talent but agreed that he needs to improve. Nothing shocking in these comments but good answers to questions.

 

6. Why did he take the job at his age? Apparently it was a close call and he turned the job down at least once before he accepted and has turned down other opportunities. But he was very impressed by the fact that Aqulini went to his home to talk to him (credit to Aquilini) and that he sees a lot of potential in the Canucks (esp. with Demko and Hughes to build around). Also, he appreciates being back in Canada and appreciates the enthusiasm in Vancouver. And of course he loves the game. My guess is that after being retired for a while the timing was about right, so I think the Canucks were lucky on this one. 

 

7. Vision. Rutherford did not go into a lot of detail, saying he wants to evaluate things first, but what he did say makes sense to me. This is just my reading of what he said and could be wrong but my paraphrase is that, given the age profile of the team, the "window of opportunity" might open in a couple of years and then stay open for a few years. So, if he adds players he wants them to be on the young side. Also, that is why he does not want to trade high draft picks now because those are the guys who will be good in 2 or 3 or 4 years and will be on cheap contracts. You need some guys like that on a Cup contender. Rutherford is not going to spell things out in that much detail but that is what I am reading into his comments. I love the fact that I can see a coherent logic behind his comments. 

 

8. Contrast with Benning.  Benning loyalists might want to omit this point. To me Rutherford is the opposite of Benning. First, he speaks well and carefully (including handling politically sensitive topics very well). It is a huge relief to have a GM who can go for more than two sentences without a major grammatical or logical error. Second, when I listened to Benning I would normally cringe at half his answers. With Rutherford I was applauding pretty much every answer. With Rutherford I can see an underlying consistent plan whereas with Benning I had the sense that everything he did was just an opportunistic reaction without a coherent plan. 

 

9. Experience Factor. Aquilini emphasized the importance of the experience factor. I wanted to ask Aquilini if experience was so important, why did he hire a rookie President, rookie GM and rookie NHL head coach last time round. Anyway, I think Aquilini has it right this time.

 

10. Bottom Line. Love this this hire. 

 

[Junkyard Dog]

Everything points to management wanting to build a long-term team. Spoke about the significant holes on the roster and the fact that the cap makes it difficult to fill them as it is. He mentioned the fact that the only significant deals he could make are dollar for dollar(one for one) and he didn't sound or appear to be too keen on that being a long-term solution.

 

Mentioned pieces already in place with Petey, Demko, Hughes. Wants more younger players in trades/on the roster as a part of this group moving forward

 

Not interested in trading high picks. Only interested in veterans short term if it makes sense with the group.

 

None of this sounds like a quick turnaround or that we will be buying.

 

We will likely be sellers at some point since that's how we will bring in more youngsters and clear cap in order to reshape the roster. This year or next year I can imagine. 

[Rubik]

for those who are interested in the press conference itself

 

 

[King Heffy]

Really impressed so far, but his choice of GM will tell us far more than a press conference.

[Goal:thecup]

Good synopsis James.

I only disagree with one thing.

I found it really boring and fell asleep twice.

Frankie going from one side to the other like a windshield wiper; all rooks -> all old guys; this is better.

Should find out who the new AGM is this week and later the GM. 

To complete this ass-backwards hiring restructure, coach and asst coach, then POHO, then AGM, then analytics and capologist, then GM.

Its all good; I'm good too; just sleepy.

[Rindiculous]

8 minutes ago, Junkyard Dog said:

Everything points to management wanting to build a long-term team. Spoke about the significant holes on the roster and the fact that the cap makes it difficult to fill them as it is. He mentioned the fact that the only significant deals he could make are dollar for dollar(one for one) and he didn't sound or appear to be too keen on that being a long-term solution.

 

Mentioned pieces already in place with Petey, Demko, Hughes. Wants more younger players in trades/on the roster as a part of this group moving forward

 

Not interested in trading high picks. Only interested in veterans short term if it makes sense with the group.

 

None of this sounds like a quick turnaround or that we will be buying.

 

We will likely be sellers at some point since that's how we will bring in more youngsters and clear cap in order to reshape the roster. This year or next year I can imagine. 

I don't like the term sellers.  Honestly, at this point I feel at least until this offseason we should be staying the course.  We've got a more complete team on paper than almost any other in the NHL.  We don't have the worldbeaters like the Edmonton's, Toronto's, and the Tampa's of the world.  I think our team could be modeled after Carolina, tons of good depth throughout with good coaching.  We don't quite have the depth of Carolina, but right now selling off some of our current team will be useless to making us better.  We've got one of the youngest cores.  The only older players on our team are fringe players that have no value to sell off like Travis Hamonic, Brandon Sutter, Luke Schenn, Tyler Myers (maybe he has some value, but he probably has more value to us than we could ever get in a trade).  OEL isn't going anywhere nor should he, he's key for our left side right now.  The next oldest guys are Tanner Pearson, JT Miller, Bo Horvat.  None of these guys are old (28 and younger), most likely to be in their primes for the next 5+ years during the time we should be contending anyway.  So there's no reason we should be selling off our roster.  Only reasonable thing I could see is a lateral move which does not make the squad better or worse.

 

The only reason we have been so bad is our penalty kill.  If we had even average special teams, we're a top 10 team in the league (just look at all the Canucks +/-, it's excellent which shows how good we are 5 on 5 especially with Demko).  If that gets better due to coaching, we got a good team on our hands that we should not be selling off under any circumstance.

[Junkyard Dog]

6 minutes ago, Rindiculous said:

I don't like the term sellers.  Honestly, at this point I feel at least until this offseason we should be staying the course.  We've got a more complete team on paper than almost any other in the NHL.  We don't have the worldbeaters like the Edmonton's, Toronto's, and the Tampa's of the world.  I think our team could be modeled after Carolina, tons of good depth throughout with good coaching.  We don't quite have the depth of Carolina, but right now selling off some of our current team will be useless to making us better.  We've got one of the youngest cores.  The only older players on our team are fringe players that have no value to sell off like Travis Hamonic, Brandon Sutter, Luke Schenn, Tyler Myers (maybe he has some value, but he probably has more value to us than we could ever get in a trade).  OEL isn't going anywhere nor should he, he's key for our left side right now.  The next oldest guys are Tanner Pearson, JT Miller, Bo Horvat.  None of these guys are old (28 and younger), most likely to be in their primes for the next 5+ years during the time we should be contending anyway.  So there's no reason we should be selling off our roster.  Only reasonable thing I could see is a lateral move which does not make the squad better or worse.

 

The only reason we have been so bad is our penalty kill.  If we had even average special teams, we're a top 10 team in the league (just look at all the Canucks +/-, it's excellent which shows how good we are 5 on 5 especially with Demko).  If that gets better due to coaching, we got a good team on our hands that we should not be selling off under any circumstance.

That doesn't really align with what Rutherford was saying.

 

He sees holes on the roster that are difficult to fill with how we are cap-wise. Only mentioned a dollar for dollar deal as the only only real deal we could make right now which he didn't sound too keen on and doesn't align with his long-term vision.

 

Spoke highly about the young pieces already in place. Said he wants younger players that fit this age group and is willing to put together a group that can develop into a long-term successful one. Isn't willing to trade high picks.

 

We're potentially in for a reset. If not this year than next year.

[AK_19]

Sounds pretty clear that he is in the assessment stage right now and doesn't want to commit to what direction the team is going, which is perfectly fair. I was surprised by his comments about Green being a good coach but just reached an end to his tenure. I generally roll my eyes when others say that in the face of Bruce's current win streak with the same guys but he's made me question whether I am wrong. 

 

My only gripe was his defense of the Jack Johnson signing (which had to be bought out). That really was a terrible signing and I would've hope he'd reflect on it and see where he went wrong. I'd be fearful of him doing something similar with our team. His answer for why he got Gudbranson I think was fine.

Edited December 13, 2021 by AK_19

[EternalCanuckFan]

30 minutes ago, Junkyard Dog said:

That doesn't really align with what Rutherford was saying.

 

He sees holes on the roster that are difficult to fill with how we are cap-wise. Only mentioned a dollar for dollar deal as the only only real deal we could make right now which he didn't sound too keen on and doesn't align with his long-term vision.

 

Spoke highly about the young pieces already in place. Said he wants younger players that fit this age group and is willing to put together a group that can develop into a long-term successful one. Isn't willing to trade high picks.

 

We're potentially in for a reset. If not this year than next year.

It does sound like Rutherford perceives the window to be further on the horizon rather than now (which is what Benning was trying to do).  If this is the case then it's going to be intriguing.

 

The emphasis on younger players, presumably on cheaper contracts, makes me wonder if Rutherford is looking at Demko and Hughes as the main pieces of a "veteran" core moving forward.  Pettersson is presumably also included with Demko and Hughes, but Rutherford was a bit more guarded in his comments about Pettersson (understandably - Pettersson is only now beginning to show signs of his previous level of play). 

 

If this is the case, then it feels like Miller is probably in an age + $ cohort that won't fit in with the perceived start of the team's window.  If we're looking 2-3 years out, then he'll already be in his early 30s and he's going to eat up a lot of cap room.  It was always possible that Miller would be traded, but the likelihood of that depended a lot on whether the new management team believes the window is now or later.  Garland's probably safe as he provides good value at his cap hit even if he's technically in an older age cohort.

 

This also leaves room to wonder about Horvat's future although it won't make any sense for the Canucks to move him out unless they at least receive a very good young C in return for him or someone else.  I assume Rutherford will take the position that he's stuck with OEL.

Edited December 13, 2021 by EternalCanuckFan

[combover]

Watched the entire interview.

gotta say I really like what he had to say. 
i like the answers

not looking to trade draft pick 

not looking to add 30+ year old players. 

If he makes trades he wants to get younger. 

likes the team but see it has holes and needs pieces 

take some time to see the team up close before making decisions. 

Good answers to the wall/gear dismissals 

FA made the call give JR the ability to change the culture with his guys that have no loyalties to previous regimes. 
 

Didnt say one time a stupid catch phrase “age gap” foundational” “ placeholder”

 

no fluff 

 

what a stupid question about Jake  Virtanen.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 14, 2021 by combover

[DefCon1]

1 hour ago, Junkyard Dog said:

Everything points to management wanting to build a long-term team. Spoke about the significant holes on the roster and the fact that the cap makes it difficult to fill them as it is. He mentioned the fact that the only significant deals he could make are dollar for dollar(one for one) and he didn't sound or appear to be too keen on that being a long-term solution.

 

Mentioned pieces already in place with Petey, Demko, Hughes. Wants more younger players in trades/on the roster as a part of this group moving forward

 

Not interested in trading high picks. Only interested in veterans short term if it makes sense with the group.

 

None of this sounds like a quick turnaround or that we will be buying.

 

We will likely be sellers at some point since that's how we will bring in more youngsters and clear cap in order to reshape the roster. This year or next year I can imagine. 

Look for guys like Pearson, Hamonic, Schenn and Chaisson to be moved during the deadline for picks depending on where we are in the standing. I see Rutherford moving sliw guys and replacing them with speedier players as he talked about our team speed being issues. We just have way too many slow players. Am thinking he will mould our team similar to teams that are speedy like Avs, Carolina, Vegas etc. 

[DrJockitch]

I forget if it was his interview or the one he did with Pit press where he said he wanted a fast team and we aren’t fast. Thought that was interesting and matches Boudreau’s general philosophy. 
Only thing I would have preferred to hear was big and fast. 

[DefCon1]

2 minutes ago, combover said:

Watched the entire interview.

gotta say I really like what he had to say. 
i like the answers

not looking to trade draft pick 

not looking to add 30+ year old players. 

If he makes trades he wants to get younger. 

likes the team but see it has holes and needs pieces 

take some time to see the team up close before making decisions. 

Good answers to the wall/gear dismissals 

FA made the call give JR the ability to change the culture with his guys that have no loyalties to previous regimes. 
 

Did say one time a stupid catch phrase “age gap” foundational” “ placeholder”

 

no fluff 

 

what a stupid question about Jake  Virtanen.

 

 

 

 

The media is becomung stupider in Vancouver. I mean the question abput Jake Virtanen? Completely unrelated and stupid to bring up in this press conference and its for the police to handle, outside of Canucks jurisdiction.

[VegasCanuck]

Watched part of the interview, I think we're on the right track with Rutherford.

 

I liked Benning up to a point, and was willing to give management a pass on last years' performance, based on Covid challenges within the team, but when we really floundered out of the gate and weren't turning the corner, I really felt like it was time for a fresh perspective in both coaching and upper management. I do, however, appreciate all Benning's work on the drafting side of the team; I feel he has set us up for long term success with his selections.

 

Generally what I gather from his interview, I had already said in a few other threads that I would be shocked if he made any trades before end of January, early February unless it was something that was a no brainer, or shuffling at the Abbotsford level.

 

In what he's saying about getting more, younger players, to me says, that he probably won't look to resign Miller, but will likely keep him as a deadline trade either this deadline or next, to set the team up with young assets necessary to build us to a cup run.

 

Personally, I don't think he will hire a new GM before January 1st, I think he will get to know the players and what he has here, before he finalizes a GM, so that he can make sure that the new GM's vision for the team, aligns with what he is seeing in the assets available to work with.

 

Going to be fun seeing how this team changes between now and the end of the season, if we start to lapse on performance, all bets are off for changes.

[Bruce Boudreau]

1 minute ago, DrJockitch said:

I forget if it was his interview or the one he did with Pit press where he said he wanted a fast team and we aren’t fast. Thought that was interesting and matches Boudreau’s general philosophy. 
Only thing I would have preferred to hear was big and fast. 

Yeah I wanted to hear the Stan Smyl influence of harder to play against. Get guys who can skate and hit and agitate.

 

Burrows,Hansen,Kesler,Raffi Torres, Max Lapierre, Matt Cooke, Jarko Ruttu.

 

Looking for those classic Canuck pests.

[DefCon1]

2 minutes ago, DrJockitch said:

I forget if it was his interview or the one he did with Pit press where he said he wanted a fast team and we aren’t fast. Thought that was interesting and matches Boudreau’s general philosophy. 
Only thing I would have preferred to hear was big and fast. 

Well I think being a fast team will make us a better team and size should be secondary to that. If you have speed as a 2nd criteria then you are doing it wrong, just look at Avs  Carolina, Vegas etc. they all play a speedy game. I think size will be a factor thats looked at if the players we get check the box for speed and skill.

[Bruce Boudreau]

Only thing that concerns me is that apparently Rutherford is really tight with Botterill and the rumours are he would like him as an assistant GM to keep his sphere of influence and a close eye on whoever the new GM is going to be.

 

Karmonos is in Buffalo now another guy who Rutherford has closely worked with in the past while Botterill is with the Kraken.

 

It's a wait and see from me.

 

Until we see who the new GM can't really comment on what direction and style he wants the team to have.

 

He has another interview at 4pm on Sportsnet 650 with Riccio,Shah,and Janda.

 

 

[Junkyard Dog]

2 minutes ago, EternalCanuckFan said:

It does sound like Rutherford perceives the window to be further on the horizon rather than now (which is what Benning was trying to do).  If this is the case then it's going to be intriguing.

 

The emphasis on younger players, presumably on cheaper contracts, makes me wonder if Rutherford is looking at Demko and Hughes as the main pieces of a "veteran" core moving forward.  Pettersson is presumably also included with Demko and Hughes, but Rutherford was a bit more guarded in his comments about Pettersson (understandably - Pettersson is only now beginning to show signs of his previous level of play). 

 

If this is the case, then it feels like Miller is probably in an age + $ cohort that won't fit in with the perceived start of the team's window.  If we're looking 2-3 years out, then he'll already be in his early 30s and he's going to eat up a lot of cap room.  It was always possible that Miller would be traded, but the likelihood of that depended a lot on whether the new management team believes the window is now or later.  Garland's probably safe as he provides good value at his cap hit even if he's technically in an older age cohort.

 

This also leaves room to wonder about Horvat's future although it won't make any sense for the Canucks to move him out unless they at least receive a very good young C in return for him or someone else.  I assume Rutherford will take the position that he's stuck with OEL.

Yeah Miller would look like big piece that's the odd-man out.Garland and probably Dickinsen are safe due to age and contracts though I could probably part with Dickinsen. Probably try to keep Motte too if he's cheap. Horvat would be a huge decision but I think you keep him.  I'd even probably get rid of Boeser over Horvat especially considering Boeser's 7.5M qualifying offer.

 

Every other older guy you'd try to move. You can take cap back that expires in 1-2 years too in order to maximize return and have warm bodies.

[DefCon1]

4 minutes ago, Chip Kelly said:

Yeah I wanted to hear the Stan Smyl influence of harder to play against. Get guys who can skate and hit and agitate.

 

Burrows,Hansen,Kesler,Raffi Torres, Max Lapierre, Matt Cooke, Jarko Ruttu.

 

Looking for those classic Canuck pests.

They first need to fix that defense. You cant win a cup with Schenn, Bouroughs, Hunt all in your regular lineup. Am hoping he brings Devon Toews when his contract is up to replace Myers. Maybe try and trade for Pesce or Severson and really build a cup contending defensive core in front of a vezina caliber goalie like Demko. Adding a tough guy or a pest is like the last piece you add to a cup contending team.

[Bruce Boudreau]

2 minutes ago, Junkyard Dog said:

Yeah Miller would look like big piece that's the odd-man out.Garland and probably Dickinsen are safe due to age and contracts though I could probably part with Dickinsen. Probably try to keep Motte too if he's cheap. Horvat would be a huge decision but I think you keep him.  I'd even probably get rid of Boeser over Horvat especially considering Boeser's 7.5M qualifying offer.

 

Every other older guy you'd try to move. You can take cap back that expires in 1-2 years too in order to maximize return and have warm bodies.

As much as I like Miller I agree. He is your best trade chip.

 

Productive versatile forward with center and wing capabilities. Good size and surprising speed for a big body too.