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Canucks hire Patrik Allvin as next general manager

Canucks reportedly hire Patrik Allvin as next GM

PITTSBURGH, PA - JULY 24: Assistan General Manager Patrik Allvin attend rounds 2-7 of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft at PPG Paints Arena on July 24, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Evan Schall/NHLI via Getty Images)

NHLI via Getty Images

The Vancouver Canucks have named Patrik Allvin as the 12th general manager in franchise history. Allvin was serving as assistant GM to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Rutherford brings in Allvin from Penguins to serve as Canucks GM

No doubt, Canucks President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford knows Allvin well from their days in the Penguins organization.

“I am pleased to welcome Patrik and his family to Vancouver,” said Rutherford in a statement. “Patrik and I worked together for seven years, and I believe he will be an excellent General Manager. He has won three Stanley Cups and has experience at all levels of hockey operations. He is intelligent, works hard, makes strong decisions and I believe he will help us build a winning team in Vancouver.”

At first, it seemed like Rutherford wouldn’t end up working closely with Allvin for very long. After all, Rutherford surprisingly left the Penguins organization earlier this season. But, hey, Rutherford didn’t say “I look forward to working closely with Allvin -- and in Pittsburgh only.” So there.

This ended up being Allvin’s 16th and final season with the Penguins organization. Allvin began as a European scout in 2006-07, eventually became director of amateur scouting, and then became Penguins assistant GM in 2020.

Before that, Allvin served as a European scout for the Canadiens from 2002-06.

A mix of new and familiar faces within Canucks front office

You might look at the hiring of Allvin, 47, as something of a typical hockey move. Chummy, if you want to be less than generous.

But Rutherford’s opened some doors with other recent Canucks hirings. On Monday, the Canucks announced that they hired Emilie Castonguay as their first woman assistant GM in franchise history, and just the second in NHL history.

Before that, they added Rachel Doerrie to their front office staff.

So, maybe the Canucks will mix some of the old-school (hiring those you know) with fresh ideas (setting rare front office milestones) and find themselves a winning formula? This organization certainly has some work to do, but they’ve already seen some solid results from a coach who seemingly transcends the “retread” label in Bruce Boudreau.

Ideally, they’ll combine to at least be more forward-thinking than the Jim Benning regime.

James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.