The Vancouver Canucks announced their new front office on Thursday, and General Manager Ryan Johnson joined the new Co-Presidents Daniel and Henrik Sedin to speak to the media.
The trio are all former Canucks players and have been in the organization for over five years apiece.
“I think it’s a strength that we’ve been a part of all aspects of the organization. I think we see what’s needed. I think we know the strength of this organization. Obviously, moving forward with all the prospects and draft picks, player development is going to be a huge part of this journey. So that’s obviously one thing we’re looking to make better,” said Daniel.
Johnson added that his journey through the organization has been organic and that he has spent a lot of time listening and observing. He mentioned that he never had an agenda to work his way up to becoming the general manager, but focused on doing good work and working with good people.
The trio was asked about the organization’s culture and how they can get it to a point where they want it to be. The Sedins and Johnson were both culture setters and carriers through their NHL careers, and we saw Johnson establish a strong culture with his Abbotsford Canucks, who won the Calder Cup in 2025.
“Ryan is a big part of that, too,” said Henrik when asked about the culture. “We’ve got to show up every day and lead by example. Culture is huge. You cannot win without it. That’s impossible. And you cannot be sustainable without it.”
Johnson was asked about a timeline for the Canucks’ rebuild and said that setting any timeline would be unfair to the process. His first step is to create an environment where players can improve, make mistakes, and have access to resources.
“We’re going to do this step by step, and we’re not going to race through it. We’re going to be very strategic with everything we do. We’re going to be aligned with everything we do so that, as a group, we are sticking to the vision that was talked about in May of 2026 and not ever get outside of that vision,” said Johnson.
“If we stick to that, we do it correctly, and we have the right people, the right leadership, the right environment here consistently every day, there’s no doubt in our minds that we will take the steps to get to where we want to go.”
The full media availability can be viewed on the Canucks’ YouTube channel. And we will have plenty more content about the organization’s front office to come in the near future.
