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4 questions the Canucks new GM will want to answer
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Jordan Frew
May 9, 2026, 15:00 EDTUpdated: May 9, 2026, 12:51 EDT
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The Vancouver Canucks search for a General Manager appears to be down to the final two: Evan Gold and Ryan Johnson.
It’s no secret that once the decision is made, the new hire will have a tall mountain to climb ahead of them. They’re joining an organization that had one of their worst seasons to date, struggling with underperforming players and picking up the pieces of a fractured locker room.
While there are lots of things the new GM will have to sort through, there are four questions he will want to answer right away.

Is Elias Pettersson open to a change of scenery?

Elias Pettersson’s future with the Canucks has been up in the air for a while, and it’s time to make some decisions regarding it. Whether that be a trade or another season to try to bounce back is up to the new GM and Pettersson.
Since signing his eight-year $11.6 million contract, the star forward’s offence has dried up. He has shown bright sides, such as over the past season proving he can be a two-way forward, but at the end of the day, that’s not what the Canucks are paying him for.
You can give him some leniency, as during the first two years of his new contract, there have been multiple cases of the Canucks having a toxic locker room, one of which directly involved him and former teammate JT Miller. A driving factor for this rift was Pettersson’s lack of effort, particularly during the offseason. This is something the organization has had to harp on him before, with Jim Rutherford even doing so again during the Canucks end-of-season press conference.
The Swede has shown the powerhouse forward he can be, and while there have been glimpses of him during this season, it has not been consistent for a while.
Whoever the new GM is, he needs to have an open and honest conversation around Pettersson’s future in the organization and whether he can put in the work to return to his former self. Or they need to have a conversation about Pettersson waiving his no-trade clause and finding him a change of scenery.

Am I allowed to trade Filip Hronek?

Trading Filip Hronek could be a route for the new GM to explore to acquire assets at the beginning of this rebuild. It would also open up more ice time and special teams play for defencemen next season, which will help the Canucks learn who of their young players can lead the team.
After the Canucks traded Quinn Hughes, they relied heavily on Hronek to fill his spot. The 28-year-old did the best he could, and in doing so increased his trade value. Given that this offseason’s free-agent class is weak and teams may explore trades rather than signings, moving Hronek may be a smart move to consider to bring in other players and picks that gear the Canucks towards the future.
With the Canucks having an up-and-coming defence core, it was critical that they receive a strong guiding hand from veteran defencemen like Hronek and Tyler Myers. Rookies like Tom Willander, Zeev Buium, and Elias Pettersson have now spent a season with the veterans, and the Canucks have started the transition to give young talent the lead in the organization.
Even though Myers was dealt at the trade deadline and Hronek’s value is at an all-time high, potentially leading to his exit from the organization, young defencemen will still have a veteran presence in Marcus Pettersson. Additionally, the Canucks have the option to test the offseason market and find a defenceman to replace the leadership they would miss if they move on from Hronek.
The new GM needs to ask themselves whether Hronek is expendable. And if so, do so delicately, as the Czech has a no-movement clause through the 2027-28 season. He can’t afford to run into a similar situation that the New Jersey Devils put themselves in with Dougie Hamilton. Regardless, the new GM will have to determine whether Hronek is worth more to the team than the possible futures he would return in a trade.

What made the Canucks’ locker room so bad pre-deadline, and are the issues really fixed?

As time goes on, more and more keeps coming out about how bad the state of the Canucks locker room truly was. During the 2024-25 season, it was the Miller-Pettersson rift; this year, it appears there was still toxicity. During his end-of-season conference, Rutherford said that since the trade deadline, the locker room has never been better, showing the Canucks culture is back on the right path.
However, locker room troubles have not been a one-off issue for this team. Over the past couple of seasons, there have been multiple players who have created bad vibes. The new GM needs to do a deep dive into the current Canucks culture and make sure he understands what caused not just one, but all of the issues within the Canucks team. Doing so will allow the organization to lay a strong foundation to build off of and truly move past those issues, ensuring that the mistakes of the past will not be repeated.

Who do I draft with the third overall pick?

The upcoming draft is a critical step in the building of the Canucks’ prospects pool, and it all lies in the hands of the future GM.
Right now, the talk is about centre Caleb Malhotra, but you never know what opportunities may arise on the draft floor. Will the new GM pick Malhotra? What if Ivar Stenberg is still available? Should the Canucks consider trading down?
These are all questions the Canucks face during the draft. Whoever the new GM is will have to go through each scenario and consult with his scouting department to figure out where the organization stands when it’s time to make the critical pick.
These are just four of the countless questions the new GM will have to consider once he takes control. Some of which he’ll have already thought through, and some he will want to address right away. These won’t be easy tasks for a first-time NHL GM, but they are ones he will need to get right at such a pivotal time in the Canucks’ rebuild.
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