On Thursday morning, the Vancouver Canucks called a press conference for 1 PM to make a major announcement. That major announcement was the Canucks hiring of Daniel and Henrik Sedin as Co-Presidents of Hockey Operations and Ryan Johnson as General Manager.

If you missed the livestream, here are our instant reactions to what was said:

Aquillini started by thanking the previous regime for their work and acknowledging the hardships they faced, which he described as “unexpected personnel challenges”. He also shared that once Jim Rutherford wanted to “accelerate his timeline away from the day-to-day duties”, Aquillini went back to Henrik and Daniel and asked if they would fill that role as Co-Presidents of Hockey Operations. It was nice to see ownership step back and allow the team’s Presidents to make their own decisions.

In his opening statement, Aquillini mentioned that once the Sedins accepted the role of President of Hockey Operations, they were the ones who made the decision on the next GM. When they were appointed, it was between Johnson and Evan Gold. They were part of the final two interviews with both candidates and shared that they spent a day with each before coming to a decision in favour of Johnson, as they believe he can guide this organization to a “better place”.

During the Sedins era of Canucks hockey, the culture was always sky-high. As leaders, they believed in culture and community work, which has been lacking in Vancouver for some time now. And with them now in the President’s role, they are looking to turn that back around. “Culture is huge. You can not win without it. That’s impossible,” Henrik said. That’s what the Canucks need after years of chaos.

Johnson said all the things you want to hear with regard to this question. He believes it’s unfair to the process to impose a timeline for the rebuild. Building from the ground up with a strong environment that allows players to make mistakes, grow from them, and be better for it. As long as they follow through with what they’re saying, that’s something this team so desperately needs.

Once a new front-office regime is hired, evaluations are conducted throughout the organization. In his exit meetings, Rutherford said it would be up to the next GM to decide on Head Coach Adam Foote. When asked about potentially making the coaching change, Johnson described it as “unfair” to evaluate Foote’s work last season, given the injuries they dealt with, the goaltending, and the drama around the group. New regimes typically like to pick their guy, and Johnson knows the top internal candidate, Manny Malhotra, better than most.

When asked about their struggling star, Elias Pettersson, Johnson wants a fresh start. He wants to wipe away any expectations and come as prepared as possible for next season. The Sedins shared their experiences, saying they went through good and bad seasons, but their best seasons came when they entered the year prepared. Preparation was the big talking point around Pettersson, as we’ve heard about before.

To watch the full press conference below: