It seems that even when someone moves on, the conversation about the Vancouver Canucks‘ practice facility – or, better yet, the lack thereof – persists.

On Thursday, Seattle Kraken general manager Jason Botterill announced that the team has hired former Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin to serve as one of the team’s assistant general managers.

In the Kraken’s release, Allvin noted how excited he is at the prospect of reuniting with Botterill, as the two briefly worked together during the Pittsburgh Penguins’ glory years earlier in the century. Allvin also praised the Kraken Community Iceplex, Seattle’s own practice facility.

“I liked everything I heard from Jason about the good people in the organization,” Allvin said. “The practice facility is phenomenal, best in the league. The support of the Kraken in the city and region was evident every time I’ve been down there for games. As a visiting team, you can feel the fans’ energy and feel the identity of the team playing fast hockey.”

Now, to the naked eye, Allvin’s remarks regarding the training facility might seem minuscule, but to those who follow the Canucks, it seems like more of a jab.

Much has been made over the years of Vancouver not having a dedicated practice facility, with players using a variety of rinks, including the University of British Columbia, when Rogers Arena is in use. When former Canucks goaltender Arturs Silovs was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins last summer, he made note of how nice it was to skate at a dedicated training venue.

“It’s like we’re skating [at a] university,” Silovs said last fall. “Here, it’s your own locker room. You don’t have to move your things all the time. You can skate and do your stuff…I think that’s a huge bonus for a team.”

It seems that headway has been made in the past few months. Allvin and former president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford toured the Rosemary Brown Rec Centre in South Burnaby and the Britannia Ice Rink around this time last year. Then, back in March, CanucksArmy’s Irf Gaffar reported that the Canucks and the City of Vancouver were nearing an agreement to build a practice facility at Britannia, though nothing has been announced since.

Yet, as blueprints and conversations might be ongoing, the Canucks are still left wanting for the time being. Once the Calgary Flames’ new arena, Scotia Place, opens in 2027, Vancouver will be the only NHL team without its own practice facility.

Seattle’s hiring of Allvin comes less than two months after Vancouver fired him as GM and a couple of weeks after he officially left the team’s front office.