It’s been nearly two weeks since the departure of Patrik Allvin as the Vancouver Canucks general manager, and the search for a new management leader is starting to dwindle. Regardless of how many lists there may be, there is surely no shortage of candidates for the job.

However, we’re here to bring some positivity to what was an ugly ending for Allvin in Vancouver. Last week, we went over some of the worst moves Allvin made during his tenure, but now we’re here to go over some of the best moves he made over the past four years.

Let’s take you back to the summer of 2022. The Canucks had missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season, finishing five points out of the second and final Wild Card spot, and had not had much recent postseason success. Aside from the beautiful qualities the city has to offer and a few foundational organizational pieces, the Canucks really didn’t have much going for them and were not viewed as a destination for free agents.

However, that wasn’t the case for KHL superstar Andrei Kuzmenko. Allvin sold him on a vision and signed him to a one-year, $950,000 entry-level contract, despite nearly half the league being interested in his services. Kuzmenko picked Vancouver. And it paid off for both parties, as Kuzmenko went on to have a breakout rookie campaign, where he scored 39 goals and 35 assists for 74 points in 81 games.

He was then extended to a two-year, $5.5 million AAV salary a few months after choosing Vancouver. Now, a coaching change led to Kuzmenko falling out of favour with the Canucks, and he was traded to the Calgary Flames as part of the Elias Lindholm deal. But the work Allvin did to entice Kuzmenko to come to Vancouver should be recognized.

Following the trade of Bo Horvat, Allvin did not hold onto that New York Islanders first-round pick for a while. Just over a month after acquiring it, the Canucks then flipped that first-round pick, along with a 2023 second-round pick, in exchange for defenceman Filip Hronek and a fourth-round pick.

Hronek played just four games that season due to injury, but really showed Canucks fans what type of player he was in his second year in Vancouver. In 2023-24, Hronek formed a fantastic pair with Quinn Hughes, allowing his captain to truly develop into one of the league’s best defencemen by serving as the stabilizing force on the right side. Hronek would set a career high in points that season with 48 and an incredible plus-33.

His efforts earned him an eight-year, $7.25 million AAV contract extension. However, questions began to arise among the fan base about whether Hronek was just benefiting from the players he played with. He silenced that narrative this past season once Hughes was traded, as Hronek took on the added role and ran with it.

The Czech defenceman went on to set a new career high on 49 points, but with a minus-23 rating. By all accounts, Hronek also took a step in leadership with the young players in the locker room and is now being considered for the team’s next captain.

On top of adding Hronek in the trade, that fourth-round pick returned in the Hronek deal was the pick the Canucks used to draft Ty Mueller. Mueller played a pivotal role on the Abbotsford Canucks’ Calder Cup-winning team and has been given NHL games over the final two seasons.

Adding a top-pairing, right-shot defenceman and signing him to what is looking like a bargain contract compared to some other defencemen’s contracts in the league, and this may have been Allvin’s best move.

Once the Canucks started to show that they were going to be serious contenders in the 2023-24 season, Allvin went out and attacked early when they acquired Nikita Zadorov less than two months into the season.

The 6’7″ Russian defenceman scored five goals and nine assists for 14 points in 54 games with the Canucks. Those aren’t outrageous point totals, but his presence was felt with his physicality and heart on the ice, and his personality off of it.

Come playoff time, Zadorov might have been one of the best Canucks on the ice. He scored some big goals, including the game-tying goal in Game 1 of the second round against the Edmonton Oilers, and instilled fear in his opponents with his crushing hits and chirping after the whistles. Zadorov went on to score four goals and four assists for eight points in 13 postseason games – fifth in team scoring.

And sure, it’s upsetting that he wound up walking in free agency the following offseason, but to only pay a 2026 third-round pick (65th overall) and a 2024 fifth-round pick (Colton Roberts) for the brief experience of Zadorov in Vancouver was well worth that price tag.

It was always going to be difficult for Allvin to top his 2023 free agent class, in which he brought in the likes of Carson Soucy, Ian Cole, Teddy Blueger, and Pius Suter in 2024. And while he didn’t land as much in terms of volume that offseason, he did so with quality when they signed Kiefer Sherwood to a two-year, $1,5 million AAV contract.

In his debut season with the Canucks, Sherwood had a career year, scoring 19 goals and 21 assists for 40 points while averaging just 14:53 minutes of ice time. Not only did he explode offensively, the Columbus, Ohio native would go on to set the new NHL hits record with 463.

Sherwood was off to shatter his previous career highs in 2025-26 as well. After the first month of the season, Sherwood shared the league lead in goals and had 17 goals and 23 points in just 44 games. He remained one of the league’s most physical forwards while also earning regular penalty-killing time, which increased his average ice time to nearly 18 minutes per game.

Coming to Vancouver is what gave Sherwood a consistent NHL career. It was a strong level of pro scouting to go headhunting for this player and sign him to a cheap contract that they were later able to turn into two second-round picks from the non-playoff San Jose Sharks.

With all of the health concerns surrounding Thatcher Demko heading into the 2024-25 season, the Canucks were prepared to head into the season with Arturs Silovs as their starter after Casey DeSmith walked in free agency. However, once it became more apparent that Demko would not be available to start the season, Allvin needed to add to his goaltending room.

There was still Kevin Lankinen on the market. Instead of showing how desperate they realistically were, Allvin waited until after training camp for Lankinen’s camp to cave and settle for the contract they were offering. The Canucks signed Lankinen on a bargain one-year, $875,000 contract. Little did they know how much they would actually need him that season.

Silovs got the opening-night start, but after he allowed three third-period goals and the overtime winner, Lankinen was given the crease, and he didn’t give it back. The Finnish netminder went on to become the team’s starting goalie, finishing with a 25-15-10 record, a 2.62 goals against average and a .902 save percentage, with four shutouts.

Lankinen’s career-year earned him a five-year, $4.5 million AAV contract. While it wasn’t a great follow-up season for Lankinen, recording an 11-27-5 record, a 3.70 goals against average and a .875 save percentage, the production they got in net – a position they were so desperately in need of – at under $900,000 all because you were more patient than he was, was a great move that Allvin can hang his hat on as he walks out the door.

What do you think, Canucks fans? How would you rank these moves by Allvin? Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments below!