Jim Rutherford's time in Vancouver has run out.

If you're anything like me the news on Friday that Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin had been relieved of his duties came as somewhat of a surprise. Not because Allvin losing his job was in and of itself a surprise, but more so due to the fact that president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford had not accompanied Allvin on his way out the door.

Rutherford and Allvin worked as a tandem and presided over one of the worst eras of Vancouver Canucks hockey, one that saw the Canucks go from being a legitimate contender in the Western Conference to a dysfunctional franchise that was recently voted the National Hockey League's worst run franchise. Why then was Rutherford spared?

Well it seems Rutherford may not have been spared at all in fact, with NHL insider Elliotte Friedman confirming on Monday that Rutherford's time in Vancouver has effectively come to an end.

"It is pretty clear to me that whoever wins this job is going to be running the Canucks," said Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast. "This is the next hockey operations boss of the Canucks. Jim Rutherford admitted it, his time there is getting shorter and it's just a matter of when and not if."

To Friedman it is already a forgone conclusion that the next hire the Canucks make will not be answering to Rutherford as president of hockey operations.

"This is a process for the next hockey boss of the Vancouver Canucks," clarified Friedman.

Given what transpired in Vancouver during his tenure, including losing stars like J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes for one reason or another, I believe most fans will welcome the change.

The question now of course is who will be the man for the job? The Canucks have historically already had someone in mind when making a front office change but that does not appear to be the case this time around. If the candidate is someone internal to the organization however, Friedman did make mention of one potential name already within the Canucks organization.

"I think if it was up to Rutherford, he would promote Ryan Johnson," revealed Friedman.

Johnson has a wealth of experience having previously served as general manager of the American Hockey League's Abbotsford Canucks as well as more recently assistant general manager with the Vancouver Canucks. Whether or not the Canucks will even consider an internal candidate after how poorly things have gone in recent years however remains to be seen.