Rumor: Family dispute is breaking up the Canucks

This just in from Vancouver Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal, the team has promoted AHL Abbotsford Canucks GM Ryan Johnson to the NHL and have hired both Henrik and Daniel Sedin in co-President roles.

Johnson has been in the Canucks organization since retiring from a 13 year NHL career. He started as a development coach with the team back in 2013 and was promoted to GM of the Canucks' AHL franchise in 2017. He helped guide the team's transition from Utica, NY as the Utica Comets to Abbotsford, BC as the Abbotsford Canucks and built a Calder Cup championship team in 2025.

Johnson had reportedly received interest from the Nashville Predators for their vacant GM position and were rebuffed from the Canucks. So, whether it was in Vancouver or elsewhere, it appeared that Johnson was destined for an NHL GM position.

At this time last week it appeared the Boston Bruins executive Evan Gold was the man for the GM job in Vancouver. Now, he's apparently yesterday's news and Johnson is in. So... what happened?

Adam Wylde reported today that an apparent disagreement between owners and brothers Francesco and Paolo Aquilini led the Canucks to balk at Gold and the price of hiring him and his support staff.

"Evan Gold was offered the job, but they lowballed him," Wylde said. "I had a source tell me that the lowball was below the $1 million mark and well below that. The philosophy from the Canucks was, 'you have worked your way up, but we are not your come in and get rich. Come in, prove yourself and then we'll pay you.'"

"So then there's other things that go along with this too... the Canucks don't have the same R&D staff and analytics staff, they don't even have access to the same computer programs that most teams have. Like for prospects and analytics. And so, Rutherford is still involved and he's still making a lot of money. The Sedins play into this because they cost a lot of money. Evan Gold wanted to come in and bring in his team... but the tab for severance to pay was going to be very expensive," Wylde continued.

So... the Canucks are cheaping out? It sounds like it. But, why? This is a team that has always spent and over-spent money under Aquilini's reign.

That's when Wylde reported that an Aquilini family dispute might be at the heart of things.

"My understanding is that Paolo and Franceso are not on the same page and that there's a potential buy-out in the works. Vancouver is in a very healthy market. So all of that is playing into this. And the buy-out for, if this is true, we're talking $600 - $700 million. So I think the reason for the cheapness is because of this ongoing friction."

Yeesh...

Of course, the other aspect of this news is that the Sedin Twins will replace Jim Rutherford as President moving forward. In some organizations, the President's role can be somewhat ornamental. In Vancouver though, it's a very, very, very important role.

It's no secret that Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini has his fingerprints all over this team. There are rumors that he has been directly involved in personnel decisions, coaching decisions and even in player trade and free agent acquisitions. The Canucks' Presidential role is an important one that helps buffer the GM from the owner. All of this is to say... good luck twins.