Stan Smyl gets fat promotion under new Canucks president Jim Rutherford

The Vancouver Canucks have promoted long-time executive and franchise icon Stan Smyl to the position of Vice-President of Hockey Operations. Smyl will report to newly hired President Jim Rutherford and will manage the team's soon to be hired General Manager.

Check it out:

From the team's press release announcement:

Vancouver, BC - Vancouver Canucks President, Hockey Operations and Interim General Manager Jim Rutherford announced today that Stan Smyl has been promoted to Vice President of Hockey Operations.

Rutherford also confirmed that Daniel and Henrik Sedin will remain as Special Advisors to the General Manager, and Ryan Johnson will continue as Senior Director, Player Development and General Manager for the Abbotsford Canucks.

"Stan has been a foundational piece of this team for decades, and we are pleased that he will be taking on this role," said Rutherford. "In addition, Henrik, Daniel, and Ryan are key parts of our leadership team. We still have some additional roles to fill, but confirming these positions today is a big step for us."

Stan Smyl, 62, will work closely with Rutherford on all hockey operations matters, including player personnel decisions and internal operations. Smyl is a Canucks legend, having served as an executive, coach, or player since 1978. The former team Captain has held several leadership roles in the front office since 2005, including Director of Player Development and Senior Advisor to the General Manager. He most recently stepped in as Interim General Manager to help lead the Canucks during the Hockey Operations leadership change.

Smyl, as pointed out in the team's statement, stepped in as interim GM when the Canucks fired longtime GM Jim Benning and brought some much needed direction to a team who had lost total control of their narrative. Following Smyl's press conference the day after Benning was fired, Canucks fans had been calling for Smyl to be named the full-time GM. Those fans may be disappointed given today's news, but there's speculation in the Vancouver market that Smyl was never really in the running for the job, simply because he wasn't interested in it and wanted to remain behind the scenes.