Canucks promote Johnson to GM; Sedin twins named co-presidents

The Vancouver Canucks confirmed the worst-kept secret in hockey on Thursday with the introduction of their new management group.

Assistant general manager Ryan Johnson has been promoted to general manager with club legends Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin expanding their roles as co-presidents of hockey operations. The Hockey Hall of Famers had been working in the team’s player development department.

Johnson becomes the 13th GM in franchise history.

A native of Thunder Bay, Ont., the 49-year-old Johnson joined the Canucks in 2013 after an 18-year pro career. A centre, Johnson appeared in 701 NHL games across 13 seasons with the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, St. Louis Blues, Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks from 1997 to 2011. For his career, Johnson had 38 goals and 84 assists.

Hired as player development coach, Johnson was promoted to director of player development in 2017. With the promotion came the portfolio of general manager of the club’s American Hockey League affiliate, then in Utica, NY. Retaining his AHL GM job, Johnson was named special assistant to the general manager in 2022 and promoted to assistant GM in 2024. In 2025, Johnson’s Abbotsford Canucks won the Calder Cup as AHL champions.

Johnson succeeds Patrik Allvin, who was fired last month after nearly four seasons on the job. Allvin’s predecessor, Jim Rutherford, who served as the Canucks’ president of hockey operations, announced he was stepping down from his role earlier this month.

The Sedin brothers were taken with the second and third overall selections, respectively, of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. Each twin played 17 seasons with the Canucks with both retiring in 2018.

In 2011, the duo became the first set of brothers in NHL history to win the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading scorer when Daniel won the year after Henrik. Henrik was also the 2010 Hart Trophy winner as the NHL’s player most valuable to his team. Henrik finished his career with 240 goals and 830 assists in 1,330 career games, while Daniel notched 393 goals and 648 in 1,306 contests.

The Sedins were inducted into the Hall as part of the Class of 2022.

The Canucks finished the season with 58 points, the team’s lowest total in a full season since 1999. Despite having the best odds, the team will draft with the third-overall selection in next month’s NHL Draft after the lottery was won by the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Canucks have missed the playoffs in five of the past six seasons.