Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes made Vancouver Canucks rethink major strategy regarding organization's future

By Abhishek Dilta

Modified Dec 14, 2023 04:23 GMT

In an insightful conversation on Donnie and Dhali's podcast, Vancouver Canucks President of Hockey Operations, Jim Rutherford, revealed how Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes made a rethink strategy regarding the franchise's future moving forward.

After resigning from the post of Penguins GM in 2021 due to personal reasons, Rutherford was appointed the Canucks president of hockey in December of the same year. Meanwhile, the Canucks last made it to the playoffs in 2020, and since Rutherford's appointment, the club has yet to make it to the postseason.

Nevertheless, this season, the Canucks have had one of the best starts of the season in their franchise's history. There are a lot of positive points to talk about with this Canucks team, and with the way they're playing at the moment, Vancouver has put itself in strong contention for the playoffs.

Rutherford recently discussed how Pettersson and Hughes have assisted the franchise in rethinking its future. When Rutherford arrived in Vancouver, there was talk of rebuilding, but after giving a long thought to it, he decided that with Pettersson and Hughes in their prime, rebuilding was never an option.

Here's what Jim Rutherford said about Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes:

"I gave that some thought in the very early going when I was here and observing different things, and I just don't think it's possible to do a rebuild when you have two star players coming into their prime, Pettersson and Hughes. And if you're doing a rebuild, it means you're getting rid of everybody. And you're starting all over.

"So that would mean you'd be getting rid of them. Maybe not because you want to, but they're going to sit there and say, You know we've lost here long enough. I don't think I want to go through that. So it's something I give thought to."

Rutherford added:

"Rebuilds are interesting; turn out for some teams, but they don't turn out for all teams. Obviously, when a team takes a step back and rebuilds to win a Stanley Cup, everybody points to it and says, Oh, boy, why don't we do that? But they don't point to the teams that have been rebuilding for 10 years and haven't gotten there either.

"So there are pluses and minuses to it, but in my opinion, with Hughes and Pettersson, we were not in a position to do that."

How have Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes fared at the Vancouver Canucks?

Quinn Hughes is the second-leading scorer for the Canucks this season. The 24-year-old has notched up 39 points through nine goals and 30 assists in 29 games, leading defenseman in points.

Elias Pettersson, on the other hand, has garnered 37 points through 11 goals and 26 assists in 29 games, making him the third-leading scorer for the club this season.

Meanwhile, the Vancouver Canucks are second in the Pacific Division with 39 points after 29 games. Overall, they're fourth in the league standings and have a 6-4-0 record in their last 10 outings.

Ellias Petters and Quinn Hughes will be up against the Florida Panthers on Thursday.