Vancouver Canucks have one more major announcement after the coaching hire and fans won't see it coming
The Vancouver Canucks aren't done bringing back familiar faces from the 2011 Stanley Cup Final run.
Goat Radio dropped a tease on X on Monday that's already lighting up the local market. "Stay tuned for more 2011 personnel coming," the post read.
That follows the confirmed Manny Malhotra hire as the team's 23rd head coach. The bench voice was the headline. The bigger pattern from the new Sedin-led front office is now impossible to miss.
Daniel and Henrik Sedin took over as co-presidents of hockey operations. GM Ryan Johnson built the structure around them. Malhotra arrives as a teammate from that 2011 run. The framework keeps adding pieces from the same era.
Alex Edler is already on board for the team's summer development camp. He's the franchise leader in games played by a defender at 925 and goals by a defender at 99. Another 2011 alumnus walking back into the building.
Mikael Samuelsson has been part of the development staff. He was a key voice at last year's camp. He's expected to play a bigger role this summer. Another familiar face inside the system.
Who else from that 2011 group could be next
The list of potential candidates writes itself once you start pulling names. Ryan Kesler. Kevin Bieksa. Maxim Lapierre. Manny Malhotra was already in the AHL system before the promotion. The 2011 roster has plenty of veteran voices still attached to the game in some form.
Bieksa has been working in broadcasting and has openly stayed connected to the franchise. His public personality fits exactly what a rebuild needs in a leadership development role.
Kesler hasn't returned to the NHL in any formal capacity yet. His health has been an ongoing story. Whether he'd want a behind-the-scenes role with the Canucks is its own question.
Roberto Luongo continues to work with the Florida Panthers in a special advisor role. A return to Vancouver in any capacity would be a massive get for the new regime. He's currently committed elsewhere, but conditions can change.
Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin obviously sit at the top of the chain themselves. That's the foundation. Everything else builds outward from the twins.
The Goat Radio tease specifically said "personnel" rather than just players. That word matters. Personnel can mean coaching staff. It can mean development. It can mean front office. The Sedins are working multiple chairs at once.
Honestly, this is the part of the rebuild that ownership groups either embrace or resist. Stacking the front office with former teammates can build a culture fast. It can also create blind spots when the people in the room all see the franchise through the same lens.
Judd Brackett rejected Vancouver and chose Toronto as the Maple Leafs' new AGM this weekend. That outsider scouting voice the Canucks needed went to a rival. The pattern of bringing in 2011 names instead now becomes the dominant strategy by necessity, not just preference.
The Canucks finished dead last in the league at 25-49-8 with 58 points. They gave up 316 goals against. The rebuild is real. The leadership group has a clear identity.
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The 2026 NHL Draft is June 26. Free agency opens July 1. The Canucks hold the No.3 overall pick. The new staff structure will be in place for all of it.
The Sedins are betting that the same group that brought Vancouver within one win of a Stanley Cup can rebuild the franchise from the ashes. The next personnel announcement might tell us how far that bet goes.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 29, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Taylor Hall | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Logan Stankoven | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Jackson Blake | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Seth Jarvis | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Cole Caufield | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Carrier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Alexander Nikishin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | - | - | |
| Jalen Chatfield | - | - | - | |
| Kirby Dach | - | - | - | |
| Phillip Danault | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||