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Fans furious as Canucks cut ties with longtime franchise great

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David St-Jean
June 9, 2026  (9:30)
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Jan 31, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Liam Ohgren (92) and forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki (23) celebrate Lekkerimaki's goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs as fans bang on the glass in the second period at Rogers Arena.
Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images

Dale Tallon's name disappeared from the Vancouver Canucks website this week, and the team hasn't said a word about it.

Tallon had been listed as a senior advisor of hockey operations. Now he's gone, with no announcement, no press release, and no explanation from the organization.

That kind of quiet removal is a message in itself. You don't vanish from a franchise website by accident.

The Canucks finished this season ranked 32nd overall with a 25-49-8 record and 58 points. A -100 goal differential. The worst team in the league by a considerable margin.

Against that backdrop, new GM Ryan Johnson is clearly moving fast to reshape the hockey operations group around him.

Jim Rutherford, who originally brought Tallon aboard after taking over as president of hockey operations in December 2021, is still with the organization. His title has been reduced to senior advisor.

Ryan Johnson's front office overhaul is just getting started

Tallon's departure, confirmed or not by the team, fits a pattern. Last week the Canucks hired former player agent Daren Hermiston as director of player personnel and player development.

Johnson is also still searching for an assistant general manager. Head coach Adam Foote needs to fill out his coaching staff. Manny Malhotra is part of that process.

This is a franchise tearing down walls and rebuilding the entire structure, floor by floor.

Tallon, 75, had serious hockey operations experience. He served as GM of the Florida Panthers from 2010 to 2020, and before that ran the Chicago Blackhawks from 2005 to 2009.

He also has a deep personal connection to Vancouver. He was the franchise's first-ever draft pick, selected second overall in the 1970 NHL Draft. Three seasons as a Canuck before a trade sent him to Chicago.

The connection didn't protect him in the end.

What's notable here is the silence. In a rebuild this public, every front office hire has been announced with context and a quote from Johnson. Tallon's exit got nothing.

Whether that reflects a clean mutual parting or something messier, nobody in Vancouver is saying. And that's the part of this story that still doesn't have an ending.