imho the Canucks probably want a specialist in the position of President, a guy who really understands the marketing and branding part of a building a successful franchise, also building the team’s profile and fan base and to stay out of the player personnel side, leaving that to JB, Weisbrod, head scout Brackett and coach Green.
I look at the Blackhawks President John McDonough:
In 2007, McDonough left the Cubs and became president of the Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago's National Hockey League franchise. In his tenure with the team, the Blackhawks have moved quickly to revitalize the team’s profile and fan base, in what Forbes Magazine called “The Greatest Sports-Business Turnaround Ever.” Since McDonough joined the Blackhawks, the team has won Stanley Cup titles in 2010, 2013 and 2015, becoming the first organization in the NHL’s salary cap era to capture three championships.
Upon his arrival to the Blackhawks, McDonough welcomed back Hall of Famers Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Tony Esposito as team ambassadors, and helped foster a landmark partnership with WGN Television and Comcast SportsNet which allowed all 82 regular-season games to be broadcast on television for the first time in team history. The Blackhawks also announced a partnership with Chicago’s WGN Radio 720 to become the team’s new radio broadcast rightsholder.
McDonough was also instrumental in bringing the NHL Winter Classic 2009 to Chicago, a contest which matched up the Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings in front of 40,818 at Wrigley Field on January 1, 2009. The game drew an 11.8 overnight rating and a 21 share on NBC in Chicago, making it the most-watched NHL game in almost 34 years.
The Blackhawks franchise has undergone an enormous transformation under McDonough’s leadership; since 2007, the team’s season ticketholder base has more than tripled, and the Blackhawks have sold out 340 straight home contests and counting, leading the league in average attendance each season since 2008-09. In less than two years since McDonough’s arrival, the Blackhawks organization jumped from 118th (2007) to 16th (2010) in ESPN Magazine’s Ultimate Standings. The organization’s ranking marked the best among Chicago’s professional sports teams. In 2012, a survey of SportsBusiness Journal readers voted the Blackhawks the NHL team for which they'd most like to work. In the 2015 SportsBusiness Journal survey, the Blackhawks were the highest-ranked NHL team in the category “Team that represents the ‘model franchise’ in all of North American sports.”
Also the Penguins President and CEO, David Morehouse:
"He came on as a consultant and when his deal was done, we just couldn't afford to lose him," Lemieux told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2010. "He was a great talent and a Pittsburgh guy, and he really understood the marketing and branding." Morehouse immediately commissioned a brand study, reshaped the Penguins' strategic vision and added an emphasis on youth hockey development. With a talented roster led by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the team has sold out every game since February 2007 and is consistently among the NHL's leaders in local TV ratings and social media. Two of his innovative ideas were a free pre-season game for kids (18,000 free tickets) and an annual event where Penguins players personally deliver season tickets to fans' homes.
So looking at a talented professional with years of experience and maybe a BC fella is probably the target for the franchise.
Can the Canucks just win a Cup within the next 5 years.
