Canucks name Patrik Allvin GM

Patrick Allvin has been named general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, the team announced Wednesday.

He's the 12th in franchise history.

Allvin has been with the Pittsburgh Penguins since 2006, starting as a European scout. While with the Penguins, he worked closely with Vancouver's recently hired president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford, who promoted Allvin to Pittsburgh's assistant GM position in 2020.

"I am grateful and humbled for this opportunity and want to thank Jim and the Aquilini family for their belief in me," said Allvin. "Leading an NHL team in Canada is an honor and building a championship team in Vancouver is our goal. Jim has assembled a diverse and talented hockey operations group in Vancouver, and I look forward to working closely with all of them as we build a team that fans will be proud of and will ultimately compete again for a Stanley Cup."

The Canucks cleaned house earlier this season by firing numerous front-office staff, including general manager Jim Benning. The club quickly hired Rutherford and named him interim GM.

Vancouver failed to meet expectations early this campaign after a busy offseason that saw a number of big moves to improve the team. The Canucks inked Elias Pettersson to a three-year contract, while Quinn Hughes earned a six-year pact worth $47.1 million.

The club has picked up the pace since coach Travis Green's dismissal and Bruce Boudreau's arrival behind the bench. However, Vancouver still sits in seventh place in the Pacific Division. The team has made the playoffs just once in the last six seasons.