8 Candidates Listed for Canucks GM Opening; Finalists Coming Next

According to insider Elliotte Friedman, the Vancouver Canucks have "somewhere between 15 and 20 people" as candidates for their GM opening.

"I think what we're about to find out here is who's serious and who isn't," Friedman said. "I'm curious to see what the number is that they cut it down to. I do believe there have been some people involved in the Canucks search that haven't been involved in other teams' searches."

Canucks insiders Donnie & Dhali have their own list of 8 candidates, "from what we've heard over the past couple of weeks." That list looks like this:

Ryan Johnson (Canucks assistant GM)
Ryan Bowness (Islanders AGM)
Shane Doan (Leafs Special Advisor to the GM)
Ray Whitney (longtime NHL player and former NHL scout)
Kevyn Adams (former Sabres GM)
Sam Ventura (Vice President of Hockey Strategy and Research for the Buffalo Sabres)
Jeff Tambellini (Lightning AGM)
Bill Scott (Oilers AGM)

Scott is one of the newest names on the list, as revealed this past weekend by hockey insider John Shannon. Scott has also been one of the frontrunners for the Nashville Predators GM opening.

"I've been told, 'Don't forget about Ryan Johnson'", added Rick Dhaliwal. The Canucks' current AGM is seen as a favorite of Jim Rutherford, as the team president shared in his painfully honest media conference ten days ago.

As for Doan, the Canucks asked for permission from Toronto recently to talk with him. Dhaliwal says he's "never heard a bad word" about the Leafs special advisor and former 21-year NHLer.

It's thought the Canucks very much want a B.C. connection for whoever they hire for the job. Either connected to the team from the past, or some other B.C. link.

Additionally, according to Don Taylor, a short list of finalists is "expected to be finalized over the next 48 hours."