Vancouver Canucks Interview Pierre Dorion For GM Job
Dorion, 53, spent eight seasons as GM of the Ottawa Senators from 2016 through 2023 and has been out of the league since his dismissal following the organization's role in the invalidated Evgenii Dadonov trade, which cost Ottawa a first-round pick and a $1M fine.
He is now the only candidate publicly confirmed to have interviewed for the Canucks job who has previously held the title of NHL general manager.
Since firing Patrik Allvin on April 17 following a disastrous season that saw Vancouver finish last in the league with a 25-49-8 record, the Canucks have been granted permission to speak with or have otherwise interviewed Shane Doan from the Maple Leafs organization, NHL VP of player safety Patrick Burke, Flames AGM Brad Pascall, Oilers AGM Bill Scott, Islanders AGM Ryan Bowness, and Bruins AGM Evan Gold.
Per a report from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, Dorion joins that list as someone who has already completed an in-person meeting.
Vancouver is not expected to name a hire before Tuesday's NHL Draft Lottery, where the Sedins will represent the franchise on broadcast.
The Case For Dorion
Dorion is the only name in the Canucks' search pool who has actually sat in the chair, worked the draft nights, managed salary cap crises, and handled the day-to-day operational demands of running an NHL franchise at the top level.
Basically, he's the only candidate right now who has previous NHL general manager experience.
His tenure in Ottawa produced a 225-261-59 record across eight seasons and a single playoff appearance, a 2017 run that took the Senators all the way to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final before falling to Pittsburgh.
Former Ottawa Senators GM, Pierre Dorion was in Vancouver last week and has interviewed for the Canucks GM vacancy.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) May 4, 2026
He drafted franchise cornerstones.
Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson, Drake Batherson, and Shane Pinto are all products of Dorion's amateur scouting process in Ottawa, and that draft record is the most legitimate credential he brings to Vancouver.
He also made difficult trades, moving Mika Zibanejad, Erik Karlsson, and Mark Stone at various points as the organization's window shifted, and while the returns weren't all great, the decisions needed to happen.
The Case Against
The situation Dorion would be stepping into in Vancouver does bear an uncomfortable resemblance to what he inherited in Ottawa following the 2017 Conference Final run.
Pro Hockey Rumors noted that, and observed that given how long it took Ottawa to build forward momentum after that playoff success under Dorion's direction, there would be fair criticism about repeating those same mistakes in Vancouver.
The Canucks missed the playoffs in two of the last three seasons and nine of the last eleven. They finished last in the league this year.
As much as we laugh at Dorion for all the insane quotes and hilarious moments (eating chips, throwing cups etc etc) he did successfully rebuild the Sens under less than ideal circumstances. If Vancouver is rebuilding, there are worse options. https://t.co/6h20TBq9T3
— Martian (@LalimesMartian) May 4, 2026
Jim Rutherford has acknowledged his own tenure is winding down, which means the incoming GM will eventually need to operate without Rutherford's institutional knowledge as a backstop.
The Dadonov trade scandal that ended Dorion's time in Ottawa also remains part of his record and will be part of any ownership evaluation.
Elliotte Friedman previously reported that there appear to be multiple competing candidate lists inside the Canucks organization, with Rutherford's preferences and ownership's preferences not necessarily aligned.
Photo Credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images
