VANCOUVER — Patrik Allvin admits to being a little surprised at the Vancouver Canucks' success this NHL season.

Outside expectations were low when Vancouver started the season, but the Canucks’ general manager believed the team had talented players and trusted the leadership of Jim Rutherford, Vancouver’s president of hockey operations, and head coach Rick Tocchet.

What Allvin didn’t anticipate was the Canucks having a 33-11-5 record for 71 points and being tied with the Boston Bruins for first place in the NHL heading into Wednesday night's games.

“Am I surprised it went so quick, yes,” Allvin said after agreeing to a three-year contract extension Wednesday. “But I also think, when we had the opening day of training camp, this team has the potential and quality to be a good team if everything goes right for us.”

The Canucks, who have points in 11 straight games (9-0-2), have made it look easy, but Allvin knows there’s a lot of games left.

“It’s definitely going to get harder,” said the 49-year-old from Leksand, Sweden. “We’re starting to get respect from other teams so they’re circling the games against Vancouver because they want to get tested against the best team. We need to be prepared for that.

“We know we have a lot of work (ahead) and that’s what we’ve got to prepare ourselves for coming down the stretch."

Allvin became the first Swedish born GM in the NHL when he was hired by the Canucks on Jan. 26, 2022, to replace the fired Jim Benning. Rutherford briefly served as the interim general manager before Allvin's hiring.

Allvin worked for the Pittsburgh Penguins for 16 years, helping the team win three Stanley Cups as part of the scouting department before eventually working his way up to the assistant general manager and interim GM roles.

“I’m very honoured and proud to be part of the Vancouver Canucks,” said Allvin. “Jim, giving me an opportunity to be a general manager in the NHL, is nothing I take for granted.

“I know it’s hard. It’s a very competitive league and I will continue to push forward. We haven’t established ourselves yet. We have a lot of work ahead of us to where we need to be, so nothing is going to change.”

Rutherford called Allvin’s new contract “well deserved.”

“Patrick is a very knowledgeable hockey man that works very hard,” said Rutherford, who also signed a three-year extension on Jan. 19. “He knows players around the world.”

The Canucks have missed the playoffs seven of the last eight seasons and have not won a Stanley Cup in their 53-year history.

Last year, in Allvin’s first full season as general manager, Vancouver finished with a 38-37-7 record, 11th  in the Western Conference and 12 points out of a playoff spot.

Rutherford and Allvin began retooling the Canucks last season. Veteran captain Bo Horvat, a fan favourite, was traded to the New York Islanders. The first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft acquired in that deal was used to acquired defenseman Filip Hronek from the Detroit Red Wings on March 1.

The Canucks bought out the final four seasons of defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson's eight-year contract on June 16, and signed defenceman Carson Soucy (three years) and Ian Cole (one year), and forward Teddy Blueger (one year) on the opening day of free agency July 1.

In other moves, Vancouver signed centre Pius Suter on Aug. 11, traded veteran forward Tanner Pearson to the Montreal Canadiens for backup goalie Casey DeSmith on Sept. 19, then acquired Sam Lafferty from the Toronto Maple Leafs in an Oct. 8 trade.

Since the season started, Vancouver dealt forward Anthony Beauvillier, who was part of the Horvat trade, to the Chicago Blackhawks to free up the salary cap space to acquire defenceman Nikita Zadorov from the Calgary Flames.

The Canucks have more decisions to make as the March 8 NHL trade deadline nears. Do they make major deals, maybe trading prospects to bring in veterans for a playoff run, or trust the players that have got them this far?

Allvin said Rutherford is “an aggressive boss” that’s “always ahead of things.”

“The players have put themselves in a really good position,” said Allvin. “Do we go all in or not? That’s something we always discuss because short-term acquisitions are always going to impact the long-term planning.”

No matter what happens in the playoffs the Canucks will have a busy summer. The team has eight unrestricted free agents, including forward Dakota Joshua, DeSmith and Zadorov.

A new contract for Elias Pettersson, who becomes a restricted free agent, is also a priority. Pettersson was eighth overall in NHL scoring heading into Wednesday with 64 points (27 goals, 37 assists). Petterson will want a substantial raise from his current annual salary of US$7.35 million and his deal will have an impact on what Vancouver can pay other players.

“Those are questions we have on a daily basis, evaluating and taking into consideration what makes your team better and how will that affect s moving forward,” said Allvin.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2024.

Jim Morris, The Canadian Press