New Vancouver Canucks president Jim Rutherford hired former player agent Emilie Castonguay as ... [+]
When Jim Rutherford was hired as the Vancouver Canucks’ new president of hockey operations in December, he made it clear that he wanted to take a fresh approach while overhauling the organization.
“My feeling is if you can build a front office with people that grew up playing hockey or in the game, not even necessarily playing but as part of the game, then you get different voices, different opinions,” Rutherford said in a late December interview. “You have a better chance of getting different ideas. That’s really where I’m coming from here as to having people from different (backgrounds) coming through the system.”
On Monday, Rutherford’s words became reality when the Canucks announced the hiring of Emilie Castonguay as an assistant general manager. The 37-year-old, who became the first woman to be certified as a player agent by the NHL Players’ Association in 2016, is the first female assistant general manager in Canucks history, and the second in NHL history.
Castonguay follows Angela Gorgone, who held the position with the then-Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for one season in 1996-97. And there’s a through-line between the two situations. Pierre Gauthier was an assistant GM for the Mighty Ducks when Gorgone first joined the club as a scouting coordinator in 1993. Gauthier then served as a mentor for Castonguay while he was general manager of the Montreal Canadiens, a position he held between 2010 and 2012.
“He taught me a lot, and I’m sure it’s a big day for him too, to see me here, to get this position,” Castonguay told the media on Monday. “I’m very thankful to him for everything that he’s ever taught me, and believed in me, obviously, all those years. I think it’s definitely helped me get here today, and it’s going to help me in my job for sure.”
As a player agent, Castonguay built relationships with general managers around the NHL while representing her clients. She has been best known as the agent for Alexis Lafreniere, who was selected first overall by the New York Rangers in the 2020 NHL draft.
A forward in her playing days, Castonguay spent four years on a full scholarship at Niagara University in New York state, where she earned a bachelor's degree in finance in 2009. She also served as team captain for one season, and won a National Scholar Athlete award for her success both on the ice and in the classroom. After hanging up her skates, she earned a law degree from l’Université de Montréal in 2012.
Castonguay has also represented players at the junior, minor league and international levels. Another key client was Marie-Philip Poulin, the two-time Olympic gold medalist who has served as captain of Team Canada in women’s hockey since 2014.
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“Emilie has extensive experience, is driven to succeed, and has a strong reputation in hockey for her intelligence and work ethic,” said Rutherford in a statement from the Canucks on Monday. “She will play a lead role in player contracts and negotiation, managing the collective bargaining agreement, and her voice will be heard in all aspects of hockey operations. She will be a key member of our leadership team and we are pleased to welcome her to Vancouver.”
As an agent, Castonguay’s client list with Momentum Sports also included the brothers Pierre-Olivier and Mathieu Joseph. Pierre-Olivier, 23, is a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, where Rutherford served as general manager until January of 2021.
She says she has taken a “non-binary” approach to her career in hockey, and her new position is no different.
“I’ve known Jim through different interactions in my career,” she said. “I felt like what he wanted was quality people with quality vision and that could have a quality impact, and he thought that I was one of those people.
“If I would have thought that it was like, to check a box or you know, have a PR move, I would have felt that from a mile away,” she added. “I never had that feeling while I was talking to Vancouver.”
Castonguay’s hiring also comes less than a week after the Canucks added 25-year-old Rachel Doerrie to their analytics department.
In December, Rutherford added his first assistant general manager, Derek Clancey. The two had been colleagues in Pittsburgh, where Clancey worked in professional scouting and player personnel.
Since coming on board in December, 72-year-old Rutherford has temporarily been serving as the Canucks’ general manager while also holding down his president’s role. The new GM could be in place soon.
The front-runner has been rumored to be Patrik Allvin, currently an assistant GM in Pittsburgh. There are also a couple of other names to watch.
Scott Mellanby worked in the Canucks organization a decade ago and recently resigned as assistant general manager in Montreal when it became clear that he would not succeed Marc Bergevin in the Canadiens’ general manager’s chair. Sean Burke, a one-time Canucks goaltender, was also recently a member of the Canadiens organization and has long held management aspirations. He has served in that role for Team Canada on the international stage, and was previously an assistant general manager for the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes for three seasons.
