from Gary Mason of the Globe and Mail,

When the Vancouver Canucks skated off the ice this week down 3-0 to the Columbus Blue Jackets after the first period, there was a fun-while-it-lasted feel about it.

That fun was the four-game winning streak the team had put together under new coach Bruce Boudreau, brought in as part of one of the most dramatic shakeups in team history. But the Canucks did something that evening that they didn’t seem capable of earlier in the season; they scored four goals over the next two periods, while keeping Columbus scoreless, to notch their fifth straight victory.

Boudreau, of course, was hired to replace Travis Green. But team owner Francesco Aquilini also persuaded Hall of Fame team builder Jim Rutherford to come in as team president and interim general manager, replacing Jim Benning who had been in the role for eight, mostly forgettable seasons.

While many have cited a losing effort against Pittsburgh on Dec. 4, when a fan threw a Canucks jersey on the ice, as the tipping point, Aquilini knew change was necessary. It’s likely grumblings inside the dressing room over the coach reached his ears. After the demoralizing loss to the Penguins, the team’s record hit 8-15-2 – that was enough.

The fact that Boudreau was announced the next day was all the evidence you needed that Aquilini had been thinking about this decision for some time and already had his new coach locked up. The night of the jersey toss, chants of “Fire Benning,” also rang out in Rogers Arena. The owner knew that the GM had to go as well, and so he decided to announce both firings the same day, even though he hadn’t yet reached a deal with Rutherford.

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