Rumor: Jim Rutherford wants out of Vancouver.

Although there are a number of teams that have struggled this season in the National Hockey League, there is no team that has made a bigger spectacle of its failures than the Vancouver Canucks. It's genuinely difficult to describe the kind of negative sentiment that has surrounded the team nearly all season both in traditional media as well as through social media, and somehow things continue to find a way to keep getting worse.

You would think that the Canucks would be given a bit of a reprieve from all of the negative press given that there are no games during All-Star weekend, but a controversial Toronto journalist has just dropped a bombshell of a rumor that could once again kick up a firestorm around the Canucks organization.

In his most recent Sunday Notes column, Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons described the vibe he got regarding Canucks president Jim Rutherford, one of the men at the center of this seasons controversies in Vancouver, and what he laid out in his column was nearly unbelievable. According to Simmonds, there are multiple people in and around the NHL that believe Rutherford is already looking to cut his losses.

From Simmonds:

More than one hockey person I’ve run into this weekend believes Jim Rutherford wants out as president of the Vancouver Canucks. That’s the kind of mess this situation is in. There was a lot of sympathy for Bruce Boudreau when he was unceremoniously dumped as coach.

As I mentioned Rutherford has been at the center of a number of controversies already this season, including comments made during an appearance on Vancouver's Sportsnet 650 radio that were openly critical of former Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau, while he was still serving as the team's head coach. A decision from Rutherford to jump ship after causing such an uproar this season in Vancouver would likely come as a slap in the face to many of the organization's fans.