Canucks Sports and Entertainment's chief executive is leaving the Garage.
Chris Zimmerman's resignation is expected to be made official Tuesday. The native New Yorker joined the former Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment on Oct. 12, 2006 from Nike Bauer Hockey where he was CEO for three years. He was previously general manager of Nike's golf division and a vice-president of Saatchi and Saatchi Advertising. Zimmerman earned economics and communication degrees from the University of Vermont where he was an NCAA hockey player and assistant coach.
Under Zimmerman, the Vancouver Canucks reverted to their original blue, white and green colour scheme in a bid to become a "heritage brand" like the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. He also spearheaded the $19-million, VANOC-funded upgrade of General Motors Place.
Last season's 7th fan promotion and the signing of free agent Mats Sundin were not as effective.
An early August departure would do the least harm to the organization because business planning for the 2009-2010 season should be at or near completion. Zimmerman's predecessor Stanley McCammon quit the company on Aug. 31, 2005.
Calls to Zimmerman and Canucks' owner Francesco Aquilini were not returned on Monday.
