A year ago, the Vancouver Canucks were full of hope. Coming off their most successful season in nearly a decade, there was belief their contention window was finally opening, that the core of Quinn Hughes, Brock Boeser, Thatcher Demko, Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller would lead the team to a Stanley Cup — or, at least take them on a deep run.
This year, hope still exists, but it’s accompanied by a healthy dose of anxiety. For better or worse, a franchise-altering decision looms when the Canucks hang up their skates next spring, and it rests squarely on the shoulders of their captain.
There will be plenty of factors for Hughes to consider when Hughes makes his choice next summer whether to sign long-term in Vancouver or search for opportunities elsewhere. Some of those factors will be completely out of the Canucks’ control. They can control how they play, however, and making another run like they did one season ago could do wonders in convincing their captain to stay.
“It was special,” Hughes said in 2024, after the Canucks won their first playoff game at home since 2015. “I’ve been watching the Devils last year, playing in their series, but I can’t say that it was close to what we witnessed today.”
The Canucks of today look quite different from the 2024 squad that took the Edmonton Oilers to seven games in Round 2 — no Miller, no Pius Suter, no Rick Tocchet.
But today’s Canucks have a new coach, a revamped blue line, a freshly signed goalie tandem and all the motivation in the world to make this a winning season.
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Newcomer to watch: Evander Kane
In a relatively quiet off-season, whether by circumstance or design, the marquee addition for Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin was Vancouver native Evander Kane, who came to his hometown team from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a 2025 fourth-round pick. The Canucks will also eat the entirety of the $5.125 million he’s owed for the final year of his four-year, $20.50-million contract.
Kane comes with baggage, which is not ideal for a team with well-documented off-ice drama from last season. Kane also comes with 16 years of NHL experience, over which time he’s averaged 21 goals and 39 points per season. He missed the entirety of the 2024-25 regular season after undergoing abdominal surgery, so he arrives in Vancouver with added motivation to perform.
With just one year remaining on his contract, the Canucks took a minimal-risk bet on a player who, at the very least, can support the top six and provide secondary scoring.
The Canucks once had an elite three-punch down the middle in Miller, Pettersson and Bo Horvat. When Horvat left, they found a replacement in Suter, who was able to elevate when the team needed him most. Now, just Pettersson remains in Vancouver and for the first time in several years, the Canucks find themselves sorely lacking in centre depth. Enter Filip Chytil.
Chytil was acquired as part of the return for Miller in January and now, a week away from the season-opener, the Canucks are turning to the 26-year-old to be their second-line centre, at least to start the year. If Chytil plays to his ceiling, he can be a real difference-maker for the Canucks. We saw flashes of that brilliance just two seasons ago, when he scored 22 goals and 45 points in 75 games with New York — career highs across the board. Consistency has eluded Chytil, struggles only exacerbated by a history of concussions. In eight NHL seasons, he has suffered five concussions and has never suited up for a full 82-game season.
His combined 13 goals and 26 points in 56 games between New York and Vancouver before injury was progress, however, and he’ll be asked to build upon that this season. Fully healthy and given every opportunity to succeed, Chytil is in the driver’s seat for 2025-26.
The Canucks’ D-core has already undergone a massive upgrade over the past few seasons, but Tom Willander is certain to factor into that soon enough. The 2023 11th-overall pick is poised to make the jump to the pros this season after signing his three-year entry-level contract in May. The 20-year-old defenceman just wrapped up two seasons with the Boston University Terriers, where he took significant strides in his sophomore season, finishing second in defenceman scoring. While Willander likely won’t be a Quinn Hughes-esque superstar, he’s projected to be a top-four man with a strong transitional game and the ability to play in all situations.
With just one spot on the bottom pairing available, there is a chance the rookie defenceman makes the team out of camp. The more likely scenario, per Allvin, is that he joins a rotation alongside waiver-exempt players Elias Pettersson (D-Petey) and Victor Mancini to fill the final spot by committee. Best-case scenario, we get to see Willander log some NHL reps with sheltered minutes. Worst-case, he spends the year developing with the defending Calder Cup champs in the AHL. Not too bad.
1. Can Elias Pettersson bounce back?
The disastrously poor 2024-25 season for Elias Pettersson has been extensively litigated over the past six months, as has his need to right the ship. Still, it really cannot be overstated how much the Canucks need Pettersson performing at his most elite from the jump. For his part, he returned to Vancouver for training camp six kilos heavier and with a chip on his shoulder.
At his best, Pettersson is well worth the eight-year, $92.8-million contract to which the Canucks signed him in 2024. He’s thrice passed the 30-goal mark, once eclipsed 100 points, and finished the 2023-24 campaign with a whopping 10 game-winning goals. But the Canucks offence slumped alongside Pettersson last season, finishing 23rd in the league in goals per game. With the absence of Miller and his point-per-game offensive output this year, a Pettersson bounce-back is not a luxury — it’s a necessity.
“It’s been a long summer, so I just tried to add some muscles and be ready to be myself out there again,” Pettersson told Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre ahead of training camp. “And I feel confidence that I will. I had a long summer of training, so it’s been good.”
By the numbers alone, last season was an outlier — his worst since the pandemic and injury-shortened 2020-21 season. It’s now up to Pettersson to prove that.
2. How does Adam Foote do in his first season as head coach?
When Tocchet left Vancouver for greener pastures in Philadelphia, Allvin and president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford didn’t look too far for his replacement and promoted assistant coach Adam Foote to the role in May. It’s a bit of a gamble going for a rookie head coach in a season when so much is on the line, but that Foote has an already-established relationship with the players works in his favour. He’s spoken about restoring the accountability culture the Canucks preached during their divisional run one season ago, and his core group appears to have bought into that message.
It’s rare, but not unheard of, for rookie coaches to have quick success at the NHL level. Jared Bednar took a last-place Avalanche team and made them into a playoff staple in one year. Jon Cooper did the same to the Lightning in less time. More recently, Kris Knoblauch coached the Oilers to back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances. Can Foote join that list?
3. Can a healthy Demko-Lankinen tandem be truly elite?
For all the Canucks’ struggles of late, goaltending hasn’t really been one of them. Of course, losing their Vezina Trophy-finalist starter Thatcher Demko for seven months last season with a torn popliteus (knee) muscle stirred up some angst, but Kevin Lankinen — with four years of NHL experience but only as a backup — stepped up to appear in 51 games for the Canucks, posting a .902 save percentage and 2.62 goals-against average, while shouldering a starter’s workload for the first time.
At times last season, he looked like the only reason the Canucks had a chance to win games. For this, Lankinen earned a five-year, $22.5-million contract extension. Vancouver then went ahead and also signed Demko to a three-year, $25.5-million extension, locking in this tandem until 2029.
When healthy, Demko is one of the game’s best goalies — he proved this in 2023-24 with career highs across the board. Barring a collapse, he’ll be relied upon to start the majority of Canucks games this season, but with the added benefit of a backup in Lankinen with a proven ability to steal games.
If Demko can return to God-like form and Lankinen matches pace with last season’s performance, the Canucks could be looking at a top-end goalie duo that will prove a luxury in a gruelling 82-game season.
