The Vancouver Canucks shouldn’t be thinking like a conventional NHL team, and the sooner the organization realizes it — from management on down — the better off this rebuilding process will flow.
This offseason, for example, the Canucks shouldn’t be concerned about filling out their roster with the playoffs in mind. The focus, instead, should be on shedding as many long-term contractual commitments to players in their late 20s and early 30s with no-move and no-trade protection built into their deals as they can manage while maximizing the potential return.
Yes, veteran help and guidance will be required during the rebuild. That veteran help and guidance, however, should be brought in through unrestricted free agency, and attached to no additional acquisition cost outside of the cash outlay involved in recruiting those players to Vancouver. Alternatively, that veteran help and guidance should be acquired on the trade market, and attached to the sort of inefficient deals that teams are willing to shed at a bargain bin price or, even better, pay to move.
Until the Canucks begin to think of this roster in terms of accumulating value and be disciplined about executing that strategy over a period of two and a half to three seasons, this franchise will remain stuck in the mud at the bottom of the NHL standings.
In any event, let’s look through the roster position-by-position, and try to identify what surpluses, roster holes and other considerations the Canucks should be focused on at the outset of this critical offseason.
Note: Pending unrestricted free agents (UFA) are shaded red, pending restricted free agents (RFA) are shaded blue.
Vancouver is overloaded with left-wing depth.
In addition to the Canucks’ many roster construction sins, the fact that so many of their wingers play naturally on the left side, and were thus forced so frequently to play their off-side in order for the club to make sensible lines, is just a drop in the bucket.
It’s nonetheless notable, especially for a player like Jake DeBrusk, who spent nearly 43.5 percent of his ice time playing the right side. DeBrusk is fine on his off-wing, but given his finishing struggles at even strength, it’s probably worth carving out a full-time slot for him on his natural side if he’s back next year.
Evander Kane gave an inconsistent effort, rarely engaged physically and had zero trade value as a result. After playing in his 1,000th NHL game, Kane played in his 1,001st for the purpose of a pregame celebration, but clearly wasn’t thrilled about getting fourth-line deployment. Thereafter, he basically left the team prior to the conclusion of the regular season. A pending unrestricted free agent, Kane will not be back with the Canucks.
Drew O’Connor was one of Vancouver’s most consistent and impactful two-way forwards, the rare player whose effort never flagged even during a season as difficult as this one. A pending unrestricted free agent, O’Connor could be a valuable trade chip ahead of the 2027 NHL trade deadline.
Liam Öhgren established himself as a solid middle-six winger and even looked good on the penalty kill late in the year. The 22-year-old is still young enough to hit a higher offensive ceiling and has the speed and skill to potentially do so. This will be a massive summer for him.
We’re now through three separate coaches who haven’t trusted Nils Höglander to log regular minutes. At some point, it becomes the player’s fault that they’re unable to carve out the sort of middle-six role that it’s obvious his skill level, speed and tenacity warrant. Now 25 and with two years remaining on his $3 million annual average value contract, Höglander is running out of time to cement himself as even a middle-six level forward in the NHL.
Max Sasson played on the wing down the stretch and looked excellent doing it. His speed, intelligence and sneaky off-the-rush finishing game should permit him to stick around the league for a while, and be a useful player for the Canucks during the depths of this rebuilding stretch.
One theme that we’ll repeatedly hit on is how few expiring contracts the Canucks are holding going into this summer. Arshdeep Bains and MacKenzie MacEachern, for example, both have an additional season remaining on their contracts — and Bains’ deal is a one-way, with a fully guaranteed NHL salary. MacEachern is quadruple-A depth, while Bains might be well-rounded, but he’s yet to demonstrate that he does any one thing at a high enough level to be an NHL regular.
Vilmer Alriksson struggled enormously through his first full professional season in North America and will need to take a massive step forward next season to remain on track as a prospect with any sort of NHL upside.
It was another disappointing season for Elias Pettersson, who enters the offseason with questions about his form and speculation about his future on the tip of the tongue in league circles.
Marco Rossi played well down the stretch once he got healthy, and looks like a decent fixture for the Canucks as a middle-six centre during the rebuild.
Filip Chytil was dogged by more injuries — a concussion early in the season, and a facial fracture after the Olympic break — and just can’t seem to catch a break. He’s entering the final year of his contract, but all that really matters is that he’s able to stay healthy.
Teddy Blueger is a pending unrestricted free agent and is a useful fourth-line centre and penalty killer who’d be a perfect fit on a good team. On a rebuilding team, however, the question has to be asked: Is it worth the Canucks rostering a player who we know has no relevant trade value, given their rebuilding posture?
Aatu Räty clearly wasn’t Adam Foote’s flavour, but mostly acquitted himself well in limited minutes and does a number of things well enough — specifically in the faceoff circle — to carve out an NHL niche long-term.
Braeden Cootes will be given every opportunity to make the NHL out of training camp next season, and as a result of changes to the NHL CBA, and by extension the NHL-CHL transfer agreement, will surely spend the entirety of his age-19 campaign playing professional hockey.
Ty Mueller remains an organizational favourite and scored his first goal in Vancouver’s final game of the regular season. He’s likely to start in the AHL and be a call-up option next season, but the club remains convinced that he possesses some upside.
Riley Patterson had a breakout campaign in the OHL and should turn pro next season.
It would be a bit of a surprise if Nils Åman and Jayden Grubbe, who are pending restricted free agents, received qualifying offers this summer. Joseph LaBate, meanwhile, only got into one NHL game despite his versatility and toughness on a rebuilding team. The Canucks may want to aim higher in fleshing out their centre depth in Abbotsford this summer.
Brock Boeser endured a miserable scoring drought for more than 20 games this season, but remains the Canucks player most connected to the market and found a higher level of play with a skilled centre in Rossi down the stretch.
Linus Karlsson was Vancouver’s most impactful forward by a mile in a breakout campaign for him. A late-blooming 26-year-old forward, Karlsson is already signed to an ill-timed but reasonable two-year extension and deserves a shot to see if he can maintain his effectiveness higher up the lineup.
It was another injury-plagued campaign for Jonathan Lekkerimäki, whose physical tools and defensive play were still an issue for him in the NHL. The gifted goal-scoring winger will be given every opportunity to play NHL games in the final year of his entry-level contract, but will need to put in a transformative summer if he’s going to make any kind of impact.
Danila Klimovich will turn 24 next season and requires a qualifying offer for the Canucks to maintain their right of first refusal on him as a restricted free agent. Given that he couldn’t even get a game for the 32nd-place NHL team this season, it’s probably time for the club to cut him loose and let him explore his options elsewhere.
Marcus Pettersson seemed to struggle in a permissive defensive environment, but the Canucks still limited scoring chances with him on the ice better than they did with any other blueliner. He’s still a dependable veteran player, and that should show through more often if the team can work out how to play more organized defensively next season.
Zeev Buium played his best hockey in the final two months of his rookie campaign. The Canucks need to commit to giving him first-unit power-play time if they’re going to maximize his potential, both as an NHL player and as an asset during the rebuild.
Elias Pettersson’s consistency took a step back from his wildly promising rookie campaign, but that’s probably a product of the club’s loose defensive environment more than anything. Pettersson’s physical assertiveness and nose for how to hold the offensive blue line will still give him an opportunity to carve out a long career at the NHL level.
P.O. Joseph is out of contract, but Vancouver will retain his rights as a restricted free agent if it tenders him a qualifying offer. Given his hard-driving practice habits, quality as a person and his versatility playing both sides as a seventh or eighth defender, that’s probably worth doing.
Sawyer Mynio got a ton of reps during his first AHL season and produced at a decent clip for a first-year professional. And Guillaume Brisebois is an unrestricted free agent once again. Drafted in the same class as Boeser, is this it for the second-longest tenured Canuck in the organization?
Filip Hronek had some excellent stretches this season, and feasted on the first power-play unit down the stretch. He’s clearly Vancouver’s highest-end player, even if he’s probably miscast as a 1A-type blueliner.
Tom Willander had an uneven rookie campaign, producing over 20 points but struggling to utilize his speed defensively and offensively with any sort of consistency. The potential is enormous, but his reads at both ends of the ice will need some work. Vancouver may want to bring in some additional veteran reinforcements on the right side, so that Willander grow into a larger NHL role more naturally, while playing at a level in the lineup more conducive to him succeeding.
Victor Mancini has already signed for the next two seasons and has impressive physical tools, though he’s yet to really put it all together at the NHL level.
Kirill Kudryavtsev appears to be the most advanced as a two-way player among Vancouver’s collection of U23 blueliners. His profile means the odds are stacked against him being an impactful NHL player, but he looks well-suited to playing some tough minutes for the Canucks during rebuilding seasons.
Kevin Lankinen is a steady, reliable option for the Canucks in the crease, even if he’s a bit expensive for a 1B-type goaltender.
Thatcher Demko is hopeful that his latest surgery will address the issues that have caused him to miss so much time with repetitive injuries over the past two years. In any event, the Canucks need to keep him on a strict pitch count next season, regardless of how healthy he feels and how good he looks stopping pucks again.
Nikita Tolopilo’s declining usage down the stretch was amateur hour stuff from the Canucks coaches, even if he struggled on occasion. Tolopilo will require waivers next season, and the club should seriously consider rostering Tolopilo alongside Lankinen and Demko, and implementing a 35-30-17 split between the three netminders.
Jiri Patera was Abbotsford’s best goalie and has some NHL experience. The Canucks may look to retain or upgrade on Patera, especially if they want to preserve flexibility in case Tolopilo plays full-time in the NHL in a three-goalie rotation, or if Tolopilo is claimed off waivers during the preseason.