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The Vancouver Canucks aren’t just “rebuilding,” they’re truly building, from the ground up
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Published Mar 22, 2026 • 3 minute read
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Filip Hronek is 29 later this year and is fine as a No. 2, but he won’t be here forever. Photo by Derek Cain /Getty ImagesArticle content
The bumpy post-deadline ride of the Vancouver Canucks should remind you of one main thing: This team isn’t close to where it needs to be.
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Yes, Marco Rossi producing and generally playing well is a good thing.
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So, too, is the fact that there are obvious character guys like Drew O’Connor and Filip Hronek. Those guys care, we know that much.
But, in the end, this team needs much more than a juicing of heart if they are truly going to build into a contender.
And they need to make a decision on their coach.
“Rebuild” undersells the task at hand. That suggests there was something there before. Let’s be serious: This is a build, almost from the foundation.
Let’s just do a quick run through of what they have and what they mostly don’t have:
The good
For a start, there’s Zeev Buium, who keeps showing glimpses of quality puck decisions. He’s got lots of issues playing actual defence and so, because of that, there’s no reason to think he’s going to be in the long run anything more than a second-pairing defenceman.
So they need to find a stud blueliner. (Remember Quinn Hughes?)
Hronek is 29 later this year and is fine as a No. 2, but he won’t be here forever, either. If this rebuild takes five years, he’ll be edging towards the end of his career.
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The Canucks also do have a quality No. 2 centre in Marco Rossi. He’s a smart player but he also doesn’t often take over a shift. In the long run, he’s probably your third centre if you are seriously a contending team.
Liam Ohgren is an interesting winger but, again, can he be a consistent enough threat to be a second-line winger?
The questions
What are you doing with Elias Pettersson? He needs a fresh start. The Canucks would be smart to try to trade him in the summer. See if you can get anything of value in return. Really, the player himself would be smart to ask for a trade. It’s clear he thinks he needs a fresh start.
Is Tom Willander anything at all? He can move the puck a little but he also is slow on his decisions at times. He can defend the rush a little but he often gets overwhelmed defending out of the corner. At this point, he doesn’t look like he’s going to be anything more than a third-pairing defenceman.
Similarly, what is Elias Junior Pettersson going to be? He hasn’t shown enough feistiness this season, too often he’s been chasing the play. He’s a good character, the kind of person you do want, but is he ready to really step up as a presence? That’s how he’ll stay, even thrive, in this league. We need to see him standing out more.
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Is Patrik Allvin the general manager to make this project happen? Will fans accept him in charge?
Is Adam Foote the coach to guide your team forward, who will create the kind of structure any team, let alone a young team, needs to have success? Do his players listen him? Will they accept his leadership going forward? Do they believe in his plans?
The things they need
The list is staggering:
• A No. 1 centre.
• A top-flight winger. (Maybe they can get this in the draft in the summer.)
• A big-time defenceman.
That’s three big items. That’s the task.
This project has a long way to go.
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