Come For The Banter - Stay For The Disappointment
Nucks Fan Rebuild & Retool Center - Come For The Banter - Stay For The Disappointment
Frannie's Guide To Glory*
*Frannie has neither authorized or acknowledged this guide - in fact it's not much of a guide at all.
Welcome back to the season that never ends. The season that ends too soon. Or more likely, the season that doesn't end soon enough.
The Canucks, yes, your Vancouver Canucks are in a REBUILD!
We've been waiting for this since... [checks notes] 2014. Really? Yup. The rebuild Frannie put off for over a decade is now in the starting blocks. The parking lot. In the P/L statement slot.
Personal Note: That battered Canucks mug has been my daily driver since before the rebuild Frannie didn't start in 2014. I like to think or drink about it as a metaphor for Nucking fandom in the current era. Possibly past eras as well.
Doesn't matter.
We're entering a new era. Starting from the bottom of pack, a pack now packed with 32 teams. That's pretty tightly packed. But it wasn't always like this.
Do you remember the Original Six? Me neither. Before the proliferation of narcissistic billionaire owners, hockey lore states they were only six teams in the league which meant only six psychopathic owners. Or half that. No really.
In the 50s, Red Wings owner, James E. Norris, also controlled a syndicate that owned the Black Hawks and was also the largest stockholder in the Rags.To be fair this was in an era where corruption was rampant, but kept out of public view. Unlike our current era where corruption is very, very public. Where is this going?
Somewhere a point is being made. Just not here. Somehow Norris got his Wings a bunch of Cups, totally legit. If you wonder how the trophy for the league's best defenseman is known as the Norris, this is how. The best defense is offensive, concentrated league ownership.
You might be wondering, as am I, if this Guide To Glory is suggesting Frannie wrangle control of 15 other teams. Wonder not. While he may aspire to that lofty monopolistic pursuit, that's not where this Guide is going.
No, where we're going is slightly more insidious. In the 50s and early 60s, your team - if you happened to own one - had a 1 in 6 chance at the Cup. If you owned half of the teams, a 1 in 2 chance of Cuppiness. Today, your team has a 1 in 32 chance. Or if your team is the Canucks, a 0 in 56 chance, so far. It's not fair.
FAIRNESS: "Lord Stanley's Cup: Hardest Trophy to Win in Professional Sport"
We've heard that old rotting cliche trotted out every season since the expansion era included more sociopathic billionaire owners. Why? Because they want you to spend money on something that is worthwhile. Some might debate why it is worthwhile for those of limited means to spend inordinate amounts of money on hockey team tickets and memorabilia. That's a debate I can't afford to engage atm.
Also could be the justification for the inflation of franchises and billionaire egoes. It's tough to win a Cup. That's a feature, not a marketing scam. Other than it's been a marketing scam in Vancouver since 1970.
Sure we can cherish those Cup runs of 1982, 1994 and 2011, but that is pretty sparse pickings to dress up in relish and cherish. You know what would be more cherishable? Winning the freaking Cup. But how?
WE'LL NEVER WIN THE STANLEY CUP
Sorry. The actual Lord Stanley Cup was retired. In 1963. No wonder Vancouver was allowed to join the league almost a decade later. There was no chance the Nucks would ever win THE CUP. The NHL was laughing at us before we even got to be a laughable team.
For over 60 years we've had teams beating their brains out to win a Repli-Cup. Seems pretty stupid to work so hard to win a fake trophy, but here we are.
Not that it matters in this era anymore, but no Canadian team has won the Repli-Cup since Gary took over running the league in a previous century. Merely a coincidence? Perhaps.
Doesn't matter. What matters is the new Nucking rebuilding braintrust builds an honest and fair team culture in an unfair league.
WINNING THE RIGHT WAY
Or losing the right way. Either way is fine. We've spent over a decade watching Frannie and his sycophant management minions spin out the yarn of fake 'contender' possibility. No longer. Our Canucks are going to be living in the league's stinky basement, most likely, for years. No mushy middle false hope. Hope is not a plan.
Instead, stark realism and Embrace The Suck stoicism will fan the embers of our disgruntled Nucking fandom for seasons to come. We just have to enjoy - as ever - the little things (no, not that guy), the little winning plays that might happen while losing more and more games.
BUT WHAT IF...
This Guide To Glory wouldn't be complete or as completely useless without a little what-iffing around. What if the US/Canada trade war gets real. In the hockey sense.
What if our elbows extend right into the fugly face of the NHL itself. As Canada disentangles itself from the Lakes and Lackeys of America, we could see the NHL dissolve, disperse into smaller pro hockey leagues. Would that be so bad? No, it wouldn't.
If that happens, the Canucks will have much better odds of winning THE CUP in an all Canadian league. A One in Seven chance is pretty good. Especially since the actual Lord Stanley Cup is safely stored away in HHOF in the CoTU. Which is very close to Canada.
Also... it's not inconceivable that Frannie could perform some sleazy billionaire maneuvers to get control of a couple more teams to increase the odds of Cup glory. Sure, we'd need a new league name, since the weaselly NHL hold the rights to the National Hockey League. And they can keep them. It's a storied tale of corruption anyhow.
I propose the new all-Canadian pro hockey league be called the: Canucks Hockey League. Perhaps it foreshadows the Nucking inevitability with only a hint of corruption (if Frannie plays his part).
EMBRACE THE SUCK
Until we can get the Nucks out of the sicko NHL, we can and must enjoy this CANUCKS REBUILD: Season One. Whatever sucky form it takes, how ever long the suckiness lasts, this is what we've wanted to suck for over a decade.
ENJOY A NEW IMPROVED SEASON OF SUCKY NUCKY HOCKEY!
Zeev Buium got himself a lot of attention this last weekend, perhaps as much as $75 million worth. And along with it came plenty of stories about his behaviour, on and off the ice. Sound and fury signifying...what?
The Canucks have had a lively history with players wearing the C in Vancouver.
It kicked off with the 34-year-old Orland Kurtenbach, taken from the New York Rangers in the 1970 expansion draft. That was back when each team was more than happy to screw over expansion clubs, not realizing that a new team with a chance of winning can get fans. It took a while for the NHL to realize it could also be a business, but until then, talent was scarce for expansion clubs.
The captaincy changed hands frequently early on, eventually landing on "Steamer" Stan Smyl's chest. He "won" it from Kevin McCarthy when McCarthy couldn't play in the 1981-82 playoffs. Smyl took over the role and scored nine goals and 18 points in 17 playoff games, making the Final for the first time in team history.
Smyl eventually handed it over to a three-headed monster in 1990-91, but one that included 20-year-old Trevor Linden. Linden eventually took the Canucks to the Stanley Cup Final himself in his seven years as captain. Nobody knows what happened after that, but in 1997-98, he was briefly an alternate captain before getting traded to the Islanders for a great haul. While he was never captain with Vancouver again, he did come back in 2001-02, being an alternate until he retired in 2008.
After the strange, blank void for three years, the C was taken up by Markus Naslund. While it took him a couple years to grow into the role as captain, he was the most talented player to play the role until then. He was another long-tenured leader, keeping the job for seven years before he was traded after the 2007-08 season.
Then came the Roberto Luongo Experiment, two years of awkwardness and strange arguments in bars.
Going back to an extremely skilled Swede, Henrik Sedin got one more thing to hold over younger brother Daniel Sedin. He led the Canucks to their third and most recent run to the Stanley Cup Final, and kept the captaincy for eight years, retiring in 2018. He was so difficult to follow that the Canucks went with four alternates for a year before going with the obvious choice in Bo Horvat.
A change of management eventually led to a change of captains, with the reliable Horvat being shipped away during the 2022-23 season. The next year started with the shockingly skilled Quinn Hughes, who dragged the Canucks to just their third 50-win regular season. The success didn't last, and neither did Hughes, who asked for a trade out of town shortly after.
Last season was such a tire fire that management has said they don't want to name a captain just yet. Joan of Arc wasn't fond of the end result when she stepped forward, either. Three alternate captains have been named, and they're who you'd expect: Brock Boeser, Filip Hronek, and Elias Pettersson the Forward, all of whom wore an A last year.
General Manager Ryan Johnson has said he wants to wait before naming a captain, and it's not like that hasn't happened before. For a team starting at essentially zero, it might not be a bad idea to see who emerges as a leader. The catch there is that the team will want a young player to do that, but it's more likely going to be a veteran who actually does.
That isn't necessarily a bad thing, either. There aren't any illusions here anymore, I don't think. A Stanley Cup isn't being fought for in the near future, and anyone over the age of 25 might get traded. Heck, if the offer is good enough, several players under 25 are at risk, too. But even a guy who's only captain for a year can be worth following.
Names present themselves. It's probably easiest to start with the ones who are already alternates.
Whooo, doggie. No. Clearly no. This doesn't mean he can't become the captain a few years down the road, but there's a whole lot of water to cram under one bridge before that happens. I can't imagine Pettersson would volunteer for the job just now, either. He knows how the past five years have gone. He's got more than enough to focus on, thanks.
Look, I like Brock Boeser a lot. He works far harder than most fans give him credit for while maintaining a great, relaxed attitude. He's the Golden Retriever of hockey players; there's nobody who doesn't like him. Which isn't what's needed in a captain. While I prefer my captains to lead by example, sometimes a bit of belligerence is needed if a teammate needs to hear the news.
The assistant coaches are a great buffer between players and the head coach, letting the H.C. be an utter bastard when needed. That seems like a completely natural role for Boeser.
A strange thing happened after the captain got traded away last year. Filip Hronek, a player who gets forced into media scrums at gunpoint, started enjoying(?) it. Hronek famously hates the entirety of the media side of this sport, only interested in doing his job with his team. He specialized in two- and three-word answers, and those reluctantly given.
But with Hughes and the gregarious Tyler Myers (A) gone, post-game scrums fell to the other alternate captains. Hronek, much to his own surprise, got positive responses to his considered words. No one thought he was a fool, but reporters here are veterans of some hard rooms in hard times. His "grouchiness" threw exactly no one, and even got some laughs. By the end of the year, while he wasn't exactly having a fireside chat, he did get more comfortable with the chore.
Is that enough to make him captain material? No, obviously not. What does is that, and how often he talks to players on the ice and on the bench. He already does that part of the job out there, guiding veterans and advising younger players. He has many years as a top player in the league, with all the respect that's due. Sure, he could well be traded, but until then? There are worse choices.
See Filip Hronek, above.
Luke Schenn has all the respect in the world for the career he's built for himself. He's had to change his game on the fly to keep an NHL job, and he's managed to do that for 20 years. But the caveat is that Schenn might not play every game this season, even when healthy. He's here to provide stability to a young team, and may well get traded away at the deadline. Everyone understands that.
Should he have a letter? Sure. Amazingly, he's only ever had one for a single season in the NHL, an A with Toronto in 2010-11. Whether he wears one or not, he's kinda already wearing one.
I mean, you have to think this is in management's dreams, right? Zeev Buium is with the team for another nine years, after all. He is outgoing, intelligent, and doesn't mind speaking to the media at all. He's also just 20 years old and has all of one NHL season under his belt. The next few years are going to be rough ones for the Canucks, and adding the burden of captaincy to a kid who shouldn't have to answer for it seems like a terrible idea.
Buium might end up being the captain of the Canucks at some point, it could happen. A couple young guys are coming up who may fill the role better in Caleb Malhotra and Braeden Cootes, and that could be a bit awkward in three or four seasons. But this year? Nah. No sophomore should be told to lead a rebuilding team.
Hronek it is, then? Sure, he's pretty clearly the most obvious choice - IF the team needs a captain right now. Technically, wearing a letter means you're the team's representative on the ice when an issue comes up. Those are the guys who can talk to the zebras - in theory, without getting penalties for it. There are sometimes other duties associated with the role, depending on the team and how the coach likes to operate. In some places, they're the player's advocate; in others, almost an assistant coach.
The other best option is probably just waiting for a year. If the team wants to wait for one of their draft picks with "leadership" in their list of superlatives, then they will need someone else for a bit first. Again, the obvious choice is Hronek, but he's also the obvious choice for improving the team in a trade.
Just another job on Ryan Johnson's and Manny Malhotra's list.
The Vancouver Canucks have a plan. Part of that plan is Zeev Buium leading the way on the blue line for another eight years. This better work.
While there wasn't a rush to sign the 20-year-old, there was a little bit of pressure from the NHL itself. After the 15th, players won't be able to sign an eight-year contract, and with that contract comes stability. Plus the ability to spread big numbers over a lot of years, which is nice for everyone.
Cap Hit: $9.38 million/year
Duration: Eight years
Buium didn't exactly light the world on fire with his scoring last season as a rookie. He had had three goals and 12 points in his 45 Vancouver games, and three goals and 14 points in 31 games with Minnesota before that. That hardly sounds like a $9 million man, but between the chaos of his new team and the skill he clearly has, he's a pretty safe bet.
If worst comes to worst, he's still going to be a good second-pair defenceman, if a bit light for one. At best? We'll see in a few years, but the money is literally on his becoming the unquestioned Number One on a contending team. So no pressure.
There are some curious details in this contract. Notably, the money is almost entirely in base salary, with bonuses being paid in the first two years alone. The bonuses are $6 million in the first year, $5 million in the second, then the base jumps to $10 million in the third.
That sort of structure is an agent's version of trade protection. Buium might not reach the numbers the team wants in those first few years, and if they aren't successful, it's a modest barrier against an easy trade/salary dump.
Buium doesn't get any protection until his free agent eligibility years, so not until 2032-33. After that, he has the expected no-move clauses. However, if the team does want to move him, his salary is a stable $8.4 million from 2030-31 on. Any team looking to buy will know what they're paying - and, at 25 years old, what they're paying for.
So what we have here is a deal that locks the player in for the next eight years, which the team wants, and gives the player trade protection, which he wants. It also gives him a truckload of money - if not a dump truck, at least an F-350's worth. But was it the right amount?
Is Buium half of a Cale Makar? Right now, somewhat less of one, if we're being honest. But Cale Makar is also seven years older and has obliterated the point-per-game mark since he was 23 years old. He's going to carry his $20+ million cap hit well into his 30s. One might better ask if Zeev Buium will be half a Makar in another three years. And that, at least, is the plan.
Now obviously, as any professional moves up in their field, the talent is rarefied and the paycheques get appropriately higher. It's the difference between the Hall of Fame and the Hallway of Very Good. Players at the very top can, and should, get paid a LOT more than folks in the next tier. But a team full of the Very Good is awfully dang hard to beat.
It's going to be hard for Buium to reach anything close to Makar's numbers anytime soon. Since the year before Makar joined the team in 2018-19, the Avalanche have had a .644 points percentage and have never missed the playoffs. Zeev is not joining such a team. If he did suddenly hit point-per-game numbers, you kinda gotta hope it's because he got injured after two games. Vancouver needs losses right now.
Which is the safety valve in the deal. We can wait for Buium to improve, along with the Canucks, because the plan isn't to win this year. Or next, or the one after that.
THIS year, he's going to keep learning the NHL game, with a skilled, longtime NHL veteran beside him. Ideally, he'll gain special-teams experience, eventually taking Filip Hronek's spot on the first power-play unit. If all goes according to plan, Hronek could be tradable the following year for a generous return in the offseason or at the deadline.
What, you're worried about a piddling $75 million?
Okay, yes, that's a good chunk for a player who's still waiver-eligible. But with it starting in 2027-28, his cut will be just 8.3% of the cap's projected $113.5 million. And it will only go down from there. By the time the Canucks are looking to actually compete - maybe in his final year of this deal - how little will this be?
None of this means the contract is without risk for Vancouver. Buium hasn't produced big numbers yet, obviously. And at six feet, 185 pounds, he's considered undersized for a team's top defender. Buium's play is built around deception and quick decisions. To get the most out of him, he'll need players who can take advantage of that, and frankly, that might be a while yet.
He thinks the game better than he skates it, which can lead to overthinking, which can get a player caught thinking. Assuming he stays paired with Hronek - which he should - neither has much of an intimidation factor. Another part of the game to watch coach Malhotra manage is Buium's minutes late in clearly lost games. Garbage time is when players further down the lineup look to make themselves memorable. Manny will have to make sure that doesn't come at Buium's expense.
The Canucks will want a player like the one Buium can be in a few years. He just has to survive until the team around him catches up.
Anyone who pays any attention at all to the Canucks knows last year didn't exactly go as planned. Off the ice, things didn't go much better, with Sportsnet 650 closing radio stations, leaving a city of 2 million+ without a sports station. That ended a lot of Canucks-centred podcasts as well, damaging a lot of careers on the way out.
The deal that Sportsnet had with the CBC has also expired, ending free access to any televised Canucks games. Which sucks, because this season is gonna be rough, but would be easier to tolerate if we could get at least a few free games.
There will be some games on Prime Video on Wednesdays, though we don't know which ones yet. It might be all eight games, which means if you don't add Amazon Prime to your cable plan, you don't get to see 9.3% of Canucks games this year. Pay Jeff Bezos, or lose one of the things that makes life a bit more bearable. Joy.
On the plus side, the radio play-by-play will continue, apparently on Kiss Throwback 104.9. There will be audio streaming on whatever your particular player is, such as iHeartRadio or RadioPlayer. Even with video, I like the radio cast more and usually have it running when I can. Nothing against John Shorthouse, who's very good at his job, but I'm an old. Radio's how I caught all Caucks games way back when. I imprinted on it like a baby bird.
But let's move on.
Last season, I actually gave someone advice to stop watching games. He was so, SO angry at anything and everything Vancouver did on and off the ice that every game was rage-inducing. Any mistake a player made - and hockey is a game of mistakes - was proof the player was the worst to ever skate. Any announcement the team made was doomed idiocy, no matter what it was or who made it.
Why'd he still watch? Couldn't tell you. But I could tell him that he needed to back off for his own health, 'cause that just ain't good for you. This season, allow me to suggest we flip the script.
It goes without saying that optimism about the Canucks is hard to come by right now in Vancouver.
-Travis Yost
Allow me to disagree.
In a perfect world, the Canucks play reasonably well early, get good offers for their veterans, and they go into Draft Day with another top-three pick. Their kids show signs of improvement; the younger kids do well in Abby/College/CHL/etc; and plans are finalized for a four-sheet facility. HUZZAH!
While that all isn't happening, some of it certainly will. Young NHLers are going to make some mistakes, and not every prospect will pull through. Injuries happen, veterans can stumble, and lord knows what's going on with getting a practice rink. But some good times are going to happen along the way, and those are the moments we're aiming for this year.
Low bar? You bet!
A big part of what made the fan I mentioned so angry was high expectations. There were big changes, and the team decided to walk the Rebuild-on-the-Fly tightrope a little bit longer, just to see if it had an end. Unfortunately, the end they were walking toward was on fire.
This season, no one has any such illusions. Vancouver acted on their belief that this was an actual, honest-to-goodness rebuild, and the team ended the year accordingly. Ownership has finally decided that the fans aren't complete idiots and can recognize the situation they put themselves in. Hearing management say they know the team is going to suck for a little while is a nice change, really.
Bonus of knowing the good times are off in the future? Any we get now are just gravy, baby!
Still, it's gonna be a long year. Here are some ways to protect your mental health during it.
What do the coaches of bad teams do? As often as not, you'll hear them talk about a 10-game block they're focusing on. Every ten games is a new, self-contained season. Or go in 21-game quarters, two-week stretches, however you want to break it up.
Pro: No losing streak is longer than ten games.
Con: "I haven't scored in three seasons!"
Circle specific games on the calendar now, or maybe just come in when the mood strikes. Look at the boxcars the next day if you're curious about games you missed. If something made news, check out the highlights!
Pro: No carrying anger over from one game to the next.
Con: Missing miracle plays and big moments in a year where there may be few of them. Sure, Curtis Douglas only played 14 games for Vancouver, but his first career NHL goal was still a pretty big moment. Not for the season, but you can see how much the team loved it.
Narrow that focus down. You have one guy you're watching this year, and whatever anyone else does is almost irrelevant. Watch Thatcher Demko's movement whenever he gets back in net to see how comfortable he is dropping down. Look for Zeev Buium's decisions and control, and see if he takes on Filip Hronek's role as the year goes on. Spot when Elias Pettersson attacks a defending opponent. Or the first moment Luke Schenn drops 'em.
Pro: You're going to get to know that player's style, and that's pretty fun. Getting granular can help you stretch your knowledge of any subject - hockey included.
Con: Instantly regret not doing this in Physics class years ago, dammit.
Hey, I get it. The most important part of the season is coming once it's over. Moves in the offseason with whatever assets the team has managed to collect matter more for their long-term prospects, and that's what you want to see. Wake me up a month before the draft!
Pro: There's actual optimism when we're talking about prospects and players who aren't actually part of the team yet. They can't fail if they don't exist yet!
Con: Missing everything else. Like, EVERYTHING else. Big plays. Little plays. Player improvement, sure, but also the young guys finding their space. New arrivals, new departures, and what the team is turning into. That's a lot, but if the bad outweighs the good, more power to ya!
Buddy, we're here for you. Let's do this.
*Repeat as necessary
If figuring out the Vancouver Canucks' goaltending was tricky and their defence was obvious, then surely predicting what they'll do with their forwards this year will be a piece of cake! Right?
The wire-walk they've chosen is a mixed blessing. To fans and followers, just the acknowledgement that rebuilds exist is a breath of fresh air. The downside is now having the privilege of experiencing one firsthand.
Then there's the players themselves. From a player's perspective, the 2026-27 season is an interesting one, and it hasn't even started yet.
The fun of being an armchair general manager is building your dream team. Trades are a breeze, prospects all pan out, and all you see of the owners is their signature on your paycheque. It's a bit more frustrating in the real world, where every other team is also trying to win, few of your picks see professional games, and the owners want their money - NOW.
But some things are predictable. For instance, the Canucks defence looks pretty good and pretty set for the start of the year. The goaltending has fewer variables than some years, but a few question marks. And attendance is probably going to drop a bit this season, if everything goes according to plan.
As for the rest, well, here's our best guess.
It can be assumed that no forward is safe from being moved this year. If a good enough offer comes in, that player goes out. That being said, some are more obvious targets than others in the forward corps.
Jake DeBrusk has to lead off the list, despite the five years remaining on his contract. He said outright that a rebuild wasn't what he signed up for, and that's fair enough. But given how little motion there has been this month, it looks like he'll start the year in Vancouver. And that's fine. The Canucks need someone who can score, just so the team is worth watching. They barely broke the 200-goal mark last year, and might not hit it this one.
While it's a bit awkward, at least it's honest. DeBrusk knows the team is shopping him, and also that the better he plays, the more interest there will be. He's going to get plenty of opportunities to showcase his skills early in the year.
Drew O'Connor became a fan favourite in 2024-25, and for good reason. He earned his two-year contract honestly, and backed it up with an excellent 2025-26. His 17 goals were a career high, and he showed his versatility and ability playing both special teams. He also did it by playing with half the team. He had seven different linemates with whom he played between 60 and 85 minutes last year.
That's to be expected of a couple players in an injury-plagued, low-performing year. But O'Connor showed he could play in all sorts of circumstances with relative ease, even if he's not the name you want to see on your first line. His speed and opportunism make him an exciting player to watch, and if he has a decent year, he can get the Canucks a good return. He has a 12-team no-trade clause.
Paul Cotter is a new arrival, and if he shows up well, he can play his way off the team and onto a contender. He's got decent speed and some scoring, but mostly he'll be asked to disrupt opponents. He's a decent faceoff man, and there will be opportunities for it in Vancouver. A solid depth guy with the chance to show he can do more. A team heading to the playoffs will look for players like Cotter.
Brendan Gallagher is here for a reason. First, he wants to be here, which is great. Second, he wants ice time, which he'll get. And third, the team wants to trade him. A loving, harmonious threesome of intent is what that is. More seriously, he puts in the work, and that's a lot of what the Canucks are looking for right now.
Gallagher's a long-time veteran who has never shied away from anything on the ice, and he'll be looked to for leadership. He has a full no-move contract, but that's only to control where he'll go if he plays well enough to get multiple offers. Even with Montreal picking up half his pay, he's still not the cheapest addition, so he needs to earn the interest.
Linus Karlsson spent a lot of last year on the fourth line, but also a bunch with Elias Pettersson the Forward and Jake DeBrusk. This time around, he should get a more clearly defined role in the middle six, though he might start up top. He registered 31 points at even strength in 2025-26, leading the team. Yeah. And that was in 12:30 of average ice time.
Another player ready to take advantage of increased ice time is Max Sasson. I can really see him getting short-handed ice time specifically. His speed is a real threat, even if his hands aren't so much. If he works on breakaway scoring, he can find a niche. He'll get an opportunity, anyway.
I'm a big Liam Öhgren fan and am very curious to see where he settles in this year. Yes, the guy who scored zero points in 18 games with Minnesota before the Quinn Hughes trade. He then came to Vancouver and scored eight goals and 18 points in his 51 Canucks games! Which, okay, still isn't earth-shaking, but he also showed what kind of game he will play: a physical, trustworthy winger who can score some points in the middle six. The most likely guy to take DeBrusk's spot, or at least get first chance at it.
Aatu Räty is probably on his last shot here, and should play like it. While he's a very good faceoff man and solid short-handed centre, every player needs to get into the boxcars if they want to be an NHL regular. He's just 23 years old, so it's not like Räty's washed, but 14 points in 66 games ain't gonna cut it. Coach Malhotra likes him, but he needs to bring some of those Abbotsford numbers to Vancouver.
Marco Rossi didn't have a whole lot of opportunity to show what he can do last year. He came over from Minnesota slightly injured, and returned too soon, eager to join the new team. The spirit's there, but chill, big guy. He managed just two points in eight games before sitting down for twenty-ish. He played out the rest of the year when he returned, scoring seven goals and 20 points in the last 25 games - a perfectly good pace the team would love him to match this year.
Terrifyingly, Filip Chytil should start the year healthy and ready to go. The skilled forward played 12 games with the big club last year, and 15 the year before that when he came over from the Rangers mid-season. He has one year left on his $4.4 million deal, and boy, I hope he can spend that money happy and healthy. He has all the talent to be a 45-50 point player this year, but fans will be holding their breath every time he steps onto the ice.
A different kind of health issue is around Elias Pettersson the Forward, and no one's quite sure what it is. He's had nagging injuries for much of his career and has always been reticent to talk about them, but it shows on the ice. While I suspect most of his decline in scoring stats is mental, he's also skating a bit more gingerly and taking fewer shots to go with it. Can his scoring bounce back? Sure, he's still a very smart and skilled player, but he's not going to get a whole lot of help with this lineup.
One player who might help is also under a huge amount of pressure to perform. It's ludicrous to say a 22-year-old is in a make-or-break season, but it's not about whether Jonathan Lekkerimäki makes the NHL. It's about what kind of player he'll be when he gets there. Billed as a scorer, Lekkerimäki has only produced five goals and nine points in 37 NHL games, and a good chunk of that was with the man advantage.
Then again, his total ice has averaged just over 12 minutes per game. No offence to Sasson, but if he's your centre, you probably aren't getting a lot of scoring opportunities. This season, he may well start in the top six alongside either Pettersson or Rossi. After that, it's up to him.
Now that 19-year-olds can be assigned to the AHL, Braeden Cootes is almost certainly pencilled in there. He could still pick up a few games, but getting 18-20 minutes in a pro league is a better option than 8-10 minutes in the NHL. Other forwards recently signed - Trey Fix-Wolansky and Akil Thomas - are good cover for injuries and will get called up before Cootes.
One guy who might make the team as a defensive specialist is Ilya Safonov. The 25-year-old has never been a big scorer with AK Bars Kazan, but has very good size and is a smart player. If he doesn't make the big club, he has the option to return to Russia. What he'll contribute here, who knows? He's never played in North America, but there's no reason to think he can't learn quickly.
Of course there's Brock Boeser. Brock Boeser is eternal. Rejoice in his name - and his 25-ish goals.
The Vancouver Canucks are walking a tightrope this season. They want improvement from the kids they're going to keep, good results from veterans they want to trade, and bad results overall. But still good enough to sell tickets to 42 home games.
How are they going to pull that off? We have even more thoughts! This time, about how they're going to use their defencemen.
The Canucks defence has changed in the past year, as you probably noticed. Not everyone has left, but enough surgery's happened to make the team update their passport pics.
The team has decided their anchor is Filip Hronek. Anyone from the Detroit region can be forgiven for double-checking the name, but yes, it's legit.
Hronek has been forced into the public eye with post-game interviews after the team's captain was traded away and the big name coming back was injured. Zeev Buium wasn't going to completely satisfy the media scrum, being a new arrival and all, but you have to know Hronek didn't want the mic.
Then a funny thing happened: he started to...well, not like it, exactly, but relax into it. His usual curt replies to questions started getting laughs among the fans - especially the ones who don't particularly like the media. He didn't make any obvious mistakes, and he does know what he's talking about. His answers started getting longer, and on a few occasions he'd even answer a follow-up.
And while that was happening, he got a little more attention for his work both on the ice and on the bench. Clips of him talking over the latest play with young defenders made the between-periods shows. He became more vocal on the ice, directing traffic during play and between whistles. He's even said outright that he wants to help the young players during the rebuild.
Now, there is an obvious argument for trading Hronek away: he's their most valuable chip, and the best way to get another first-round pick. But he also has a full no-move clause for the next two years, and if he wants to stay for both of those years, frikkin' keep him. He's been on an awful team, waiting for the Red Wings to finally get out of their rebuild. It's not like he doesn't know what he's getting into.
Slightly inconvenient is that Hronek is the de facto power-play quarterback after Quinn Hughes left. And that was fine - last year. This season, they need to hand the reins over to Zeev Buium. It could happen early or late, but it needs to happen sometime this season. As good as Hronek is, and as useful as he'll be throughout his contract, Buium is the future of Vancouver's blue line.
We didn't get a good look at Buium last year, unfortunately. He came to the Canucks injured, tried to play through it, and finally took a few games off during the league's Olympic break in February. If any player from the Hughes trade felt pressure to perform, it was Buium.
Make no mistake, Buium has plenty of skill. He's not as good a skater as Hughes is, but that bar is through the roof anyway. Buium's strength is in his planning before he needs to skate. You can see it both before he attacks and when he's reacting to an attacker. He's very much a disrupt-before-the-play-starts kind of defender, and can turn that into a counterstrike very quickly.
That all being said, he also needs to be the quarterback for Vancouver's top power play. That's where he's going to make his money, given the overall lack of scoring the Canucks are probably going to suffer for the next few years. You can't really have a number one defenceman without them playing the bulk of minutes available.
It's going to come down to just how willing coach Manny Malhotra will be to turn away from his reliable veteran. You can say you're willing to sacrifice wins now for future growth, but that's really hard to put into practice. A team five years from now needs him to be strong, which has gotta hurt when you're looking for a tenth win come December.
Tom Willander was the golden boy in Jim Rutherford's plans. Or at least as much of one as was needed when you already have Quinn Hughes on the team. Willander, like Buium, is entering his second NHL season. And, like Buium, couldn't possibly live up to the hype around him. And that's fine, actually. Heck, both players may well have some regression in their second years.
Willander isn't being looked at to replace Hughes, or even to play on a top pair during his career. If he gets there, great! But if not, well, teams need good all-around players in the middle of the lineup, too.
He's not devoid of offence - he just finished a five-goal, 21-point rookie season, after all. But that's not his ticket to the NHL. Mostly what he is, or should be, is a pain. He is a constantly moving disruptor. He's a very good puck retriever when he has a player to pass it to. Ironically, he had something of a lousy year defensively, but it really should get better from here.
One thing Willander could use is some time, and Jamie Oleksiak can buy that for him. Every team needs a giant from time to time, and Oleksiak's 6'7" frame works. He is a good enough skater to cover a LOT of ground in a short amount of time, and has enough skill to justify a middle-pair position.
Again, not a player the team should look to for a lot of points, but very useful otherwise. If Willander and Oleksiak are used together, it won't be Jamie holding the puck. But it will be him holding up players hunting his partner down.
Oleksiak signed a generous deal with Vancouver in the offseason, and it shows in his modified no-trade clause. Should he serve his purpose well, the team can shop the versatile defender easily enough. But if he doesn't, they can keep him around for another go, possibly sliding him down to the third pair if needed, with little harm done. Big guys retain their value well.
Elias Pettersson the Defenceman had a rougher second season than his first. Part of that could be his enthusiasm met the reality of a long NHL season. Part could be former coach Adam Foote's Defensive Encyclopedia being a bit much to deal with. In either case, he's inked in to start on the third pair come September.
Pettersson's geared to be a classic "shut down defenceman" if such things exist anymore. He has three goals and 13 points in his 93 NHL games, so he can, in theory, get the puck to the net. But getting it to someone else first is probably a better option. He's a good enough skater to carry the puck out of his own zone, but after that he thinks a bit too much.
He's an enthusiastic hitter, but may have overplayed that last year. His 28-game introduction in 2024-25 won wide praise for his physical play, and that might have brought different expectations. If he keeps it simple, he's at his best. It could well be that some offence shows up as he ages, and that would be a nice bonus. If he grows into a second-pair guy, it's all gravy. Keeping his spot om the third is all we need.
I don't really mean to mock Luke Schenn, but he is a beloved figure in these parts somewhat beyond his ability. He is perhaps the Ur-Journeyman Tale when it comes to veteran defenders you sign to teach young blue-liners "how to play the game the right way." He's done pretty much everything, from a top-five pick to a 30-year-old AHLer and back again.
In between, he's won two Stanley Cups and has spent time with ten NHL teams. THAT'S a veteran!
More specifically, that's a veteran who's 36 years old with a LOT of miles on him. But he knows that and understands what's going on with this team. He should, as it's his third go-round with them. The team wants a veteran who is, well, him, and he enjoys the city. His second job is to be the guy younger players have to unseat if they want to reach the NHL.
Schenn is the sort of player teams like to bring in as they head into the playoffs, and he knows that, too. That's why he does have a full no-move clause, and if he decides to waive it, it'll be to the team he chooses. And fair enough, he's earned that level of respect.
About the guys who Schenn is keeping down.
Victor Mancini has good size at 6'3" and 229 lbs. He's got good speed, too, and some decent offensive instincts. Add in that he's a right-shot, and he should be everything you're looking for in an NHL prospect. But somehow, he leaves me wanting more. A touch more offensive recklessness would serve him well, I think, with a little less concern about making mistakes. He's 24 years old, so this is a big year for him. If not now, when?
Kiril Kudreyavtsev is something the opposite. He stands 5'11" and 200 lbs, and he uses all of it. He's taken his time getting to the NHL, and for good reason: seventh-round picks aren't supposed to make it this far. He's done it by being a smart player, if not a particularly quick one. He's learned to protect the puck extremely well while waiting for plays to develop, which helps. He doesn't look like he should be this effective, but he's got surprising numbers in the OHL and AHL.
Either of these players can be the next man up, and if everything goes well, they'll earn spots when veterans ahead of them are traded away. No one wants them to get their spots by default, or even worse, not get them at all.
The plan is pretty clear, as of right now. They just have to execute.
You may think we talked all about the Vancouver Canucks' goaltending a couple posts ago, but no! Well, yes, technically, we talked about the goaltenders, but we didn't talk about the goaltending. An important distinction! Knowing what ingredients you have tells you what you can cook; it doesn't tell you how.
Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.
The Canucks have three goaltenders, all of whom are likely to start in the NHL this season. The defence in front of them will likely have three young players, each with fewer than 100 NHL games experience. They have a new coach, one year after living through a disastrous season of the overly complicated game plan of Adam Foote. And they have, essentially, zero expectations.
Everything and anything the team plans to do relies on what happens with the Canucks and every other team in the league. If they want to trade, they need a team willing to partner up. If there's an injury, it depends on who it is. If they start winning... Okay, no. Not everything is in the realm of possibility,
But we can still look at who's here and what makes the most sense for the players and the team.
The trio starts the year all occupying a share of the crease.
According to Thatcher Demko and the Canucks, he's well on his way to recovering from his surgery many months ago. He's back on the ice, going through a "normal" offseason workout routine, though what's normal for him might not be normal for his younger self. The guy is 30, after all.
Demko says this time is different, but any player will tell you they're ready to go. It's going to be up to the coach - in consultation with Demko - to keep him to a controlled number of games. What does that mean for a starting goaltender? In most cases these days, that's 50-55 games. In Demko's case, ideally 40 healthy games. No back-to-backs, definitely. Heck, no more than two games a week would be great.
And that "40 games" is over the full season. The Canucks can get away with that because they have a perfectly decent 2A in Kevin Lankinen. Lankinen's boxcar stats looked pretty lousy, but frankly so did damn near everyone else's. He was the rule, not the exception, with Vancouver last year. Lankinen also put in 47 games one year after a 51-game season. He can, at the very least, handle a heavier workload. We just don't want him to.
Again, Vancouver has no reason to drive one of their goaltenders into the ice. Taking it easy on Demko's schedule can mean everything from the number of games to not taking him on shorter road trips at all. A two-game trip? Go with Lankinen and Nikita Tolopilo! Even if Lankinen starts both games, Tolopilo can handle the practice time with the skaters with him and manage the gate on the bench. They'll be fine.
As for Tolopilo, he is now eligible for waivers, so putting him in the minors in the first place is fraught. He has some skill, and another team could easily lift him for free. What he doesn't have is a lot of experience. He survived 21 games with Vancouver last year, though, and that's not nothing. It's a bit tough to judge just how good he was, given the chaos, but he's not as bad as his numbers.
Should Vancouver hang on to all three goalies this season with, say, a 40/30/12 split in starts, that could work out. Demko has a healthy year, with possibly increased trade interest; Lankinen still earns his time for his money; and Tolopilo will show what he can do at the NHL level WITHOUT needing a fire extinguisher in his gear.
That would be Demko, folks, not Lankinen. The Canucks are going to have a very young team this year, and having a steady hand can only help. There is some idea that if Demko comes back as his old self, he could win some games single-handedly. That's where discipline from Manny Malhotra comes in: it doesn't matter how good he is, keep Demko's starts to 40 games.
The easy way to do that, of course, would be trading him away before the season even starts. The return on that would be his cap space and nothing else, though. And there probably won't be a whole lot of takers, even at that price.
There is an argument in favour of moving Demko ASAP, assuming he agrees to waive his no-move clause. The first is his salary coming off the books, which probably won't be replaced. A bad deal might come back, but more likely it would be a numbers game, contract for contract. A second benefit could be giving Tolopilo more ice time, which is a stretch to call a benefit, and we're only at "two".
Having an experienced hand as the last line of defence is a confidence booster for young players. They are less likely to be afraid of making mistakes, assuming Malhotra is on board with playing the kids. And if he isn't, there's been a terrible misunderstanding by someone. No offence to Lankinen, but he's a good worker, while Demko can be a star.
Of course, if Demko does regain his form, then there could certainly be a market for a team desperate to prove themselves in the playoffs. Some possible trade partners are Vegas, Edmonton, New Jersey, Ottawa, maybe Florida if Jacob Markstrom has a down year. There's quite the difference between the clubs, some pushing for a good showing, others for the Stanley Cup, and others could emerge. The key to any of them is desperation, and all those teams have pressure to get results.
Should Demko put together the type of season he wants, then he might well play himself onto a contender. The plan he signed on for obviously fell apart, so it wouldn't be a surprise if he agreed to move to a contender. Again, the return might not be much, but it should be a lot more than at the start of the year.
And if he's doing all that well, then moving him away fits right in with Vancouver's long-term goals. Ty Young and Aku Koskenvuo can keep their ice in Abbotsford, and we'll see Lankinen and Tolopilo. Top- er, bottom-five finish, here we come!
Okay, moving out Tolopilo doesn't necessarily make sense, and it's still a possibility. After all, he does need to pass waivers, and getting enough time for three keepers is a pain. Grab that fifth-round pick for him before some team gets him for free, and get another team's waiver sacrifice to shuttle between Abby and Vancouver if needed.
A move like this is definitely trying to improve by inches, and if the Canucks were a contender, it could even make sense. But they aren't, and frankly, it doesn't. Unless he or his agent asked the team to make the move, it wouldn't even save them money.
The NHL continues to quietly drift in the Dog Days of Summer. Sure, there have been a couple interesting signings, with two future superstars agreeing to five-year deals. But otherwise? Not a lot going on with the stuff fans generally care about - the on-ice talent. Still, there are bits and pieces of news trickling out through our now-annual smoky haze.
Elias Pettersson the Forward appeared on the ice in Los Angeles this week, which is nice. Being on the ice in August is expected of most top-end players nowadays, but this is still pretty dang early. No surprise he's doing it away from Vancouver, because could you imagine the circus of bored hockey watchers? Sportsnet may have left town, but Canucks fans haven't.
Hopefully, he's taking his opportunity to rebuild his reputation seriously this year. It could absolutely be the perfect set of conditions for him: zero pressure for the team to succeed, all pressure on him to. He doesn't have to lead squat, he just has to put his head down and play. And no, I don't think there's much of a chance of his being traded before the season starts.
The biggest topic of conversation locally is probably still the hope of a practice facility. There was a memorandum of understanding regarding the sheet at Britannia a week ago, and it might already be dead. The problem isn't one of ability or even economics. It's about public relations.
While the former White-Collars were seen touring the facilities way back when, the announcement was still a surprise. Reaction quickly went from "Finally!" to "Oops!" when it was revealed that it would just be a facility, not an additional sheet. And that the team would be claiming prime skating time from the public currently using the ice. And that they hadn't actually considered the effect on the neighbourhood.
Oops!
Hastings Park has also been mentioned as a possible location for creating a new facility with another ice sheet the team can claim as their own. Heck, they'll probably get a lot of benefits from the city no matter where they build - and some good PR if they let the public in on their off days. Handy enough, what with it being a straight shot down Hastings. But I'd love it if they thought bigger.
Over 26 years, the Richmond Night Market has become an institution, but now they're closing up. The lease is up, and there doesn't seem to be any plans to replace it. The space has been empty for ages, and it really should get put to work for the good of the city. There's a lot more space available than an ice sheet and training room would need, should any development partners be interested...
We mentioned before the ripple effects of contracts signed by other teams. There was another one to add to the list, especially given the Canucks plans for the near future.
Ville Koivunen is not the sort of player you'd expect to sign an eight-year deal. In fact, I'd be surprised if you had heard of him, unless you were a big Jake Guentzel fan. Koivunen was one of the many players involved in the Guentzel trade, a 20-year-old centre prospect who hadn't reached North America yet.
Koivunen got an eight-game sample in 2024-25, picking up seven assists in just eight games. Great start! The next year, he played 39 NHL games and scored two goals and seven points, with a lot less average ice time. And he didn't play centre either of those years. Obviously a candidate for a maximum term, right? And $4 million per season?
This isn't the first time we've seen lengthy contracts handed out to bottom-six players. Casey Cizikas is on the final year of his six-season deal with the Islanders, and there was never an expectation of his rising through the ranks. The difference is that Cizikas signed when he was a 30-year-old free agent, and he was taking a pay cut from his previous contract.
Koivunen, on the other hand, has played all of 47 NHL games and is just 23 years old. He's put up good numbers in the AHL, but nothing that projects he'll be a star. On the other hand, he's got plenty of room to grow with a team that can see its doom approaching. This wouldn't be a bad guy to have around when Sidney Crosby and Co. are no longer there.
Should Koivunen produce like a middle-six forward during the next eight years, the Penguins can decide what to do with him then. At just $4 million, he'd be an affordable addition to a competing team, and with a guaranteed term, yet. That's a lot to pay for the fourth-line winger he was last year, but it's a perfectly reasonable amount for a middle-sixer. And in three years, it might not be all that much to pay a fourth-liner.
If he slips, or if injuries happen along the way, Koivunen has $32 million in his pocket by the time he's 31 years old. He's getting a $2 million bonus payment to kick off this year and next, just to get himself comfortable in Pittsburgh for now. It doesn't look like there's any trade protection, but even if there were, it wouldn't kick in until 2030-31. That would be well into their Crosbyless Years, so presumably mid-rebuild.
That's a pretty good deal to make for everyone involved - assuming the player doesn't think he's going to be a star. Or if he does, that he's satisfied to wait until he's 30 years old to cash in. Which, given what the salary cap might be by then, could hit a jackpot. Add an additional team or two to the league bidding for talent, and it's not an unlikely scenario.
The Canucks have quite a list of young players they will be counting on in the coming years. Whether they think of signings like this, I don't know. But the temptation is there, isn't it?
Zeev Buium wouldn't go near this, as his ceiling is as a top-pair defender. But Elias Pettersson the Defender? He might stick, he might not, but if he does, it won't be as high as Buium. I'm not entirely sold on Jonathan Lekkerimaki as a first-line producer just yet, but if he agreed to a deal like this, I'm tempted. Same with Liam Öhgren.
There's risk involved with signing any player to a long-term deal, as any Canucks fan knows. One of the larger risks in Vancouver's case is having enough room for younger players to move up when they've earned their shot. If, say, Anthony Romani continues to improve and shows up ready for the NHL in two years, it would be a bit awkward to have a bottom-six full of contracts in his way.
Still, fun to consider who might work out six (or seven, or the last chance for eight) years from now on a contract signed today.
If I told you that the biggest trade of the past two weeks was Sean Farrell for Sasha Pastujov, could you tell me which teams were involved? Or for the biggest one in the two weeks before that, moving Tyler Kopff for Zac Funk? It hasn't exactly been exciting times in the NHL of late, is what we're saying. We talked about John Marino's new contract, fer cryin' out loud!
After a fairly lively draft day and an interesting free agency opening, the league has gone awfully quiet. The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed a couple essential, if brief, deals with Cole Sillinger and Jet Greaves. The Chicago Blackhawks launched a thousand eyerolls by bringing Patrick Kane back, so that's something. Jason Robertson Watch extended from a month to a year with his $12 million deal a week ago.
Otherwise? Oof.
So let's take a page from the history books and talk about the state of Canucks' goaltending. Because it has a whole lot of diverging paths out there, and which one gets walked isn't entirely up to Vancouver.
Who is what, here?
Y'all know Thatcher Demko, but let's recap. One of the Core Players that Jim Benning, then Jim Rutherford, was banking on. Alas, recurring injuries requiring repeated surgeries have left Demko on the shelf more often than he has been on the bench. He's in year one of a new, three-season contract worth $8.5 million per and comes with a full no-move clause.
He made a name for himself in the Bubble Season of 2020, turning in a masterful series against the Vegas Golden Knights, and followed that with two very good years. There was plenty of reason to believe the goaltending portion of the team was in good hands. He had a nightmare start to 2022-23, but after missing two months with another injury, he closed out the year strong.
That rolled into 2023-24, where he played most of Vancouver's games, banking enough points before getting knocked out in March that the Canucks made the playoffs again. He came back with two games left, won his playoff game against Nashville, then was out once again.
The past two seasons have not been great, statistically or health-wise. In 2024-25, Demko didn't start until December and missed another month besides. There were flashes of brilliance - including a ludicrous comeback game against Dallas - so hope was he could build on that.
Unfortunately, this past season, he missed a week in November, played one period, then was gone for another month. He came back for four more weeks before shutting down mid-January for good. And now the 30-year-old is starting with a rebuilding team.
Teams like to be secretive about injuries, so it's a little hard to track exactly which injuries Demko has had in his career. We do know he's had at least three knee injuries; two concussions; surgery on both hips (one twice); at least one groin injury; a few "lower body injuries", which could be anything; a back injury; and COVID-19.
It may seem unfair to describe Kevin Lankinen this way, but this way also perfectly describes Kevin Lankinen. Signed late into the 2024-25 off-season when it looked like Demko wouldn't be coming back to start the year, Lankinen is a perfectly capable goalie who held the fort. He wasn't supposed to, as Arturs Silovs was supposed to split duties with Demko that year. Alas, the young goaltender stumbled badly under the weight, and Lankinen took his job.
Lankinen played well enough that he signed a five-year contract that February, and Silovs was shipped off to the Penguins. That was several months before Demko signed his deal on July 1st, which must have made for an interesting dynamic. Lankinen's deal comes with a full no-move this season, and a fifteen-team one for the next three years.
With Demko only playing 20 games in 2025-26, Lankinen once again got the lion's share of starts. His numbers slipped from the previous year, but whose didn't? He did provide a statistical highlight for the team, stopping 21 of 22 shots against him in the post-overtime skills competition. Macklin Celebrini scored against him in April, and the Canucks still won the game.
Nikita Tolopilo is a very interesting case. The 6'6" Belarusian played well enough for his experience level in the NHL last year, getting into 21 games and starting 18 of them. The team has some confidence in him, even if it is just as a backup to the backup for now. He has only played three years in North American pro hockey, and may well improve beyond his current markers.
Vancouver is in the odd circumstance of needing a third goalie who is reliably available, but the most obvious choice isn't waiver-exempt. Tolopilo is interesting enough that he will likely get plucked from waivers if the team moved him back and forth to Abbotsford. Whatever team takes him would need to put another player on waivers, and that probably won't be someone the team needs.
There is a legitimate case to be made for carrying three goaltenders this season, at least until Demko gets injured. The twist in the tale is that he's an unrestricted free agent once the 2026-27 season ends. Given the age of the team overall, is he good enough to keep, or might he bring something back if he plays well enough this season?
Should Tolopilo stay with Vancouver, it would be music to the ears of Aku Koskenvuo and Ty Young. Both goalies split time between Abbotsford and their ECHL affiliate in Kalamazoo. Koskenvuo took the NCAA route before turning pro, while Young played CHL hockey in Prince George. Both are fifth-round picks, the Finn in 2021 and the Canadian in 2022.
Jiri Patera would absolutely have the starter's role on the farm if he re-signed, which explains why he didn't. But with him and potentially Tolopilo out of the way, that clears the track for Koskenvuo and Young.
While you'd think the age difference would give him the advantage, Koskenvuo actually has less pro experience than Young. His 31 total games are well back of Young's 63, but neither one is what you could call a grizzled veteran. This could be a September signing, bringing in someone with experience who wouldn't mind playing third fiddle in the AHL. That goes double if the team manages to trade any of their top three goalies, or if Demko's season comes to an early end.
The Canucks are all too familiar with the risks involved in relying on a young goaltender too soon. And yes, I do still wish we had Michael DiPietro available, but at least he serves as a warning. Neither one of these guys should see the light of day in Vancouver this season, even if it means getting an extra body.
Goaltending is just one of many threads to follow in what's going to be a potentially brutal season. The situation could easily change between now and the end of September. But until news comes out about something other than a lack of White Collars on the administrative side of the team, it's something to ponder for now.
Three recently signed contracts all carry implications for the Vancouver Canucks in the coming years. Only one was signed with Vancouver, but you can bet the other two got their attention.
Let's start with the fun one: Connor Bedard signing on with the Chicago Blackhawks for another five years. At $15 million per year - $9.8 million in bonus money - that's probably a reasonable amount for both sides. Chicago is paying for the future, but after scoring 75 goals and 203 points in his first 219 NHL games, odds are he'll live up to it.
More interesting is that it is only for five years. Bedard has clearly taken a page from Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews, both signing for shorter terms than the maximum eight seasons. McDavid handed the Edmonton Oilers an incredible discount, but only for two seasons. Matthews signed a five-year, then a four-year contract that now has two seasons remaining.
The message with all three is unmistakable. Show me progress, or I walk. And who can blame them? Matthews will be 30 when his deal expires, McDavid 31. Bedard will only be 25, but if Chicago seems to be improving to his liking, he'll likely sign another deal yet.
It looks like he told them of his intention before he signed, as they did what they could to improve the defence the instant free agency opened. Getting someone like Bowen Byram was essential, as Louis Crevier - the defenceman who went the other way - was Chicago's leading defensive scorer last year. It cost them substantially, and they doubled down by doubling Byram's paycheque with a 6 x $12.5 million deal.
They kept adding, giving Cole Smith a 3 x $3 million deal, and Ian Cole $4 million for one year. That's three pieces of the defence replaced, and fr good reason. Giving your kids some ice time is good and all, but Wyatt Kaiser and Anton Levshunov probably shouldn't have had as much as they did. Not just yet, anyway. And having a bodyguard like Jordan Greenway
The bottom line is that after five years of scraping the league floor, it's time to move up. Bedard's deal let them know that in no uncertain terms. And if they do, well, sorry Canucks fans who dreamed of his early return. That probably won't happen in 2031. Call again in 2036.
It's probably not entirely fair to call John Marino "average". He's certainly in the top half of most six-man squads in the league, and top-pair on a few. The Utah Mammoth needed him to step up before they got MacKenzie Weegar out of Calgary, and he did. But a second-pair role is probably where he fits best. Which begs the question: is that where teams should put $6.75 million?
There is a premium for the position as a right-handed defenceman, certainly. And again: he's a perfectly acceptable player. But even with an increasing salary cap, that deal seems a little optimistic. He's not a power play specialist; he hasn't scored five goals in a season since he was a rookie; and he doesn't inspire fear in the opposing forwards. I'm fine with him going out there in the last minute when we're up a goal, but probably not when we're down one.
I'm asking for a friend I happen to know who has a couple young defencemen coming up. They're looking for their second contracts, and frankly, no one's completely sure where they're going to end up as players. Zeev Buium is probably going to be an excellent offensive player; Elias Pettersson the Defenceman will probably be a solid defensive one with a bit of offensive pop. What would $6.75 million on a long-term deal look like to them?
Buium has played one NHL season, and Pettersson just 98 games over two. If the Canucks could get Buium's name on a long-term deal at anything close to Marino's numbers, then his agent is either asleep or has been told to do it. Pettersson might never reach the minutes per game Marino has, but brings very different qualities. In three years, or less, that might well be his number.
Given ownership's reluctance to pay full value right now* the odds of any player being handed a long-term deal seem remote. But if any of them want the stability of an eight-year contract, they'll have to do it before September 16th. And that might be worth waving in front of them.
The Canucks did finally get their man in Abbotsford, signing Ryan Papaioannou this week. Papaioannou has won titles in the AJHL and BCHL, and reached the conference finals in the ECHL last year. That being said, last year was his first year at the professional level. He has a typically short contract, running through 2027-28, but is probably going to get a lot of leeway for those years.
We don't know how much he'll be paid, but that's likely a reason for the short deal, too. If he succeeds with Abbotsford, he's going to want a raise or an opportunity. And fair enough, that's what the AHL is for, both with coaches and players.
The notable thing about this hiring is that apparently the OHL's Coach of the Year, Memorial Cup winner Jussi Ahokas, was interviewed and turned the job down. It had nothing to do with the opportunity, and everything to do with the money. The offer, according to sources, was below what he was making with Kitchner. Ahokas is now with Colorado's AHL squad, and Papaioannou is in Abby.
This definitely tells fans what the team's priorities are for the next few years. Ownership wants cuts, and not just the on-ice payroll. Compared to last season, the team's about $12 million below last year's cap-bumping level. If they want to lower it by another $8-10 million, then that pretty much puts the kibosh on bringing in bad salaries to juice up the return in trades.
Last time Vancouver put saving money as a top priority, the disastrous 2020-21 season was the result. Every free agent was allowed to walk after the COVID-shortened 2019-2020 season, and it showed the next year. What had been an optimistic return to the playoffs and pushing Vegas to seven games became a crash-and-burn return.
This time, the savings are being reflected in off-ice decisions. That's not a great sign, even if Alexander Edler is essentially volunteering to work with the kids. Enthusiasm isn't expertise, and while he played over 1,000 NHL games, that doesn't mean he can teach the skills that let him.
Going to be worth watching. It's one thing to want the prospects to develop, and it's another to pay for it.
*Foreshadowing!
