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.
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.
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!
Radio stations vanish, schedules drop, and rumours abound (kind of)!
That's a pretty up-and-down week for local Canucks - and sports - fans in and around Vancouver. We got the schedule release, which is always fun to comb through, and some actual rumours to play with. Well, one rumour. Well, more of an incidental statement. But it involved the Canucks, so it counts!
But I guess the biggest news is that the news has stopped. News 1130 was among the six radio stations that Rogers has decided to abandon, including Sportsnet 650. And much like when Bell pulled TSN 1040, they didn't bother telling their employees. Instead, workers there found their passwords non-functional or the equipment simply disconnected. A coward's retreat.
Rogers still owns FM stations in town, so they might broadcast games through Jack FM or somewhere similar. Whatever broadcast team they put together likely won't travel, recording from monitors when the team is on the road. Calgary has been completely abandoned, with broadcasts dropped in their entirety.
There has been some talk of people somehow getting together to start a sports radio station in Vancouver. It's obviously an underserved region, but the costs are HIGH. It's hundreds of thousands of dollars to get the frequency, though much less to keep them annually. The idea is to follow the lead of CHEK TV, which is North America's only employee-owned television station.
Obviously, folks are plenty angry about how employees were treated by Rogers (and Bell), but Don Taylor's hopes of a private owner seem faint. Personally, I think the CBC has an opportunity to do the funniest thing right now...
The league has released their full schedule, and there are a few points of interest for Canucks fans. They have 13 home games on a Saturday, for one. Owners who are clearly nervous about lowered gate revenues next season can relax a bit. Though in a slightly odd statement, the team's release says there will be "eight Saturday night games starting at 8:00".
Whether that means 8 PM for us locally, or it's an announcement intended to warn those areas which do not have the daylight-savings changes we do, I don't know. On the calendar, it says the usual 7:00 start time. It's not every night game, either, as 11 home games are scheduled for the 7:00 start time, with one at 4:00 (guess who that is) and an early afternoon game against Anaheim.
One change this year is the increase in the number of games from 82 to 84. Not my dream of scratching ten to get to a more livable 72, but there it is. That's causing a domino effect throughout the year: the Canucks start the season in September for the first time in team history, opening against Edmonton on the 29th. They finish April 10th, in what both teams no doubt hope is an entirely meaningless contest.
It's not much of a year for "revenge games" with the team in an acknowledged rebuild. Boo Quinn Hughes on October 25th if that's your thing, but otherwise, the only special days are when your second/least favourite team is in town.
Another effect of the extended schedule is reducing the number of pre-season games. So much the better, but if you're curious, they only have two at home: September 24th against Edmonton and the 26th against Seattle. The Oilers match could be an interesting precursor to the season opener three days later.
Speaking of Seattle...
Didja hear Shane Wright likes Vancouver? He said he did, and that's great! He wouldn't block a trade here, so obviously-
Quick intervention, here. He's on year three of his entry-level deal, and he's a right-shot centre. Wright's got no trade protection for a very in-demand position. Seattle ain't selling him cheap, and he can't force a move. Back to our regularly scheduled wishcasting!
-there's a deal to be made, right? Of course! It's just a matter of whether either side wants to make it.
Wright is a young, contract-controlled, right-handed centre who hasn't yet broken through. He was a fourth-overall pick in 2022* and got a couple eight-game dry runs before joining the team full-time in 2025-26. He had a very good rookie season, slipping back statistically in the boxcars a bit in his second year. Under the hood, though, he slightly outperformed his teammates at even strength.
Wright is clearly a little frustrated, limited to bottom-six minutes, but he has only been in the league for two years. A bit of patience from him now could pay dividends later. On the other hand, Matty Beniers and Chandler Stephenson are definitely ahead of him to start 2026-27, and it's hard to improve your offence from the third line.
The pressure on Seattle is to start making the playoffs regularly now, after just one appearance in five years. They have taken big swings at free agents, both in the market and with offer sheets, but haven't had a taker yet. Using Wright as a trade chip to bring in a more reliable veteran is a bit of a last-resort move, but one they might feel they have to make. And the NBA returning soon isn't helping.
Jake DeBrusk is a good hockey player.
DeBrusk is a consistent scorer, but only if you look at the year's end. He's going to score around 25 goals, though they might be six in one week, nothing for a month, seven in another week. He did mention that he doesn't want to go through a rebuild at thirty years old, and that's understandable. It's not what he signed on for when he accepted a seven-year, $5.5 million per deal.
He's a very good power-play producer, much to everyone's surprise. His 5-on-5 numbers were a nightmare last season, but whose weren't for the Canucks? He works great down low, but more to Seattle's liking, he can work with speed, too, and can do it from the second line. And he has five years remaining on what is a very reasonable contract. As a bonus, he's also said he wants to stay in the West, and you can't get much further West than Seattle.
Now, if there is a deal to be had involving these two players, Vancouver will need to give more up. Neither one is a real play driver, but a solid addition to one. DeBrusk has proven himself to a greater degree than Wright has, but by the same coin, Wright is six years younger. Add his positional premium, and DeBrusk isn't enough by a long shot. He'd provide the Kraken with a top-six scorer under contract for another five years when they need a star.
At first glance, it might seem like an awkward fit for the Canucks as well. They've fortified their centre position recently, and Wright would be starting again in the bottom six. That being said, one of the players above him is Filip Chytil, so it could be a matter of waiting a month for the opportunity to present itself. Or maybe moving Chytil to the wing, which sounds better.
Folks might hate me for saying it, but getting a young player is one of the reasons a team collects draft picks. Vancouver has two second-round picks next year, neither one theirs, and I'd be fine with them including one in a package for Wright.
I know, I know: trading a second-round pick for a younger, some would say "doubted" player can cause PTSD in this market. But not all second-round draft picks are the same: the ones we have are from San Jose and Dallas. San Jose can make the playoffs next season, putting their spot in the early-50s at best. The Stars' pick could easily be in the 60s. We're getting close to single-digit percentages whether a player drafted there will hit 200 NHL games, never mind one that scores 25 goals a season.
It's not a slam dunk for either team, but DeBrusk is expendable for Vancouver, and Wright might take too long for Seattle. The risk is heavier on Vancouver's side, where the younger player might not get beyond what we've seen, and the draft pick might strike gold. But that's the nature of being a rebuilding team, and I don't think the risk is unbearable.
If both Braeden Cootes and Caleb Malhotra work out as NHL centres, having Wright already here lets the team move other players. And if one of them doesn't, for whatever reason, he's a safety net. That seems worth the deal to me.
For Seattle, if they don't move up as they should, DeBrusk is still a tradable asset come the deadline, and they'll have a second-round pick plus what he brings back. Or maybe he's enough to get them past that playoff line, and they keep him - plus the second-round pick.
*Cue death glare
That was a more interesting opening of the free agent market than I expected, gotta say. But between that and the start of the Vancouver Canucks opening development camp, the future is here for all to see.
After a straightforward draft day, including what was officially Ryan Johnson's first trade as the Vancouver Canucks general manager, little was expected today. And for the most part, it lived up to those expectations. A quiet start had the team picking up a couple AHL players in Trey Fix-Wolanski and Akil Thomas, adding to the farm's depth. Luke Schenn and Paul Cotter shore up the NHL team on one-year deals, and Jamie Oleksiak won a two-year deal for a very specific reason...
The big deal of the day for Vancouver was clearly moving Marcus Pettersson to the New York Rangers for a first-round pick. It's top-ten protected, but that's fine. It's still a LOT more than anyone expected Pettersson to return. The trick is who's going to be around to use it, since it doesn't happen for another four years.
Akil Thomas was a second-round pick back in 2018, 51st overall. He was a high-skilled guy who could fight for his ice, and pulled decent numbers in the AHL, but hasn't managed to break through into the bigs. He had a fine playoff run last year, but he is a veteran AHLer. That's not a bad thing, and having a championship-level AHL team when the NHL team is stumbling makes it a good place to grow prospects.
The same can be said of Fix-Wolanski, though the road he took to get to where he is today is radically different from Thomas'. The 5'7" Fix-Wolanski was drafted in the same year as Thomas, but in the seventh round, 204th overall. Built like a fire plug, he racks up points and penalty minutes in the junior circuit. If you think Vancouver is too depressing to watch, you might want to take a trip to Abbotsford. Add these guys to Braden Cootes finding his pro game, and they should be worth the drive.
Paul Cotter might not be a player you're all too familiar with, and for good reason. Cotter's a solid NHLer, but a fourth-line one. He's got great speed and good size, but indifferent hands. Think a slightly less points-productive Kiefer Sherwood. He's not going to take a lot of ice from the kids coming up unless Coach Malhotra decides to put him on special teams. Is just over $2 million a bit much for a fourth-line veteran? Probably not, after this season. That cap has gone up, baby!
Veteran and three-time Canuck Luke Schenn, you know. The 36-year-old has been in the league since he was 19, and not all have been good. But it could be argued that the best of those years happened in Vancouver, riding shotgun with a young Quinn Hughes. He is the embodiment of Been There, Done That and Here's How. He loves the city, loves the team, and knows perfectly well what he's getting into. Even if he's scratched, you know he's going to practice hard against the kids.
Got Mass? Jamie Oleksiak, brother of seven-time Olympic medalist Penny Oleksiak, is a physical specimen. He stands 6'7" and weighs 250 lbs, increasing Vancouver's average size all on his own. He's spent the last five seasons in Seattle, spending a lot of time on the penalty kill there. That's going to let the younger players get what time they earn, instead of being forced into the role out of desperation.
Oleksiak has a two-year deal, front-loaded with a $1 million signing bonus in 2027, which is very tradeable. He has a 12-team no-trade list, but that leaves more than half the league to choose from. His cap hit is $5 million per year, but the actual cash outlay in year two is just $3.5 million. If a player comes up and forces the team's hand, they can find a place Oleksiak will be happy with. But until then, he's a solid player for the role.
Speaking of finding a spot on the defence, Marcus Pettersson gets moved out after just one year of his six-year contract. He's most comfortable as a middle pair, shutdown defender, but the Canucks was not a place to be comfortable last year. Pettersson played over 21 minutes a game, and he's just not what the team needs right now.
Some people are pretending he was awful, but that's simply not the case. His game doesn't show up in the boxcars the next day, but he was the best Canuck at shot suppression with a variety of defensive partners. That's valuable - just not here, not now.
The amazing thing is that he brought back a first-round pick, which is far more than expected. Even better, it's a first-round pick in 2030. Why that's a good thing is that the team is planning further ahead than the next three years. In three years, Vancouver should be planning to leave the league's basement. Yes, expect a bottom-five finish for a few seasons yet - if everything goes right.
At the end of the 2028-29 season, they will have an additional first-round pick one year away. That's as good as cash-in-hand for any deals they want to swing, assuming they haven't moved it between now and then. Or they can keep it, given that it belongs to the Rangers, a wildly unpredictable team. It's top-ten protected, which is a bit hilarious, but their next year might be even worse; you never know.
I expect at least two more veteran forwards to be moved (Jake DeBrusk, obviously, and...Drew O'Connor? Elias Pettersson? Someone.) before training camp. But even if they stop here, that's not a bad turnover from twelve months ago. Evander Kane, Conor Garland, Kiefer Sherwood, and Nils Höglander are all gone up front; Marcus Pettersson, Tyler Myers, and, of course, Quinn Hughes have left the defence.
More on-ice changes will happen between now and the next step, whenever they take it. But if this is the team they start the 2026-27 season with, it's a pretty good start.
We got some picks, we got a trade, we're looking forward!
To be completely clear: I am not an NHL scout. Yes, I see some tape, but those tend to be highlight reels, which only show the best of a player, not the whole player. I read and heard a lot of scouting reports from folks who do the actual work, some public, some pay. What you're reading here is a combination of what I've read, heard, and seen, but it's other people putting in the real work. If you want more, hunt them down and definitely check out tape for yourself. It's fun!
Now, without further ado, what the Vancouver Canucks did done:
With the first draft under GM Ryan Johnson complete, what can we glean of their intent? Actions speak louder than words, and we haven't seen a whole lot of on-ice choices yet. This is, essentially, our first chance to see what the White Collars are thinking.
The odds-on favourite to go first to Vancouver went first to Vancouver. A lot of smoke was billowing in the week leading up to Draft Day, but when it cleared, Caleb Malhotra was their pick. There are loads of reasons to like Malhotra, on and off the ice. The phrase "future captain" comes up a LOT in his scouting reviews.
Clearly, the team decided to go to the centre instead of defence, but it is a rational decision. They didn't reach for him because there were a half-dozen players you could justify taking. Funny thing is, the player I thought of with last year's selection of Braden Cootes was "Bo Horvat light". With Malhotra, it's "imaginative Bo Horvat".
The same critique of Horvat sits on Malhotra: his skating. He knows where he needs to go, and he skates well enough to get there. And that's about it for criticism. He's very good defensively, proactive in breaking up plays and knocking people off the puck. He can pass it up and out, ideally following a teammate in and getting the return pass in the offensive zone. He protects the puck well, plays on the boards, and can score.
His floor is an excellent, third-line centre who desperate teams might move to the first. His ceiling is an excellent second-line centre that an average team has on the first. You know: Bo Horvat.
The Canucks got, possibly, a steal? Lots of scouting types were very happy with Vancouver picking up Adam Novotný at 24. Craig Button had him at 26, but the vast majority of pre-draft lists put Novotný in the mid-teens. He absolutely looks like an NHL player, little doubt there. Sturdy guy, decent skater, plays the body well, and his best offence is to get the puck off someone, skate in and shoot.
Hopefully, that straightforward game doesn't just translate well to the NHL but is the basis for some more imaginative play. Malhotra will occasionally take risks and try something different to see if he can pull it off, while Novotný takes a safer route. That "safer route" is for him, obviously, not his opponents. They're going to have a generally bad time getting past him/out of their zone if he catches them with the puck.
His NHL calling card might leave him in the bottom-six as a floor. With the right linemates, he can be the guy who plays puck retriever for the top line as his ceiling.
An 18-year-old giant at 6'7" and 236 lbs, it's a bit tough not to give Brooks Rogowski some grace. There's being awkward after a growth spurt, then there's being 6'7" at 18. At the start of the year, he looked like a guy who could reliably put in the work on the defensive side. As the season went on and he got more comfortable, he started doing things like controlling mid-air passes and no-look passes.
He's confirmed to Michigan State in two years, staying in Oshawa for 2026-26. Oshawa was lousy offensively last season and the worst team in the league. That situation can give Rogowski a lot of opportunities. It will be very interesting to see how he develops from here - and what his coaches ask of him.
Who's up for learning the Viking Row? Niklas Aaram-Olsen is the first Norwegian drafted by Vancouver, and if he makes it, will be the first to play for them. But he wasn't drafted for Pokémon reasons. Here's what he does:
I don't put a whole lot into the draft combine, but Aaram-Olsen shows up in the results repeatedly. Third in the Wingate power output test; third in the 10 metre sprint; first in the shuttle agility test, both left and right sides; seventh in bench press; tenth in hands-on-hips, no arm swing jump; and first in the standing long jump. The guy's got a physique, and he's not afraid to use it! But what's all that mean on the ice?
He's decently fast, but more than that, he's very quick. He breaks ankles when he's carrying the puck. He also has a variety of shots and gets it off at different angles, leaving goalies guessing. The risk is that he might think that those skills are enough. He played 16 SHL games last year and takes the defensive side seriously when lined up against men, but it came at the cost of his offence.
Dmitri Ivchenko played in the MHL (the Russian equivalent of the AHL) as a backup for a very good Omskie Yastreby team. He has a .922 goals against average, which sounds incredible until you realize that puts him 30th in the league overall. It's still good, but make sure you know what the stats mean when you read them.
His selling points are being a calm character. When he's in position, he has excellent control of his extremities, snapping his hands and feet into a blocking position. He does have issues outside the posts, losing track of the puck up high, and if he has to move side-to-side, he can go past his posts. Everyone remembers Arturs Silovs' second year, right? Thing is, we probably won't see Ivchenko for another three years - and that's if he agrees to go to Abbotsford. Who we'll see then is a bit of a mystery.
So first things first. Yaroslav Bryzgalov is not a good skater. And he also plays a fast game. These aren't the opposites they seem.
Bryzgalov is big in a phone booth, a player you can trust to win the puck when the battle takes place in four square feet along the boards. He's also a very good passer and knows where the puck should go before he gets it. If any opponent isn't paying attention, he'll make them play. One or two hits from him, and the entire team starts looking over their shoulders.
If he can get his foot speed up, even a little, he can get NHL minutes, though probably on the fourth line.
What's an NHL team without a Connor these days? Connor Davis is a perpetual motion machine, always skating after the puck. He likes to attack defencemen directly, and when the puck gets to the net, he'll buzz around it, looking for a jam, a wrap-around, any opportunity to get it across the line.
A re-entry, like Bryzgalov, he's a bit older than most players taken, so there's some concern he's as big as he's going to get. Still, 6' even is plenty big enough for an agitator, and he's heading to North Dakota next year to improve his skills.
When the draft gets past the 150-mark, you get players like Lucian Bernát. The 6'4", 200 lbs Bernát had an excellent statistical year in the Finnish U20 league for a rookie. His shoot-first mentality led to him being the second-highest scorer on the team. But that scoring dried up in the playoffs, and he ended up in penalty trouble instead of helping the team. He does love making contact as part of his game, but it's also a matter of timing.
We'll get a closer look this season when he joins Owen Sound.
"It's late, grab a big Swede and let's go."
-Imagined conversation among Canucks scouts at every draft
That's not entirely fair, but there are years when it feels like it. Eriksson is, indeed, a 6'6" Swede, and his focus is on defence. His first thought is to pin some poor forward that's fallen within his reach, but his second thought is to overthink it. His physical tools are plentiful, but his mind is not up to speed just yet. Practice and time might get him there, but he's drafted in the sixth round for a reason.
Yes, GM Johnson pulled off his first NHL trade on Day Two of the draft! It was:
A sixth-round pick from the 2026 draft, #161 overall, for a fifth-round pick in 2027, TBD
That is, technically, moving up in the draft. Eh, we'll take it.
Happy Draft Day(s), y'all!
The biggest event is, obviously, the draft itself and what the Vancouver Canucks will do with the third overall pick. The reason why teams want to draft as high as possible is for the options, and the Canucks have plenty.
But there's more going on than that, isn't there?
Everyone involved has finally accepted that the team is undergoing a rebuild, and they aren't hedging. The tricky part is believing management when they say so, given the past decade of desperate scrabbling for a playoff spot. There's plenty of evidence that ownership wants to cut costs, if not corners, and that raises alarms.
That being said, there is also plenty of evidence that management is unified in their determination to change. I thought Tyler Myers would never agree to leave, but off he went to Texas. Conor Garland heading out was less of a surprise, and both moves brought back draft picks rather than players. We like that.
As of this minute, Vancouver has ten picks this year, three of which are in the sixth round. That's fine, the more darts the better after the second round. They also have $22 million in cap space with 21 players signed to NHL contracts. There is zero pressure to sign anyone, improve the team for next season, or find any kind of quick fix. This is about as good a starting point as they could hope for.
Trades are fun! Everyone (except the players, usually) loves trades! But player trades might not happen before the draft starts tonight, and that's okay. It would be nice to see the team set up for the next few years in one weekend, but it's not essential. There's another draft next year, and getting picks for then is fine, too. We're looking at a long-term plan here, right? No need to force a trade just because one's available quickly.
The free agent pool is sparse. There are going to be opportunities for trades after July 1st and well before the season starts. Yes, they have to stay above the salary floor, and they're only about $5 million clear. They can overpay for a couple free agents, but you don't want to bring in players who might block the opportunity of the players you want to develop. And the players demanding the highest pay aren't likely to sign here.
We've talked about it plenty, but the team should be ready to move anyone. Literally any of their veterans should be available at the right price, and I do think they are. But selling all of them immediately is the wrong move. You do want someone who's been here to be, in effect, a guide to the city and the team. Player churn only works when you're moving secondary players around a successful core, and we don't have that yet.
Expect two of the bigger names to get moved this Summer, before the draft or after. More than that is pretty unlikely.
I know what I like here, and I like a pile of the defencemen. Assuming Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg go, then I have four defencemen ahead of any of the other forwards. Any of a half dozen players is fine at number three, though. We don't know how their careers will turn out, and the differences between them look really minute as far as skills go, but the styles are all over the map. No telling what teams' preferences will be until they draft!
Why do I like the defencemen? I think the upper result for, say, Caleb Malhotra or Viggo Björk is a very good second-line centre, where the defencemen I like are top-pair, if not #1s. Both are in demand, but of those two, I know which are harder to find. Plus, 2027 looks pretty stacked for centre options.
If the Canucks want to trade down, I'm more than happy for them to. Acquire more darts, even if you're taking a step back. The next few seasons are when they want the picks, so go get them.
It would be nice if they added some local colour in Mathis Preston or Ryan Lin or the Ruck twins, they shouldn't stretch for them. I'll be disappointed of they lose assets for the sake of getting the Rucks in the first round, for instance.
There's some fun in watching the breakdown of a team, like watching construction workers dismantle a house. A bit sad, but the foundation was rotting so it has to go. Hopefully, a much more stable one is getting built in its place.
Unlike houses, a hockey team can be built and torn down at the same time. We've seen some of the structure already, with Liam Öhgren, Zeen Buium, and Marco Rossi coming in from the Minnesota Wild trade. Next, we're getting a hit at the foundation.
Mostly what we all want to see is a design. Trades or no trades, that's going to start with the third overall pick today.
Well. Not exactly keeping the momentum going from the past week, but a few more deals worth talking about have happened since Tuesday.
Nothing yet on the Vancouver Canucks front. I can understand people being eager to see how the new White Collars will shape the team in their own image, but that might start in the draft, not before. Personally, I'm okay with that: I'd rather we get draft picks for the 2027 draft, all things being equal. But I'm looking forward to seeing what move they make for this season, too.
To Colorado Avalanche:
Fyodor Svechkov
To Nashville Predators:
2029 3rd round pick, TBD
Colorado seems to be looking to shore up their bottom-six cheaply, moving Drury out and letting Kirivanta walk. The new arrivals are both a bit younger than Drury, so maybe that's also playing a part. They have yet to live up to their first-round draft selections, and that can appeal to Colorado.
Drury is a solid, 25-ish point, fourth-line player looking for a new contract. He's good on the penalty kill, and VERY good in the circle. Bradley's had a cup of coffee in the NHL and had a great playoffs with the Colorado Eagles last year, so he could get a shot.
Effect on Vancouver:
Nashville clearly see themselves as competing for a playoff spot this season. Fewer sellers the better, say Cancuks fans!
To Buffalo Sabres:
2027 3rd round pick, TBD
To Washington Capitals:
The Sabres wanted to keep Tuch, obviously. After missing the playoffs for many, many seasons, they were hoping he would choose to return to the team he helped break that cycle. A bit of a shame, as Buffalo didn't just "make the playoffs" but smashed the 100-point barrier, winning their division with 109. They got what they could for his rights, negotiating a sign-and-trade to the destination of his choice.
As for the Capitals, I guess they're really doing this. Alex Ovechkin hasn't officially said he's retiring, and the team has $14 million in cap space left after bringing in Tuch and Jordan Kyrou. You don't offer big money to 30-year-old players for their seventh and eighth seasons.
Effect on Vancouver:
Making their own eight-year offerings to free agents look reasonable, I guess? Seeing Canucks Legend David Kampf is still in the league?
More seriously, Elias Pettersson's contract is already starting to look better with the sign-and-trade deals handed out. There may be a market for him building up out there. Given the increase in cap space, even though this is the least attractive year to trade him, maybe something happens.
The Pittsburgh Penguins place a minor bet on Hendrix Lapierre; the Florida Panthers add a hitter in the ancient Garnett Hathaway; the New Jersey Devils get defensive depth with Declan Chisholm and an awesome name in Amadeus Lombardi. Draft picks from the third round and later went the other way in all of these, and none of the players should be particularly impactful this year.
The Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets swapped their own "not yet"s in Hunter McKown and Luke Tuch (yes, related, brother). At least one interesting deal did go down today, though.
To Columbus Blue Jackets:
To Colorado Avalanche:
2026 2nd round pick, #43 overall
2027 3rd round pick, TBD
2028 5th round pick, TBD
Columbus and Colorado have very different goals in mind, here. The Blue Jackets are pushing for the playoffs after a six-year absence, and the Avalanche are looking for finishing touches on a Stanley Cup challenger. The pressure is on for Columbus, which has some very good young players coming up. They need to show those players that the team isn't irrelevant, and that means making regular appearances in the second season. Zach Werenski is also making noises, and fair enough.
Nichushkin isn't a star, but he is an extremely useful all-around player. He plays both special teams, adds 20 goals and 50 points to the middle-six, and will help fill the space with Mason Marchment likely gone. Colorado is running out of time for another Cup with their current roster, and this looks like a salary-clearing move. They're going to need more, though: that $11 million cap space doesn't look as good when you see they only have 17 NHL contracts on the books.
Effect on Vancouver:
Unless the Avalanche are going to make a pitch for one of the Canucks' players, not much. They're at wildly different parts of their cycles, so not a lot of relevance to each other just yet.
Okay! I think that's got us all caught up for now. At least for the next few hours, before things get interesting.
