The Vancouver Canucks have a lot riding on this season, but when haven't they? There is a unique aspect to a yo-yo team, expected to get good results but stumbling instead. Improving by 26 points, then falling by 19 the next season, is one hell of an impact. It leaves psychic damage. That kind of thing makes a fan want to curl up with a book and a bottle and stare at the fireplace instead of cheer.
Screw that! The season's kicking off October 9th, pre-season literally next Sunday. Find a feed, subscribe to a network, switch on the radio and LET'S GO!
After a year of compounding disasters, things just have to get better, right? Sure. Probably. A disturbing amount of this game is luck-dependent, and teams mitigate against it as best they can. Using the resources you have in the best way possible, preparing but not over-preparing, and managing workloads and workouts. All that's part of it, split between the players, coaches, and management.
That all being said, for all we know, fans clutching their lucky charms and lighting incense at their Trevor Linden shrine might make all the difference. But what should they ask for? We're here to help! In descending order of likelihood, five distinct wishes for the 2025-26 season.
Vancouver's (Eleven-point-)Six Million Dollar Man* is back in town. There is a lot of concern about how his scoring didn't just drop, but plummet. Sure, injuries played their part, but his goal scoring and his point production were half his career average. And they weren't all that great through the last quarter of 2023-24, either.
It's not like he abandoned the team, though. He was still defensively responsible, with him, Brock Boeser, and Jake DeBrusk putting up a modest expected goals against per 60 minutes. But that isn't really what Elias Pettersson is on the team for, is it? He was on the ice, and his numbers were fine for a second-line centre - touch of irony there. But Vancouver needs more.
They'll get it, too. Yes, there are plenty of jokes about him putting on 6 kg because he got married. I did much the same, with a far less modest 15 kg in one year. Did you know that when you get married, sometimes your spouse likes having food around? Like, ALL THE TIME and not just once a week? Weird.
Anyway, the odds of Pettersson suddenly turning fat are zero. Zip. None. He's going to be 27 years old this season, and he was embarrassed by last year's results. He has something to prove, and I, for one, would be uninterested in standing in his way. I think his drop in play was mental. Again, some injury bumps and bruises are part of the game, but that doesn't explain the lack of aggression that killed his numbers.
I think his mind is in the right place now, and it will show early and often. The trick is finding who will work best with him.
Odds: 9/10
The last time Evander Kane was in his contract season, he scored 22 goals and 49 points in 56 games. The time before, he impressed San Jose with nine goals and 14 points in just 17 games, to go with 25 minutes in penalties. Before that? His second contract was signed on the back of a 30-goal, 57-point season. The other years are a bit of a mixed bag.
He is well-known for antics not only on the ice but in the dressing room. That's not great. Bringing in a player famous for discipline problems is an odd choice for a high-stakes season. But his lack of headlines in recent years has eased some of those fears. Troubles off the ice include assault accusations from sexual partners, a very complicated relationship with his former wife, and a gambling addiction while with the Sharks.
These all seem to be in the past now, as his time in Edmonton was relatively calm. Clearly, Canucks management is hoping that streak continues with his hometown team. And, of course, he has another end-of-contract season. He doesn't need to hit 50 goals or anything, but 25 with his usual truculence on the ice and a lack of drama off it would be a win.
Uh, no one tell him I said this, okay?
Odds: 8/10
The odds of this one coming true are improved just because there are so dang many of them. There aren't a huge number of spaces available to the promotable rank-and-file, but there are some. There still may be a trade or a free agent signing between now and training camp, but if not? It's not unreasonable to say there are two or three spaces among the forwards and one regular spot on the defence.
Since we last looked at the offence, Dakota Joshua was moved to the Toronto Maple Leafs. That opened up a space on the wing, where Vancouver has a decent amount of talent. They want talent down the centre, but right now we'll take what we can get. I don't think we're too far off in pencilling in Aatu Räty at 3C and leaving Teddy Blueger behind him to anchor the fourth.
If Räty is one young gun, Nils Åman, Linus Karlsson, Arshdeep Bains, and Max Sasson are looking to make their mark, too. Each of these guys has advantages, but they're young-ish, not young. For a young guy up front, it's Jonathan Lekkerimaki. However, he's not a player to start on the fourth line to work his way up. If he's not in the top six, then let him cook in the minors a bit longer.
The defence, on the other hand, has options. We can confidently pencil Elias Pettersson in to start the year. Beyond him, Tom Willander has made it clear he wants to be in the NHL now, not later. That's going to be a tough call, and if he makes it, it'll more likely be as a mid-season replacement. He's had a good showing in Boston and internationally, but didn't really build on the previous year.
But there's also (more than one young prospect! Amazing!) Victor Mancini. Mancini showed well in his NHL tryout last year, split between the Rangers and Vancouver. He's got very good size, though he's not much of a hitter. He skates well enough to get his mass into position and get the puck up when he has it. Like Willander, he will probably start in the AHL with expectations of dominance, possibly lining up with Jett Woo in the top pair.
If two of these guys can break through as solid, contributing regulars on the squad, then the team gets all that much deeper.
Odds: 7/10
Okay, yes, we're going to mention injuries a few times in this list. For good reason, too: the team's most important players each missed a dozen games or more. Thatcher Demko has played more than 50 games in a season twice and was brilliant in both of them. The rest of the time? He didn't play 50 games because he couldn't play 50 games.
In an ideal world, one in which GM Patrik Allvin has signed the team on to, Demko splits his time with Kevin Lankinen. Lankinen doesn't get overworked and let any sloppiness get into his game; Demko doesn't overstress any of his, well, anything. Lankinen is a perfectly good 1B, though a better heavy-use backup.
There are a couple guys in Abbotsford who should be able to step in if needed between Nikita Tolopilo and Jiri Patera. Ty Young might get a look or two, but if so, it better be because he's blowing people's doors off in Abby.
Bottom line is that when Demko is on his game, he's a top-five goaltender. That would be real nice to have available come the playoffs.
Odds: 6/10
Okay, hear me out. I know the team was second last in the entire league last year for shots on net. Their 24.5 per game was still one full shot more than the Chicago Blackhawks managed, and they finished... Ah, right. Let's not use them as an example.
Unlike the Blackhawks, the Canucks were also very good at limiting shots against last season, finishing seventh in the league. That level of discipline isn't likely to vanish, especially with the transition from Rick Tocchet to Adam Foote behind the bench. Foote played his entire NHL career as a defensive specialist and was responsible for the defence under Tocchet.
That being said...
He has the talent here to push the game up. No offence to Derek Forbort or Pierre-Olivier Joseph, but there's no offence to Derek Forbort or Pierre-Olivier Joseph. But the top two pairs on this club are more than capable of trying for mid-ice stops, catching opponents in the neutral zone. All four are strong skaters, and it could be worth the defensive risk for more offensive chances.
Heck, if either Mancini or Willander do play well enough to make the team, that can give the Canucks a pleasant surprise in the third pair. Getting the puck out of your end is one thing. Stopping it from getting there in the first place is another. But that's also asking a rookie coach to take a chance in a very high-pressure season.
Odds: 3/10
Right, now let's drop the dang puck! But let me grab my bottle first, just in case I need to celebrate.
*Whose bionic abilities include being able to run in boot heels. Man, the '70s were weird.
