The Vancouver Canucks head into Detroit to face the Red Wings on Thursday carrying a problem that’s becoming uncomfortably familiar. The team shows up — eventually — but their full game rarely does.
It’s been a big year for 18-year-old <a href="/nhl/players/braeden_cootes/928054">Braeden Cootes</a>. A 63-point draft season as the Captain of the Seattle Thunderbirds led the right-shot centreman to be drafted in the first round (15th overall) of the 2025 NHL Draft by the Vancouver Canucks.
Hockey can’t be fun for Vancouver Canucks sniper <a href="/nhl/players/brock_boeser/376457">Brock Boeser</a> right now. Not only are the Canucks 31st in the NHL standings, but he’s not producing right now, either.
Welcome back to NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at Last Word On Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out.
Can you name every NHL franchise's all-time leader in points in five minutes?
<a href="/nhl/players/elias_pettersson/516469">Elias Pettersson</a> has returned from an injury that kept him out for eight games, but he says he’s still feeling the effects of it. In conversation with
NHL head coaches have to hire good assistants. They have to set an overarching philosophy, juggle lineup configurations, and do the kind of “man management” that is impossible to track statistically.
The Vancouver Canucks have spent much of the 2025-26 campaign shuffling their various trade chips and considering a series of big moves. But it must be said that the biggest chip has already been cashed in, and the biggest move already made.
While the Vancouver Canucks continue to ponder whether to trade or extend winger <a href="/nhl/players/kiefer_sherwood/589757">Kiefer Sherwood</a>, another team has entered the mix in pursuit of the pending unrestricted free agent’s services.
It certainly would make sense that Edmonton would look at an Edmonton-born winger with a history of solid production who is locked in long-term at a reasonable rate.
TSN: Chris Johnston notes that as of the end of the holiday, there was a still a big gap in the contract extension talks between the Vancouver Canucks and <a href="/nhl/players/kiefer_sherwood/589757">Kiefer Sherwood</a>.
When the Vancouver Canucks pulled the trigger on the <a href="/nhl/players/quinn_hughes/590039">Quinn Hughes</a> trade a month ago, they effectively waved the white towel on a season headed nowhere and affirmed their plan to reset the roster with younger players.
Tuesday night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres was one of those games that looked closer on the scoresheet than it was on the ice. The Vancouver Canucks fell behind early, dug a deep hole, then made things uncomfortable late before ultimately dropping a 5–3 decision to a Sabres team that’s suddenly playing with confidence and clarity.
It didn’t take long after the NHL lifted its holiday roster freeze for the trade-related drama to pick up surrounding the Vancouver Canucks once again.
And the tank efforts continue. The Vancouver Canucks lost 5-3 to the Buffalo Sabres. For a large chunk of the game, it looked out of hand, the Sabres running hot and running rampant all over the Canucks.
The trade deadlines in the three CHL leagues are fast approaching and there has been a significant uptick in transactions in recent days. Here’s a rundown of some recent moves around the various leagues involving NHL-drafted players.
The Vancouver Canucks are in Buffalo tonight, facing a Sabres team eager to respond after a rare stumble. Buffalo lost 5-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, snapping a franchise-record tying 10-game win streak.
Jake DeBrusk’s name is beginning to surface in NHL trade speculation as the Vancouver Canucks continue to struggle and are potentially staring in the face of a retool/rebuild.
The winds of change are blowing for the Vancouver Canucks. With star defenseman <a href="/nhl/players/quinn_hughes/590039">Quinn Hughes</a> already out the door, there’s no question that more moves are on the way as Vancouver looks to better position itself for the future.
The Vancouver Canucks made a new contract extension offer to pending UFA forward <a href="/nhl/players/kiefer_sherwood/589757">Kiefer Sherwood</a>, Sportsnet’s <a href="/nhl/players/elliotte_friedman/684140">Elliotte Friedman</a> reported last night. Friedman
The new calendar year hasn’t started off on a good note on the injury front for Vancouver.
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