2026–27 Edmonton Oilers Pacific Division rival preview: Vancouver Canucks

Welcome to the Oil Rig’s Pacific Division preview series. Today let’s take a closer look at the Vancouver Canucks.

Overview

Not too long ago the Canucks had a really interesting team on paper, as well as some strong playoff performances to build off of. Since then the roster has eroded. In-fighting and salary cap constraints slowly drained the Canucks of talent, leading to a new regime.

Trading away their former stars has bolstered their pipeline, as the Canucks do have a lot of young NHLers working up the lineup already. There is, perhaps, enough young talent that a rebuild need not be so long. That said, the Canucks are among the favourites to be picking first overall at next year’s draft.

Nailing their next draft pick will be huge, as will the development of Caleb Malhotra and Braeden Cootes. Still, there should be enough young players in the NHL lineup that some strong performances will be a huge part of projecting a brighter future.

Forwards

DeBrusk—Pettersson—Karlsson
Ohgren—Rossi—Boeser
O’Connor—Chytil—Lekkerimaki
Cotter—Raty—Gallagher
Extras: Cootes, Sasson, Bains, Thomas

The elephant in the room is Elias Pettersson. His career has been a bit of a rollercoaster, from his surprising draft slot, to his ascent into an offensive dynamo, to his decline since. The cap going up helps manage his expensive contract, but he is likely to lead the team in scoring this season.

Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser feature as established scoring wingers. Filip Chytil is a capable middle-six centre with a concerning injury history. Linus Karlsson had a breakout season, establishing himself as an NHL option. Drew O’Connor and Paul Cotter are solid additions to the bottom of the lineup. Brendan Gallagher joins as a veteran presence.

Outside of that the Canucks forward group is young. This might lead to some struggles, but the hope will be for lots of growth from the group. Marco Rossi is the most established, a small, skilled, and feisty forward. Jonathan Lekkerimaki is more of a sniper. Liam Ohgren plays a rugged and direct two way game. Aatu Raty is an elite face-off option who can generate slot shots at his best. Steps forward for any of these four will be important for the Canucks. Any hopes of being more competitive this season are likely to involve some progression here.

The Canucks do have some good prospects on the horizon. In particular down the middle where Braeden Cootes and Caleb Malhotra both look to be on track to become solid NHL options. The volatile nature of Pettersson and Chytil put a lot of concern on the group in past years, but in a season or two the Canucks might look a lot stronger down the middle. Some recent draftees fit in nicely adding more dimension, Adam Novotny as a rugged two way winger and Brooks Rogowski as a defensive centre.

Defence

Buium—Hronek
Oleksiak—Willander
Pettersson—Schenn
Extras: Mancini, Kudryavtsev

There is a lot of turnover on the back end, as the talents of Quinn Hughes and Marcus Pettersson are no longer on board. There are a lot of intriguing young options, led by Zeev Buium. Buium looks to establish himself as a top option for the Canucks in the coming years.

Buium will have some help as Filip Hronek remains on the team. Hronek is the best defenceman in this lineup and can provide Buium and the Canucks with some stability. Jamie Oleksiak and Luke Schenn also bring some veteran qualities to what is otherwise a young and unproven blueline.

Elias Nils Pettersson might be the furthest along, but he and Victor Mancini look to develop into quality defenders. Both offer profiles that could help make the Canucks more stout defensively. Tom Willander and Kirill Kudryavtsev bring a bit more offence to the table. Willander is especially of note after playing most of the season in the NHL as a 20-year-old.

In all there is a lot to like about the Canucks blueline, especially in the near future. Sawyer Mynio could be another defensive option ready for NHL action in a short time. Some improvement from the young group will go a long way towards bringing the Canucks back to playoff relevance sooner rather than later.

Goalies

Demko
Lankinen
Tolopilo

The Canucks goalies were in tough last season. Naturally, a stronger and more connected team effort will help the group a lot. Thatcher Demko is a great option when healthy, but that has been elusive. The hope is that a major hip surgery can help reset things, as many of his injuries are due to overcompensation from other areas of his body. His return is unknown, but there is some hope that he will be able to stay healthier more often.

In the meantime Kevin Lankinen has done well holding down the fort. Nikita Tolopilo suffered behind the overmatched Canucks last season, but could turn things around with more support.

Prediction

While the Canucks are not expected to make the playoffs, they could be a much better team than they were last season. Taking some steps forward might be expedited by internal development, but also from a greater level of teamwork from the group as a whole.

The bigger picture is about the future, where the Canucks might already have a strong set up. A young blueline coming into its own and some quality options at centre offer a strong foundation to start from. Adding an elite scoring talent through the draft will be top of mind, as an offensive focal point might be the area most lacking.

Positive momentum for their young players will be the main priority for the coming season. Another high draft pick would certainly be helpful for the long term outlook. The Canucks might still look to sell at the deadline, but new GM Ryan Johnson might not have to tear down the organization to the studs. New Coach Manny Malhotra might even be around to see the Canucks get back into the playoffs at some point. Some moral victories this season could lead to a much brighter outlook for next season.