4 Canucks Overreactions to Start the 2026-27 Season

And it’s not a fluke they’re playing this poorly either. They’re awful across the board, particularly when it comes to preventing both chances and goals. This really isn’t too shocking if you look at the roster, as it lacks both top-end talent and depth, and plenty of the players who are performing better than expected lack experience.

Elias Pettersson Is Fully Back

We talk about it in nearly every article, but the Elias Pettersson resurgence has been the Canucks’ main bright spot this season. We endured an entire offseason of trade rumours, media questions about Pettersson, and debate over his role on the team, only for him to come out swinging. He’s currently producing at a point-per-game pace, which is incredibly impressive for a player surrounded by so little talent.

Pettersson also deserves props for playing more in the dirty areas. Granted, he’s been somewhat underrated in this regard, but people are starting to catch on. He’s currently on pace to lead all forwards in blocked shots for the second-consecutive season, impressive for a player more known for skill than the ability to put himself on the line. He also has been willing to throw the body around a bit more this season, as he even briefly led the NHL in hits for about a week to start the campaign. He still sits third on the team in the category with 39, something not even the most optimistic of Canucks fans would’ve believed if they were told going into the season.

Pettersson is back to looking like a star, and it’s clear that he fits well under head coach Manny Malhotra.

Landon DuPont Would Fit Right In

Yes, by now fans are suspicious that the NHL Draft Lottery would go the Canucks’ way, but people can dream, right?

The Canucks’ defence corps felt like a potentially-okay group, all things considered. It just hasn’t been at all. Zeev Buium in particular looks underwhelming, and while Tom Willander and defenceman Elias Pettersson look good, they don’t necessarily look like top-pairing talents. The Canucks also have Filip Fiip Hronek, though it’s clear he’s more of a number-two even at his best.

An elite defenceman is a great building block for a team. The Montreal Canadiens may be stacked, but Lane Hutson very well could be the piece that makes it all run. The New York Islanders have Matthew Schaefer, whose dominant play already at 19 has him on the early track to be considered a future Hall of Famer. 2027 consensus first-overall pick Landon DuPont has incredible prospect pedigree and has been viewed as a future franchise defenceman since he received exceptional status in 2024. He is exactly what the Canucks need, and the mediocre performance from the team’s blue line group as a whole accentuates that.

Lekkerimaki May Be One of the Best Players of the 2022 Draft

“Jonathan Lekkerimaki is good” isn’t really an overreaction or hot take anymore, so I will one-up it. This is partially a symptom of the 2022 Draft being incredibly disappointing, especially with the first round being particularly dire.

Lekkerimaki currently has the fourth-most points this season in the class, behind Logan Cooley, Cutter Gauthier, and Lane Hutson, the three players many would name as the best in the class so far. Lekkerimaki also sits two points ahead of the class’ first-overall pick, Juraj Slafkovsky.

We haven’t really gotten to see what Lekkerimaki could do until now, due to injuries and seeming fairly raw. Now, though, he’s a productive piece of this Canucks team, third in points and tied for second in goals. Going into this campaign, many would’ve said he’s a bust, but now he’s quickly showing that the Canucks were bang on with their choice to select him 15th overall.

Plenty of Season Left

Even though it’s been a brutal first month and a bit, there is still plenty of season left for the Canucks to get something going. They certainly will remain at or at least near the bottom of the standings, but they could turn it around and look less historically bad. This is a rebuilding season, and thus it’s more about seeing players make improvements to their game and watching an up-and-coming group buy in.