5 Former Canucks in 2025 Stanley Cup Final

Podkolzin has also been a versatile forward with the Oilers, playing up and down the lineup and on the penalty kill. He has spent time with grinders like Mattias Janmark and even ridden shotgun alongside Draisaitl. In both cases, he has played the same way, using that “dog in him” playing style to create space for his linemates.

Canucks fans who have followed Podkolzin since he was drafted knew he could have this type of impact in the postseason one day. He showcased it during the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) playoffs in 2021 when he had six goals and 11 points in 16 games, and the 2020 World Juniors when he was the captain of Team Russia. He has only one goal and six points to show for his efforts in the NHL Playoffs, but I think everyone around the Oilers and hockey world can agree, he’s provided much more to the lineup than what’s shown on paper.

Troy Stecher

Troy Stecher last played for the Canucks back in 2019-20, the season before the now-infamous offseason that saw then-general manager Jim Benning fail to re-sign him, Chris Tanev, Tyler Toffoli, and Jacob Markstrom. Instead of focusing on his pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs), he decided to chase a trade for Oliver Ekman-Larsson that never came to fruition. Tanev and Markstrom ended up signing with the Calgary Flames, Toffoli bolted for the Montreal Canadiens, and Stecher landed in Detroit with the Red Wings.

Throughout his time with the Canucks, Stecher was a reliable defenceman who often played in the top-four with Alex Edler. While he didn’t provide a lot of offence, he was a great puck mover and penalty killer who eventually became a fan favourite for his personality and grit. Despite being undersized at 5-foot-10, he wasn’t afraid to put his body in harm’s way, logging 322 hits and 307 blocked shots in his tenure with the Canucks. Since departing for Detroit, he’s bounced around the league and become more of a depth defenceman, but teams still find value in what he brings to the blue line.

Stecher has only played six games with the Oilers in the playoffs, but in those six games, he was quiet and effective, logging an average of 15:57 of ice time with six hits and seven blocked shots. He has since been sent back to the press box with Mattias Ekholm’s return to the lineup, but the Oilers always know they have him in their back pocket to come in when needed.

Florida Panthers

Gustav Forsling

Gustav Forsling never played a single game in the Canucks organization, but he will always be known as the one that got away. Selected 126th overall in 2014 and traded to the Chicago Blackhawks after starring for Team Sweden in the 2015 World Juniors, he has since become one of the NHL’s top two-way defencemen. While the Canucks aren’t the only team that is regretting the decision of not allowing him to blossom into the player we see today, it still stings to see him dominate the blue line for the Panthers right now.

Since being claimed off waivers from the Carolina Hurricanes in 2020, Forsling has become one of the anchors of the Panthers’ Stanley Cup-winning defence corps, hitting double-digits in goals in four of the five seasons he’s been in South Florida, along with being a rock defensively (425 blocked shots, 338 hits, and a ridiculous plus-166 in the plus/minus column). He has been a huge part of the Panthers’ march to their third-straight Stanley Cup Final, putting up seven goals and 25 points, along with 88 blocked shots, 84 hits, and a plus-30. He was even discussed as a Conn Smythe Trophy candidate at one point last year when he had four goals and 13 points in the run to their first championship.

Nate Schmidt

Nate Schmidt will one day be the focus of a “Forgotten Canucks” piece. Known more for his time with the Washington Capitals, Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets, he spent only 54 games in a Canucks uniform during the strange COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. Acquired from the Golden Knights in a cap dump for a third-round pick in 2022, it appeared at the time that the Canucks were massive winners of the trade, getting a mobile top-four defenceman that could play on both special teams, block shots and provide physicality. Unfortunately, he never really fit in with Travis Green’s system and was traded the next offseason to the Jets for another third-round pick.

Schmidt returned to the form he showed in Vegas in 2021-22 and spent three seasons in Winnipeg before the Jets bought him out last year. He latched onto the Panthers on a one-year deal in the offseason and like another former Canuck, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, in the 2024 Playoffs, has become a valuable defenceman for the defending champs. Not only has he been solid defensively, but he’s also added three goals and seven points to what has become a very productive Panthers defence corps.

Jonah Gadjovich

Finally, we have another short-term Canuck (and another draft pick, this time a second-round pick from 2017) in Jonah Gadjovich. So short-term, that he only played one game and logged 4:55 of ice time in what was a memorable NHL debut in 2020-21 against the Calgary Flames. He didn’t score a goal or get a point, but he dropped the gloves with another rookie, Connor Mackey, after he drove Matthew Highmore into the boards from behind. Gadjovich received a two, a five and a 10 for fighting and instigating and was tossed from the game in his only appearance with the Canucks.

Gadjovich was claimed off waivers by the San Jose Sharks the following season when the Canucks tried to send him down to the American Hockey League (AHL), and has since played 160 games in the NHL with the Sharks and his current team, the Panthers. As was always expected, he has established himself as a modern enforcer who could play a regular shift on the fourth line and score the occasional goal. Offence is always a bonus from your fourth line, and Gadjovich has provided a bit of that these playoffs with two goals and three points in 10 games, along with his trademark physicality and nastiness (52 hits and 18 penalty minutes).

Stanley Cup Final Begins June 4

The Panthers-Oilers rematch gets started on June 4, and four of these five players will be in action. Stecher will likely be the odd-man out again now that the Oilers’ blue line is healthy, but we will get to see Podkolzin, Stecher, Forsling, and Schmidt battle it out for the ultimate prize. Will Podkolzin and Stecher be part of the team that finally brings the Cup back to Canada, or will Forsling, Gadjovich, and Schmidt help keep it south of the border? We will find out in a couple weeks.