5 players the Canucks could sign to PTOs

Now that we’re into the month of September, we are less than three weeks away from when the Vancouver Canucks start hitting the ice for NHL Training Camp.

As it currently stands, the roster looks fairly set. Using the 13 forwards, seven defencemen and two goaltenders on the roster on PuckPedia, here are the projected lines entering the 2025-2026 season:

Forwards: Nils Aman, Teddy Blueger, Brock Boeser, Filip Chytil, Jake DeBrusk, Conor Garland, Nils Höglander, Evander Kane, Linus Karlsson, Drew O’Connor, Elias Pettersson, Aatu Räty, Kiefer Sherwood

Defencemen: Derek Forbort, Filip Hronek, Quinn Hughes, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Tyler Myers, Elias Pettersson, Marcus Pettersson

Goalies: Thatcher Demko, Kevin Lankinen

Of course, Training Camp standouts could certainly push their way onto this roster. We’ve seen many Canucks do it before, most recently Räty last season. So it’s not out of the question for it to happen again next season, with a spot seemingly open on the Canucks’ fourth line. Players like Max Sasson, Arshdeep Bains, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Vitali Kravtsov, Tom Willander and Victor Mancini stand out as players who could do the same this season.

However, perhaps there’s somebody who isn’t even on the team just yet who could make an impact for the Canucks next season, in the form of signing a player to a professional tryout contract (PTO).

Last season, the Canucks signed winger Sammy Blais to a PTO in late August, which came with a chance for him to earn his way onto the NHL roster with a strong training camp/preseason. However, Blais struggled and joined the Abbotsford squad. While this wasn’t the ideal situation for Blais, he would go on to play a significant role in their playoff run, which resulted in a Calder Cup.

While it didn’t work out in Vancouver for Blais, it goes to show that players on PTOs can still make a difference within an organization.

We say all this to switch our focus to the next crop of unsigned players whom the Canucks could look to sign this September. Here are six possible candidates.

Matt Grzelcyk

Our one and only defenceman on the list is Matt Grzelcyk. To be honest, it’s somewhat surprising that Grzelcyk is still out there. After spending seven seasons with the Boston Bruins, Grzelcyk signed a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Grzelcyk is a 31-year-old offensive defenceman who shattered his previous career high in points in 2024-2025. Seeing an elevated role with the Penguins, logging 2:09 minutes of average power play time per game, Grzelcyk tallied one goal and 40 points – 15 of which came on the power play.

Now, the Canucks already have too many defencemen as is, competing for a spot on the roster. However, upon examining their options, Vancouver doesn’t have any notable offensive threats outside of Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek on the backend. Bringing in Grzelcyk to potentially compete for a seventh defenceman role could provide a little more offensive firepower from the Canucks’ blueline.

Craig Smith

At age 35, Craig Smith is a prime candidate for a PTO. He may not be the player he used to be, but Smith still has some juice left in the tank.

Smith split last season in the Midwest, playing for the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings. He scored nine goals and 18 points in 59 games. Looking at the Canucks’ needs, they likely want a player who can replace Pius Suter’s penalty killing job. Unfortunately, Smith has never been a penalty killer throughout his career.

However, with such a young bottom-six heading into the 2025-2026 season, a calming veteran presence could be beneficial as the Canucks look to develop their young core.

Robby Fabbri

Coming off a three-year, $4 million average annual value contract, it’s a little shocking that Fabbri has yet to earn a contract into September.

Plagued by injuries throughout his career, Fabbri has always been able to produce at the NHL level. Last season, Fabbri was restricted to just 44 games, but managed to score eight goals and 16 points. The season before, Fabbri tied his career-high of 18 goals with the Red Wings.

The 29-year-old can still play at the NHL level. Giving him a chance to earn a roster spot for training camp might not be a bad idea if some of the Canucks’ hopefuls to make the roster next season don’t impress later this month.

Klim Kostin

With the Dakota Joshua departure, the Canucks are lacking a little physicality in their bottom six – outside of Kiefer Sherwood, of course.

Turning back the page to the 2022-2023 season, the 6-foot-4, 230-pounder proved his worth as a power forward for the Edmonton Oilers. He set career highs in goals (11), points (21), plus-minus (+12), and hits (157), all in just 57 games. His efforts earned him a two-year, $4 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings. But after just 33 games, the Red Wings traded him to the San Jose Sharks.

As one of the bottom feeders in the league, the Sharks even struggled to find a consistent roster spot for Kostin. However, he’s proven he can be a power forward in the NHL, and should be on the Canucks radar if they end up dipping into the PTO pool.

Tyler Motte

Who doesn’t love a good comeback story?

Motte, now 30, was acquired by the Canucks in the Thomas Vanek trade. He wasn’t much at the time, but he turned into a tremendous penalty killer and paved himself an NHL role with numerous teams around the league.

Last season, Motte played just 55 games with the Red Wings, scoring four goals and nine points. However, he still averaged 1:38 minutes of penalty killing time, which could be beneficial for the Canucks following Pius Suter leaving in free agency.

What do you think, Canucks fans? Who would you like to see the Canucks sign to a PTO before training camp?