7 Takeaways From Canucks’ First 11 Games of 2025-26 Season

Sherwood and Garland are the epitome of hard work paying off. They both have endless amounts of energy and seem to will their team into the fight every time they are on the ice. Garland said after signing his extension in the offseason that he wanted to be more of a leader offensively this season. Well, he’s making good on that promise so far with some of the best hockey Canucks fans have seen from him, production-wise. Unfortunately, he was injured against the New York Rangers and was still being evaluated after the game, according to head coach Adam Foote. Hopefully, it won’t be for too long because he’s clearly been one of their MVPs so far.

As for Sherwood, it’s looking like last season wasn’t just a flash in the pan, but the start of something great. Could he be the next Alex Burrows, a bottom-six grinder early in his career, only to emerge as a prominent goalscorer capable of scoring 30 goals? We will just have to wait and see on that, but so far, he’s been even better than the player we saw in 2024-25, and that’s saying something.

Elias Pettersson Is Starting to Look Like a 2-Way Dynamo Again

Pettersson may have started slow out of the gates, but over the last few games, he’s looking more and more like the player who dominated the league in 2022-23 and put up 102 points. He’s also channeling his inner Pavel Datsyuk/Henrik Zetterberg, returning to the elite two-way player that is not just in the Art Ross Trophy conversations, but the Selke as well. While his production so far isn’t in the realm of the former yet, he’s making early inroads in the latter.

Pettersson currently leads all NHL forwards in blocked shots with 23, and head coach Adam Foote is trusting him to match up against top forwards like Connor McDavid and Alex Ovechkin, like Rick Tocchet used to do with JT Miller. He’s starting to produce more as well, with eight points in 11 games, and his faceoff numbers saw an early sign of turning around against the Oilers, where he went 16-13 for a 55 percent success rate. If he can keep up the offence and improve his faceoff numbers, he will be a Selke Trophy candidate and, for the first time since signing his massive contract extension, be worth the money he’s being paid.

Calder Cup Line Looking Like a Legit 4th Line

Coming into the season, I don’t think anyone thought the Abbotsford Canucks’ top line during the Calder Cup Playoffs was going to be Vancouver’s fourth line after 10 games. Well, due to injuries, that’s exactly what they are right now. It’s not a bad development, either, as Max Sasson, Arshdeep Bains and Linus Karlsson have been an effective two-way trio since being reunited against the Dallas Stars on Oct. 16. Sasson is the only one with any goals, but their chemistry has been evident, and Foote hasn’t been afraid to deploy them regularly at 5-on-5. It will be interesting to see what happens when the Canucks get healthy, but they have been a pleasant surprise early on.

Thatcher Demko Is Back

The biggest positive of the season so far is the play (and health) of Thatcher Demko. He has started seven games so far and has been great in all of them, posting a 2.18 goals-against average (GAA) and .926 save percentage (SV%) alongside a 4-3-0 record. He could have an even better record if the Canucks had pulled out the win against the Edmonton Oilers in the second game of the season, where he stood on his head and made 34 saves (a few of the highlight-reel variety), and given him some run support against the Rangers, where he only allowed one goal. Basically, Demko is back to his Vezina Trophy finalist form, and as long as he remains at that level, they will have a chance to win in every game.

Kevin Lankinen Looking Like a Backup, Not a 1B

Unfortunately, Demko’s counterpart, Kevin Lankinen, who was supposed to form the second half of one of the best tandems in the NHL, has struggled to match his performance from last season. While it’s still very early, his numbers have dropped off dramatically to a mediocre 3.74 GAA and .873 SV%. He also has three of the Canucks’ six losses, and only one win under his belt – the shootout victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 17.

The Canucks were hoping they could run a 1A/1B tandem this season, but if Lankinen continues to struggle, they might be forced to play Demko in a starter role again with Lankinen as a backup, rather than a 1B. That would be the worst-case scenario, and one they will try to avoid, considering his salary and the fact that they want to keep Demko rested and healthy for a potential playoff run.

Special Teams Still Need Work

There were definitely going to be some growing pains with a new coaching staff running both the power play and penalty kill this season. As of this writing, the Canucks rank 22nd on both of their special teams and have allowed 10 power-play goals and only scored six. They have lost games because of their inability to kill penalties and score on the power play, and that’s not going to cut it for a team that hopes to make the playoffs. While injuries haven’t helped matters, with Teddy Blueger only playing two games so far, they still have plenty of players that can kill penalties. For a team that had one of the best units in the NHL last season, they need to be a lot better moving forward.

Injuries Testing the Canucks’ Resolve Early On

It was a theme last season, and it’s unfortunately a theme this season as well: the injury bug ravaging the Canucks’ roster. Right now, they have a total of 10 players on the injury list, with eight of them being regulars. This past week has been particularly tough, as Garland was added on Tuesday and Quinn Hughes and Victor Mancini were added on Saturday. Overall, when you include Filip Chytil, Nils Hoglander, and Jonathan Lekkerimaki, that’s four potential top-six players currently on the IR. Not to mention, key penalty killers in Teddy Blueger and Derek Forbort and a young puck-moving depth option in Victor Mancini.

To say the Canucks are shorthanded would be a massive understatement, and it’s actually surprising they are only one game below .500. It’s a credit to Sherwood, Garland (before he was hurt), the Calder Cup line, Aatu Raty, and others that they are still above water. Hopefully, they will start seeing the infirmary get less crowded soon, because you can only go so long without these types of players in your lineup. The cracks will start showing eventually.

What Do the Next 10 Look Like?

After getting shut out by J.T. Miller and the Rangers on Tuesday, the Canucks are in St. Louis to take on Pius Suter and the Blues on Thursday. They will then travel to Minnesota and Nashville before returning home to face Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks for the start of a four-game homestand. Another tough three-game road trip follows that against the high-powered Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Florida Panthers. Needless to say, the schedule isn’t getting any easier, so it would be good if some of the injured players return to help pull on the rope.