Canucks: The path is there for another big year from Nils Höglander

Vancouver Canucks forward Nils Höglander followed a very promising 2023-24 season with a remarkably underwhelming 2024-25 campaign. The young Swede struggled to find his footing, finishing the year with eight goals — a big drop from his 24-goal effort the year before. 

Coming into the 2025-26 season, there’s a big opportunity for Höglander to take a massive step and solidify himself in a potential top-six role. It seemed in previous seasons there wasn’t a ton of trust in Höglander from head coach Rick Tocchet, and although Adam Foote was behind the bench, it’s still an opportunity for Höglander to prove himself and earn trust under a new Head Coach.

The best chance for him to jump into the top six is going to be taking Evander Kane’s spot. With Dakota Joshua having departed via trade this offseason, Kane may be best suited to take on a third-line role, adding to the team’s depth on the wings. 

This does leave a bit of a hole up front, having smaller wingers like Conor Garland and Höglander being in the mix, so the team would likely have to split the two up, pairing one with Brock Boeser and the other with Jake DeBrusk. 

There has also been some chemistry shown in the past between Elias Pettersson and Höglander. It may not be the lotto line, but having Boeser, Pettersson and Höglander together, assuming Pettersson and Höglander can get back to the level they were at a couple of years ago, could make for an underrated, dangerous top line.

Bold Season Prediction

Giving Höglander the opportunity to play in the top six right off the bat and giving him a real chance to catch his footing early on in the year could make for a career year. 

He’s shown flashes of his offensive abilities in the past, but hasn’t really put it all together for a full season. Some of this can of course be attributed to his own inconsistent play, but there does need to be a mention of the fact that he’s been one of those guys who can’t seem to get away with a mistake without repercussions. 

This year, with a new coaching staff and some opportunities opening up within the Canucks’ lineup, Höglander should be able to solidify himself in a top-six role. Not only that, but be a fairly productive player in this position. 

If he establishes himself as a consistent top six contributor, Höglander could put up a career-high 25 goals while adding something like 30 assists, especially if he’s playing alongside Pettersson and Boeser for most of that time. This author’s final prediction: Höglander scores 55 points this season, besting his previous career high by nearly 20 points, finally breaking out into a productive top-six NHLer with the Canucks.

Pettersson and Boeser factor aside, Höglander might finally find himself with a consistent role on the team’s second power play unit, which should help his overall totals. We’ve seen him score 24 in a season without a single goal coming on the power play, so giving him those additional chances will allow him to have an even more productive season offensively.

What do you think Canucks fans? Does Höglander have the ability to solidify himself into that top six? Or is it going to be another season playing up and down the lineup?