CanucksArmy editorial staff’s best guesses about the 2025-26 Vancouver Canucks

What’s better than one CanucksArmy writer offering up season projections for the 2025-26 Vancouver Canucks? If you said three writers putting their heads together in a collaborative effort, you’re a winner.

David Quadrelli, Jeff Paterson, and Tyson Cole all took part in training camp in Penticton. All of us have seen this team through a solid preseason. And now on the eve of the Canucks’ regular season debut, we have united in an attempt to accurately predict how things will unfold for Adam Foote and his hockey club over the team’s 82-game campaign.

Who will lead the Canucks in scoring and with how many points?

David Quadrelli: Give me Quinn Hughes setting a new career high with 95 points. Pettersson finishes second with 90 points.

Tyson Cole: It’s going to be Quinn Hughes, but to be fun, let’s say Elias Pettersson bounces back and produces at a point-per-game pace. I’ll say 87 points for the Swede.

Jeff Paterson: I have to think Quinn Hughes will be the guy. Based on his preseason, he looks primed and ready to unleash his offensive fury on the NHL. I’ll be interested to see if this coaching staff reins him in at all with better depth behind him this season. Probably not. I’ll say Hughes finishes with 90 points.

Who will lead the Canucks in goal scoring and with how many?

DQ: This is the season Elias Pettersson gets back on track and eclipses 30 goals, something he did for three straight seasons before his fall off last season. This year, it’ll be 36 goals for number 40.

TC: If he’s going to lead the Canucks in points, he very well could lead the team in goals as well. While Brock Boeser might be the only player on the team with a 40-goal season, Pettersson is the only one on the roster with three 30-goal seasons – all of which came in the three seasons before last. So far in the preseason, we’ve seen Pettersson unleash his dangerous slap shot on the half-wall on the power play. I say he pots 37 goals.

JP: Maybe it’s the easy answer, but I’ll say Jake DeBrusk wears the team goal-scoring crown for a second straight season. I firmly believe that at some point over the duration of his contract, he’ll reach the 35-goal mark. I don’t know if it’s going to be this season. But I’ll say DeBrusk establishes a career-high once again. This time with 33 goals.

How many Canucks will reach the 20-goal mark?

DQ: DeBrusk, Pettersson, Boeser, Chytil, and give me Lekkerimäki too.

TC: Last season, the Canucks had just three 20-goal scorers: DeBrusk, Boeser and Pius Suter. This year, they should have better success scoring, so we’ll have them at five: Pettersson, Boeser, DeBrusk, Chytil and Lekkerimäki.

JP: Three for sure (DeBrusk, Boeser, & Elias Pettersson). After that, there are a handful of candidates: Kane, Hughes, Garland, Sherwood, Chytil and maybe even Lekkerimäki. I feel like one of those guys will get there. So let’s go with four. 

How many victories will Thatcher Demko post this season?

DQ: 30. I’ve got blue and green coloured glasses on heading into 2025-26.

TC: If we’re to see the Canucks split the starts between Demko 50/30, we could see Demko finish winning at least 30 – but that’s with a full bill of health. By all accounts, he seems to be healthy. But I’ll play a little safer and say 26 wins.

JP: I have been really encouraged by Demko’s camp and preseason. Now it’s all about workload and keeping him healthy. I’m going to say he’ll post 29 victories.

How many points will the Canucks finish with?

DQ: 101. Third in the Pacific.

TC: In a season in which everything went wrong, the Canucks still posted 90 points and missed out on the playoffs by six points. I think they’ll be a little bit better this season, finishing one point of the century mark with 99.

JP: I have stated this on a couple of shows this week, so I have to stick with it. I think the Canucks are in for a 96-point season. I think with a better home ice record, turning a few of those overtime losses into wins and with better goaltending than last season, they can certainly improve on the 90 points they managed through all the dysfunction last season.

Where will they finish in the Pacific Division?

DQ: Third in the Pacific. I think the Kings got worse and don’t see Calgary repeating what they did last season.

TC: With 99 points, I think that’s enough to earn the third spot in the Pacific Division. Like everybody else, I believe that the Kings take a dip this season. However, it’s a little overblown. The Kings and Canucks fight for that third spot all season, but the Canucks clinch third in the middle of April.

JP: I see Quads got a little frisky and jumped the gun on the previous question. I’ve got them pegged for fourth in the division.

Will they be a playoff team?

DQ: Yes. Third in the Pacific.

TC: Duh.

JP: Yes. they will earn one of the wild card spots in the West.

What will happen in Thursday’s season opener?

DQ: I don’t want to jinx anything, but assuming the Canucks don’t have to face Dustin Wolf… well, that went pretty well for them when it happened in the preseason.

TC: The Canucks get out to a 4-1 first period lead, but get too comfortable with their lead and lose 6-5 in overtime. That sounds a bit familiar… Just kidding. Facing the Flames on the second half of a back-to-back, they have their legs under them early and score the first goal. However, the Flames’ tired legs can’t hold up for a full 60 minutes, and they drop the contest 4-1.

JP: I think the Canucks will feed off the good vibes around the group and take advantage of a Calgary team that opened in Edmonton last night. It’s a Flames team without Jonathan Huberdeau, too. And it’s quite likely the Canucks will face back-up Devin Cooley in goal. Let’s say Canucks will win 5-2.

Who will score the first Canucks’ goal of the new season? 

DQ: Braeden Cootes! The story continues.

TC: After playing themselves onto the team, it would be awesome to see Braeden Cootes or Jonathan Lekkerimäki open the season with the first goal. However, there would be no better way to earn back the love of Canucks fans than scoring the first goal of the season. So I’ll go with Petey.

JP: I suppose Daniel Sprong’s not an option this time around, although he opened the scoring last season. It would be a remarkable story if Braeden Cootes was the guy. But I’m going to go off the board and say Filip Chytil.