Nils Hoglander Back in the Rogers Arena

The Vancouver Canucks have been the runt of the litter in the NHL this season, currently sitting with the fewest points in all the NHL, with 25 points and an 11-16-3 record. Although they are just six points out of a wild card spot in what is a very tight-knit start to the season, they haven’t won two games in a row since mid-October, and they have failed to find any sort of momentum as we get closer and closer to the halfway point in the 2025-26 NHL season.

The main reason for this is the number of injuries the Vancouver Canucks have suffered so far this season. Key contributors that are currently on the IR include Derek Forbort, Filip Chytil, Teddy Blueger, and even starting goaltender Thatcher Demko. Not to mention the numerous other key contributors that have been in and out of the lineup this season, like Quinn Hughes, Conor Garland, Brock Boeser, and even the sniper, Elias Pettersson, who is day-to-day as we speak. This entire season, the Vancouver Canucks have been on the struggle bus. This is a team that was one game away from a conference final less than two years ago, and now, they are aimlessly going through the motions this season, with no clear signs of tanking quite yet, while also not making any moves to get back in the playoff race.

One big benefit coming back into the lineup is one of the longest tenured current Vancouver Canucks, Nils Hoglander, who finally returned in Monday’s game. The effects of Hoglander’s return weren’t felt in that 4-0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings where nobody on the roster could find the back of the net on veteran goaltender John Gibson, but Hoglander will provide a sense of culture for a team that has clearly lost it. With previously built chemistry with the core of the team, morale will be raised at the very least, and the Vancouver Canucks can finally start to decipher a sense of direction for their 2025-26 season.

Nils Hoglander has been out since a major lower-body injury in a 3-1 victory against the Calgary Flames in the preseason, putting him out for a span of 29 games. What was a freak accident of getting his skate caught in the ice, twisting and spraining his ankle, Hoglander was forced to watch almost half the season from the sidelines.

Hoglander has been a steady producer for the Canucks since he joined the team in 2020. Drafted with the 40th overall pick in the 2019 draft by the Vancouver Canucks, Hoglander may not have been the superstar that the Canucks counted on him being, but he has been the definition of consistent. His first three seasons, he was in and out of the lineup, never playing over 60 games, but the last two seasons, he has solidified his spot.

Hoglander has played in 70+ games in each of the last two seasons, including 80 games in the 2023/24 season. while also surpassing 25 points in each of the last two seasons as well, providing a spark in the bottom six for the Canucks. Although last season took a dip from the season before, going from 24 goals, 12 assists, and 36 points to 8 goals, 17 assists, and 25 points over 72 games last season, Hoglander will still be a trusted goal scorer and possibly revert back to his score-first playstyle we saw in the 2024 playoff run with an incredibly depleted roster.

With the hope for a playoff run for the Vancouver Canucks season slowly draining, they are going to start looking at production from their quieter point producers. With one goal or less scored in four of their last five games, the heavy hitters like Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, or Quinn Hughes have not been hitting. It’s been guys like Aatu Raty, guys like Linus Karlsson, guys like Drew O’Connor, or even on the defensive side, like the young duo of Tom Willander and Elias Nils Pettersson, both grabbing their first NHL goals in that time span. This change in game plan could mean a massive opportunity for resident bottom-sixer Nils Hoglander to have a season full of solid production.