Could fortify roster with prospects after AHL affiliate won Calder Cup
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After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is examining where each team stands in preparation for the 2025-26 regular season, which starts Oct. 7. Today, the Vancouver Canucks:
2024-25 season: 38-30-14, fifth in Pacific Division; missed Stanley Cup Playoffs
Evander Kane, F: Acquired in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers on June 25 for a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, he’ll turn 34 on Saturday. Kane missed the entire regular season because of surgeries, first for a sports hernia and then on his knee, but returned for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where he had 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 21 games and helped the Oilers advance to their second consecutive Cup Final. Kane had 44 points (24 goals, 20 assists) in 77 games for Edmonton in 2023-24, the only time in the past six seasons he played more than 70 games. … P.O Joseph, D: Signed a one-year contract with the Canucks on July 2. The 26-year-old split last season between the St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins, finishing with three assists and 45 penalty minutes in 47 games, but had an NHL career-high 21 points (five goals, 16 assists) in 75 games with Pittsburgh in 2022-23. … Adam Foote, coach: The 54-year-old was hired May 14 to replace departed coach Rick Tocchet. He worked the previous 2 1/2 seasons as an assistant in charge of the defense on Tocchet’s staff. Foote’s only other head coaching job was two seasons in the Western Hockey League, but he has plenty of on-ice NHL experience from playing 19 seasons as a defenseman, including winning the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 1996 and 2001, and a gold medal with Canada at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.
NHL Tonight talks about Evander Kane being traded to the Canucks
Pius Suter, F: The versatile 29-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Blues on July 2 after setting NHL career highs in goals (25) and points (46) in 81 games with Vancouver last season as one of its top penalty killers. … Dakota Joshua, F: Traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 17 for a fourth-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft after missing the start of last season following a diagnosis of testicular cancer and finishing with 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 57 games. The 29-year-old set NHL career highs in goals (18), assists (14) and points (32) in 63 games in 2023-24 before signing a four-year contract on June 27, 2024. … Noah Juulsen, D: The 28-year-old signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Flyers after having no points in 35 games; he missed the final three months of last season with a lower-body injury that required surgery. … Rick Tocchet, coach: Vancouver announced April 29 that Tocchet was leaving despite having an option on his contract for 2025-26, and he was hired by the Flyers on May 14. The 61-year-old was 108-65-27 over parts of three seasons with the Canucks and was voted the Jack Adams Award winner as NHL coach of the year in 2023-24 after Vancouver went 50-23-9, won the Pacific Division and reached the second round of the playoffs.
Elias Nils Pettersson, D: The 21-year-old had a goal and two assists in 28 games with Vancouver last season after starting the season with Abbotsford of the American Hockey League. His physical play gives him a chance to start this season in the NHL. … Aatu Raty, F: The 22-year-old had 11 points (seven goals, four assists) playing a career-high 33 NHL games last season with the Canucks and has a chance to stick in the NHL this season. … Linus Karlsson, F: The 25-year-old had six points (three goals, three assists) in 23 games with Vancouver last season but led Abbotsford in playoff scoring with 26 points (14 goals, 12 assists) in 24 games on the way to the Calder Cup championship. … Tom Willander, D: Chosen with the No. 11 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, the 20-year-old played the past two seasons at Boston University before signing with Vancouver on May 14. He is expected to compete with Pettersson for a chance to start the season in the NHL. … Arshdeep Bains, F: The 24-year-old has one goal in 21 NHL games over the past two seasons but had 43 points (11 goals, 32 assists) in 50 AHL games and 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists) in 24 playoff games in the AHL championship run. He is expected to compete for an NHL roster spot. … Victor Mancini, D: Acquired from the New York Rangers along with center Filip Chytil as part of the J.T. Miller trade on Jan. 31, the 23-year-old had eight points (two goals, six assists) in 31 NHL games last season and eight points (three goals, five assists) in 24 AHL playoff games.
ANA@VAN: Pettersson records first career goal with a snapper from the slot
President of hockey operations Jim Rutherford spoke openly about the need to add an offensive center at his year-end media availability after Vancouver traded Miller to New York. Though general manger Patrik Allvin has since said he and Foote are comfortable starting the season with the oft-injured Chytil as the second-line center, the subsequent trade of Joshua opened up the cap space that could free Vancouver to pursue that upgrade at center.
“From an outside perspective, obviously a lot of things went wrong. When you talk to the players, for different circumstances and reasons with injuries and all that, they’re looking back and there were pockets when we were healthy and we played really good hockey, ended up with 90 points, and they understand this is something we continue to work on. I do believe they see the process of younger players in Abbotsford, what’s coming in the pipeline, and Vancouver is a fantastic market to play in, and Adam (Foote) and the new coaching staff have done a really good job interacting with players here up to this point. So the belief is there.” — general manager Patrik Allvin
Defenseman Quinn Hughes led the NHL at his position in top skating speed (24.56 miles per hour) last season, which ranked as the fastest max skating speed by a defenseman in the puck and player tracking era (since 2021-22). Hughes ranked tied for eighth at his position in 22-plus MPH speed bursts (seven) last season, despite being limited to 68 games. Hughes, who ranked third among defensemen with 29 power-play points, excelled in both power-play skating distance (36.43 miles; fourth at position) and long-range shots on goal (105; seventh in NHL). — Troy Perlowitz
VAN@NYR: Hughes notches 400th NHL point on Joshua’s opening goal
Forward Kiefer Sherwood led the NHL in hits (462; 5.92 per game) last season, had at least seven hits in 30 games and reached double-digit hits in 10 of his 78 games played. Sherwood set NHL career highs in goals (19), assists (21), points (40), shots on goal (141) and average time on ice (14:53) in his first season with the Canucks (compared to 12:10 per game with the Nashville Predators in 2023-24). His 18 even-strength goals ranked second on Vancouver and exceeded his number of even-strength goals in the previous five seasons combined (17 even-strength goals in 137 games with the Anaheim Ducks, Avalanche and Predators) — Chris Meaney
Jake DeBrusk — Elias Pettersson — Brock Boeser
Evander Kane — Filip Chytil — Conor Garland
Nils Hoglander — Aatu Raty — Kiefer Sherwood
Drew O’Connor — Teddy Blueger — Linus Karlsson
Quinn Hughes — Filip Hronek
Marcus Pettersson — Tyler Myers
Elias Nils Pettersson — Derek Forbort
Thatcher Demko
Kevin Lankinen
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