The Vancouver Canucks open the 2026-27 regular season Sept. 29 with a new coach, a remade blue line and a difficult job in front of them: turning a club that finished 25-49-8 into one that plays a harder, more dependable brand of hockey.
Manny Malhotra takes over for his first NHL season behind the Vancouver bench after the Canucks placed eighth in the Pacific Division and missed the playoffs. The standings may not turn quickly, but Malhotra’s first priority is clear.
“There’s a very big difference between losing games, which is inevitable, every team is going to do it, and playing losing hockey,” Malhotra said. Vancouver has to establish that distinction while trying to repair the defensive leaks that defined last season.
Quick facts
- Vancouver allowed an NHL-high 314 goals last season and owned the League’s lowest penalty kill at 71.5 percent.
- The Canucks scored 210 goals, tied for 30th in the NHL.
- Defensemen Luke Schenn and Jamie Oleksiak joined the club, while forwards Brendan Gallagher and Paul Cotter add depth and edge.
- Thatcher Demko is recovering from January hip surgery and had not practiced with the full team during camp.
- Linus Karlsson has skated with Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk on the projected top line.
Oleksiak opened camp beside Filip Hronek on the top defense pairing, giving Vancouver a larger and more experienced look in its own zone. Schenn adds another physical option, while Zeev Buium and Tom Willander give the club younger puck-moving ability behind them.
The defensive makeover is needed after a season in which too many games got away from Vancouver. Better structure, cleaner exits and a stronger penalty kill would give the Canucks a foundation, even if scoring remains a question mark.
Pettersson, DeBrusk and Brock Boeser are the established forwards Vancouver needs to drive the offense. Pettersson remains a strong two-way center, but his production has fallen sharply since his 102-point campaign in 2022-23, when he posted 39 goals and 63 assists.
Over the past two seasons, the 27-year-old has managed 30 goals and 96 points combined. For Vancouver to stay relevant in the Pacific race, Pettersson must recover at least part of the scoring form that once made him one of the League’s elite offensive centers.
Demko’s availability is just as important. The 30-year-old finished runner-up for the Vezina Trophy in 2023-24, but knee trouble ended that regular season early and limited him to one playoff appearance. He has played only 43 games across the last two seasons and is now working with goaltending coach Marko Torenius as he returns from hip surgery.
Demko expressed optimism after last season that the procedure could finally resolve the lower-body issues that have followed him. Until he is ready, Kevin Lankinen and Nikita Tolopilo are the projected goaltending tandem.
Gallagher brings experience to Vancouver
Gallagher arrives from the Montreal Canadiens in a June 29 trade and returns to his hometown with a reputation built on work around the crease, leadership and a willingness to play through traffic. The 34-year-old spent 14 seasons in Montreal, scoring 246 goals in 911 regular-season games.
His production dipped to seven goals and 23 points in 77 games last season, and he appeared in only three of Montreal’s 19 playoff games during its run to the Eastern Conference Final. Still, Gallagher’s experience through a rebuild could be valuable for a Vancouver room trying to establish a different daily standard.
Cotter gives the bottom six another physical option. Neither addition alone solves the scoring shortage, but both should make the Canucks more difficult to play against.
Karlsson gets a chance higher in the lineup
Karlsson may be Vancouver’s most interesting early-camp deployment. The 26-year-old led the club with 31 even-strength points in his first full NHL season, despite spending much of the year in third- and fourth-line minutes.
He scored 15 goals, with 13 at even strength. Only Boeser and Drew O’Connor matched or exceeded that even-strength goal total for Vancouver, each finishing with 15.
A spot alongside Pettersson and DeBrusk would give Karlsson a much larger offensive runway. If he can hold that job, his ability to produce at five-on-five could become one of the more useful developments of Malhotra’s first season.
Lekkerimaki pushing for NHL work
Jonathan Lekkerimaki enters camp with a chance to claim a regular role after showing he can finish in the American Hockey League. The 22-year-old has scored 33 goals in 63 AHL games over the past two seasons, despite dealing with injuries and illness.
The 15th selection in the 2022 NHL Draft began camp with Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, his former Swedish Hockey League teammate and close friend. Lekkerimaki’s shot is not in question, but the 5-foot-11, 172-pound right wing still must show he can win battles, defend his end and reach the hard areas around NHL nets.
Season-ending shoulder surgery in February delayed his summer training. Vancouver nevertheless appears prepared to give him a real opportunity to translate his open-ice offense to the NHL.
Buium carries breakout potential
Buium is another young Canuck with a larger role in sight. The 20-year-old defenseman recorded six goals, 20 assists and 26 points in 76 games between Vancouver and Minnesota as a rookie last season, averaging 19:35 per game.
Acquired from the Wild in the Quinn Hughes trade, Buium also produced 13 power-play points and fired 73 shots on net. The 12th pick of the 2024 draft could join Hronek on the top pair and take a place on the first power-play unit.
Vancouver’s power play clicked at 32.8 percent after NHL play resumed following the 2026 Winter Olympics, second-best in the League over that stretch. Hronek averaged 2:27 per game on the man advantage, while Buium logged 1:06 and Willander 55 seconds.
Buium finished tied for ninth among NHL defensemen with three high-danger goals. His top skating speed reached 22.72 mph, placing him in the 88th percentile at his position, and his 44.5 percent offensive-zone time rate also ranked in the 88th percentile.
Projected Canucks lineup
Jake DeBrusk is projected to play left wing with Pettersson and Karlsson. Ohgren, Rossi and Boeser form the second unit, followed by O’Connor, Filip Chytil and Lekkerimaki.
Cotter, Max Sasson and Gallagher project as the fourth line. On defense, Oleksiak-Hronek, Buium-Schenn and Elias Nils Pettersson-Willander are the expected pairings.
Demko remains listed with a hip injury. If his return can stabilize the crease and Pettersson can restore his scoring touch, Vancouver will at least have a path to playing meaningful hockey deeper into the season.
