RSS Canucks Team Notes

[Vancouver Canucks]

Canucks: The pros and cons of the Quinn Hughes trade, two weeks later

It’s been just over two weeks since the Vancouver Canucks dealt their captain and all-time defenceman scoring leader Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild. The blockbuster deal was arguably the biggest trade in the team’s 56-year history, sending a generational defenceman in or at least nearing his prime for Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, Liam Öhgren, and a 2026 first-round pick.

The decision to trade Hughes certainly didn’t come as a surprise; there had been plenty of rumours leading up to the trade, and there was some indication that he wasn’t likely to re-sign when his contract was up at the end of the 2026-27 season.

It’s been said many times that the Canucks would never be able to “win” a Quinn Hughes trade. That being said, the return of Buium, Rossi, Öhgren, and a 2026 first isn’t something to complain about, especially when you consider the current state of this franchise.

There were a ton of mixed reactions to the deal for various reasons, but it’s safe to say the overall response to the return was fairly positive.

All of that being said, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of the trade.

Pros​

The first pro is that the team brought in three good young players, along with a first-rounder. This gives fans a sense of direction from the franchise, something everyone has been asking for for years. Jim Rutherford said the word rebuild, although Patrik Allvin later called it a “hybrid re-tool” after the Canucks rattled off four wins, so do with that what you will. At the very least, we now know that the front office knows they aren’t good enough to compete and rather than taking chances on veterans, being stuck in the mushy middle, and hoping the team can get hot for a playoff run, they’re getting younger and attempting to develop these young players to build a true contender.

This is a breath of fresh air, as we’ve seen other Canucks management regimes continuously attempt the quick fixes and retools that have helped the team win just two playoff rounds since their Stanley Cup Final loss in 2011.

It’s been a long time coming, but this move certainly signals the team is learning from their mistakes and hopefully, is kicking this rebuild into high gear.

The second pro is both the volume and quality of both the players and the pick the Canucks got back. Everyone saw the trade proposals on social media from other fan bases, people saying their team wouldn’t give up their top five prospects and young players for Hughes because he was “going to leave anyway”. Cough, cough, Devils fans.

Clearly, the Wild were serious and offered up the best defensive prospect in their pipeline in Buium, along with a proven 24-year-old second-line centreman in Rossi and a 21-year-old winger with lots of potential in Öhgren, plus a first-round pick in the upcoming NHL Draft. Given the draft position of these players, it essentially makes this deal four first round picks for Hughes. It’s a good haul.

Buium has the potential to be something special on the Canucks blue line for a long time, Rossi has already proven he can handle a top-six role in Minnesota and will have even more opportunity to grow in Vancouver, and Öhgren is going to have a ton of chances to play bigger minutes than he likely would have seen with the Wild, and for that reason, is also going to have lots of opportunity to grow into a big contributor for the Canucks.

The first-round pick is another piece that the Canucks needed. With a fairly weak prospect pool, they get the chance to add some much-needed strength and organizational depth, particularly in a good draft year that 2026 is said to be.

Overall, the return can certainly be considered a pro.

The final pro is that the team is better now. We’ve seen them go 4-1-0 since the trade, and adding Rossi in particular adds much-needed depth down the middle of the ice.

No more David Kampf centring the first line.

With a healthy Elias Pettersson as well, this team actually looks like a decent NHL roster, with two good top-six centremen and solid depth throughout the lineup.

Cons​

Now, I realize I listed the team as being better now as a pro, and it is. Canucks hockey is more fun to watch when the team can compete and isn’t losing every game. Though it does need to be said that this could be viewed a con as well. This team isn’t going on a St. Louis Blues 2018-19 miracle run from last place to a Stanley Cup win. They might be good enough to pick outside of the top five, though, which would hurt them long term. This team is still nowhere near being competitive, and adding a top-five or even top top-three pick to the team would be huge in building for the future.

The aforementioned depth, specifically down the middle, does threaten the Canucks’ tanking ability.

Another con that needs to be noted is the franchise’s failure to build around Quinn Hughes. They lucked into the greatest defenceman in franchise history, drafting him seventh overall in 2018. He played 459 games during his time in Vancouver, scoring 432 points, and yet the team couldn’t make it past the second round of the playoffs.

Rather than building around this cornerstone piece, they kept getting themselves into trouble with the cap, rushed out of their retooling phase, and failed to build a team that could consistently qualify for the playoffs, let alone contend for the Stanley Cup.

The fact that the team had to move on from their captain is a failure and a con in itself.

The last con is the fact that this sets the timeline back. Canucks fans have been craving more of that playoff energy. They got a taste a couple of years ago and certainly want more. Who wouldn’t? It’s fun when your favourite team is competitive and winning games. Although the team wasn’t going anywhere this year, having Quinn Hughes on your team, you wouldn’t have been able to count them out for next year. Now that he’s gone, there’s no real telling as to when the Canucks can get back to the playoffs, but as mentioned in the pros, at least there is somewhat of a sense of direction here.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-pros-cons-quinn-hughes-trade-two-weeks-later

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

The Stanchies: Conor Garland makes it interesting, but Canucks fall 6-3 to Sharks

The Vancouver Canucks‘ “worst for first” drive continued Saturday night, as they closed out a solid 6-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks at Rogers Arena.

As with any good loss, the Canucks made sure to showcase a little bit of promise, before ultimately losing their grip on the game and thus solidifying their position at the bottom of the standings. At one point in the third period, the Canucks were a mere power play goal away from tying things up, before ultimately losing out to the more advanced rebuild from the Sharks.

For the rest of the season, we’re going to be kind of caught in between two planes of existence, the one where you recognize that losing is good, even if it makes a lot of the hockey excruciating to watch. And the other plan in which you allow yourself to enjoy a few moments of high-level play from the Canucks. You’re watching the team lose, but also trying to walk away with some positives to help you sleep at night.

And what stood out to me in this game, aside from the youth of the Sharks’ forwards being light years ahead of the Canucks, was the play of Conor Garland. With a team having every reason to lose and fold up shop, it felt like Garland kept dragging his team back into the fight in this one. And that isn’t to say the rest of the team isn’t trying, far from it. I will say that when you watch this team, it’s genuinely a talent issue, not an effort issue.

But Garland was the one guy with enough skill to combine with the will to actually tilt the ice in his favour at times. With Quinn Hughes gone, those shifts where a Canucks player steps up and tries to win a game for their team, it’s kind of few and far between. Jake DeBrusk, Brock Boeser, and more of the passenger-type players who need someone to drive for them, leaving Conor Garland and Elias Pettersson to do most of that heavy lifting.

And with Garland, I think he’s been the most reliable forward for the Canucks in that regard. Even when down two goals, there was Garland chirping Adam Gaudette on the bench, telling him there was a lot of time left in this game. He just has no quit in him, and you can see it on the ice. The guy battles every shift, even in a season in which it’s pretty clear things are going off the rails.

Which brings us to Elias Pettersson, who deserves some grace for this being his first game back after injury. But this is also a player who has struggled to be consistent in the offensive zone, and has had relatively few games in which he has carried the play like a top player should. Yes, defensively, no one can question his efforts, but on a night like tonight, you just watch the attitude and play of Garland, and you can’t help but wish EP40 could emulate some of that. We just haven’t seen that kind of swagger from Elias in several seasons now, and the spotlight is only going to get brighter as the season continues.

I don’t know; it just feels like the JT Miller/Elias Pettersson feud poisoned the water, and you can’t help but wonder if he needs a fresh start, too.

That being said, I just watched Macklin Celebrini have an “off game” in which he had two points and around 738 shot attempts (roughly), so perhaps my cynicism is suffering from the recency bias of watching another team’s superstar player develop into a top player in the league right before our very eyes.

Then you turn around and see the Sharks have plugged in Igor Chernyshov into the lineup, a 6″3, 200 pound forward, and he already has five points in five games.

Then you hear a noise behind you and you remember Will Eklund is coming into his own.

Then you turn around and see Will Smith isn’t even playing and you realize it could have been much worse.

Then you do one final spin and realize the Sharks are terrible defensively and still have a ways to go on their full rebuild, and you realize the Canucks really need to make the next two drafts work in their favour to try and keep up.

All of which is to say that there are probably going to be a few more long nights ahead of us, as the trade deadline is rapidly becoming the most important part of this season for Vancouver.

Let’s jump into this one.

Best farm family forever

The #GoJetsGo fans are booing every time Quinn Hughes touches the puck. Did he do something in the game or they standing in solidarity with the #canucks ? #mnwild

— Robby (@Dosange) December 28, 2025

Sure, Hughes got three assists and helped the Wild tie the game up last minute and win in overtime, BUT THAT DOESN’T MATTER. The important thing is the true North remembers.

Best you hurt the ones you love the most

Center Elias Pettersson plays his 500th NHL game tonight. His 479 points are the most by any player in #Canucks history through their first 500 games. Doesn't matter if a player started their career in Vancouver or were traded after playing NHL games, Pettersson leads everyone.

— Adam Kierszenblat (@Adamkblat) December 28, 2025

Elias Pettersson made his return to the lineup for Vancouver, which means the trade rumours can begin anew. I just sort of assume everyone from the 2024 NHL All-Star picture must be traded as quickly as possible, in a less violent reboot of Final Destination. No one gets hurt or maimed by trucks carrying logs, but you eventually get sent away from Vancouver because of some sort of close encounter with death/Gary Bettman and/or two players had a hissy fit and ripped apart an entire locker room.

Also somehow Collin Delia is a central figure to this curse. I don’t know how or why, but I feel it in my bones. Like, he’s the guy who reads from the book in the Mummy. He fed a cursed seagull at Granville Island or something.

Best enjoy what you can

Great defensive play by Willander there @BikNizzar

— Jim Lahey HNIC (@LaheyHNIC) December 28, 2025

Tom Willander skates real good and stuff, which can be enjoyable when he goes on an offensive foray, or when he tracks down an opponent on the back check.

In this case, Jeff Skinner, who is officially in his Tommy Vanek hired gun phase of his career, was shut down by a speedy Willander effort:

I’d like to think in five years when Jeff Skinner is on his 9th team, scoring his 15 goals a season, Willander will be there again to shut him down on a rush or two.

I also hope somewhere Jeff Tambellini does the Rudy clap of approval after seeing it.

Best a view from the other side

Sherwood you dumb bitch

— Puente Antiguo Resident – noted sharks truther (@geekedoutside1) December 28, 2025

Kiefer Sherwood is basically on Love Island at this point, and it would be silly of him not to explore a relationship with any of the new bombshells that come into the villa. And as it stands now, there are probably around 10 teams minimum that would be interested in taking him for a chat in Soul Ties before one of them got mad about him making out with the Ducks and slept in the daybed out of protest.

You might have thought I was done dishing on Love Island but believe me, it’s a far better alternative than jumping back into the game, so can we have a real talk about Love Island Australia needing to up their budget and move away from the truth bike? If your Love Island show doesn’t have Casa Amor, what are we even doing here? In closing, gang gang.

Anyways, would the Sharks be interested in Mr. Sherwood? They are still a team finding their way, but they have a lot of pieces in place to turn into a good team real soon, maybe Kiefer is a guy that aligns with their timeline.

And what better way to show your stuff then by landing a huge offside hit and demanding to know why the ref called the play dead:

In a perfect world Sherwood would remain a Canuck because I truly think he brings a needed element to any hockey team, but the team is not really in a position to sit on assets at the deadline. I know, I know, it’s quite easy to run out of time, or so I have been told, but I do think this team can pull it off this season.

That assumes he can still be traded under the hybrid retool rules, which I think he can?

Best poop goal shenanigans

WHAT???#Canucks

— bruna (@rheneriella) December 28, 2025

The Sharks opened the scoring when Ryan Reaves got his second point of the season by shoving Thatcher Demko’s blocker and puck into the net off a dribbler of a rebound:

If it wasn’t Team Tank season, maybe this goal angers you. Maybe the Sharks first goal brings to mind the wild wild west days where the Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane Chicago Blackhawks could just sort of push your goalie into the net for a goal and it would count. Back in the days when we used to be a society and things mattered.

But ultimately this is the correct landing point for the Canucks, to lose games.

Would it be nicer if the games were exciting? Of course it would be. But that’s the next stage for Vancouver. Trade off veterans, bring in new blood, and then pray the stench of depression and malaise finally drifts over to Tacoma where it belongs.

Then the Canucks start losing games 6-5, exciting losses, which brings in yet another wave of new blood the year after. Suddenly there is hope in the world because you’re watching 19-22 year olds score goals, and not wondering if David Kampf is secretly Nils Aman in a mask.

If the Canucks bring in enough draft picks over the next two seasons, hell, I bet that would even align with their weird hybrid retool labelling.

This is what the owners need to accept. Short term losses for long term gains. If you don’t have the wallet to ride this wave out, you don’t belong in the game.

Best putting the work in

Hell yeah baby the tank looks intact #Canucks

— Dombrova (@dombrova22) December 28, 2025

Ty Dellandrea then almost scored after banking the puck off of the glass and back through Thatcher Demko’s legs:

It wasn’t a particularly pretty or enjoyable game at the best of times, but again. Big picture here.

Best can’t stop them all

Not Demmers night tonight. #Canucks

— David Cee (@CanucksIn4) December 28, 2025

Demko was by no means awful on the night, but he also wasn’t going full bubble in this game.

That being said, he probably really really really wants the Sharks second goal back:

John Klingberg, playing on his sixth team in six years, just throws the puck on net, and it kind of finds its way past Demko, to the point that I can’t even get mad at any of the defenders. Can’t even summon up a single swear word to toss Hronek’s way, dude did his job, Demko just didn’t track the puck.

And it’s not even an in-his-prime, 67 points, high-fiving Alex Radulov (remember him?) Klingberg, it’s the current one who has been slowed down by injuries Klingberg. Just throwing the puck on net because hey, why not, what else are you gonna do?

Fun fact: Radulov won a championship in the KHL playing with Richard Panik, who once played with Conor Garland, who once played with Michael Grabner, who as we all know, once played with Mason Raymond.

Makes you think.

Best imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Karlsson with the Garland impression. Nice.

— R Yap (@Kaotikz3000) December 28, 2025

With the Canucks trying to figure out life on the power play without Quinn Hughes jogging around for a minute and openly sighing at Elias Pettersson never shooting, it was Conor Garland on this night who got it working on Vancouver’s first goal.

And how did he do it? By passing the puck to Linus Karlsson, utilizing the mini stick hockey approach (sometimes called the Deep and Delish maneuver in Delaware):

The confidence from Garland is what stands out to me on this play. He isn’t afraid to handle the puck and try and wheel by his check, to see if he can open up some room on the ice. This is the kind of thing where you’re like “ok surely Elias Pettersson can do something like this??” because that dude has a shot go go with his handles. Nobody is scared of Conor Garland’s shot. Nobody.

Well ok, maybe Stuart Skinner.

But that’s it! His shot isn’t a threat! It’s why his mini stick hockey approach works because he literally makes it so the puck bounces in off of him. He doesn’t have to do any of the work.

Elias, though? We all remember that first NHL goal he scored. He can laser it in with the best of him. Yet we continue to see him pass out of shots and man, it just feels deflating at times. Why can’t he dangle and create some room for himself and unload some wristers now and then? He used to do that! I remember it! You remember it!

Anyways, Linus Karlsson is a gem and I really enjoy his blue paint game.

Best they would have won if it wasn’t for those damn kids

The Canucks constantly struggle to clear the puck out of their own end. #Canucks

— Kerry Banks (@bad_kicker) December 28, 2025

One thing you noticed pretty quickly in this game was Macklin Celebrini just sort of popping up like that “Toasty!” guy in Mortal Kombat out of nowhere and getting a shot on net:

The puck is just sort of bouncing around in the Canucks zone and then all of a sudden the puck finds its way to Macklin’s stick and he’s shooting from a high danger spot on the ice. It was something that happened all night long, which just sort of hammered home the “Didn’t Elias Pettersson used to do a bit of that?” disparity I found myself mired in for most of the night. Celebrini finished with just under 20 shot attempts in this game, and that feels like cheating?

Like, if we were playing Warzone, I would definitely report him. That’s all I’m saying.

As for the Canucks, leave it to Conor Garland to find new ways to shut down the kid, as at one point his strewn aside stick blocked a pass from Celebrini to help kill off a penalty near the end of the first period:

That’s just thinking outside of the box right there.

Imagine one day when we’re told if Derek Forbort and Teddy Blueger are still alive, and they join this penalty kill.

Best of the worst

sharks vs canucks. coughing baby vs coughing baby.

— ‏ْ (@lilybluelilies) December 28, 2025

The second period? Straight up hot garbage. The kind of garbage you left in the kitchen too long and now you’re embarrassed to take it down the elevator to the trash room because a neighbour might get on and smell it.

There just wasn’t a lot of offensive creativity from Vancouver, and to prove it, I will showcase the highlights.

First you had Max Sasson getting a shot off from the wing after a good pass from Drew O’Connor:

Which, to be fair, that’s a good shot from Max, and Drew O’Connor? He is quickly turning into like the stud of the bottom six. If there is ever a revolution from the bottom two lines, and they want to take out the top guys, it’s going to be lead by DOC, that’s all I’m saying.

Then you had Evander Kane getting a shot off on the rush, this time from a similar looking playing from Kiefer Sherwood:

And then the most dangerous looking chance was probably when Conor Garland set up Brock Boeser for a shot in the slot, a player who last scored when 7-11 still had arcade machines in their store:

All three shots came from the same sort of spot on the ice, so you get the idea. The Canucks generated a handful of chances, but none of them were too dangerous.

Meanwhile Celebrini and Chernyshov were just riding along, taking shots on net, and being all youthful and full of energy:

Bunch of jerks I tell you.

Best show us what you got

What a frustrating game to watch #Canucks

— steamer12 (@BastoneJeff) December 28, 2025

Zeev Buium did not have a great game for the Canucks, as he had several noticeable defensive miscues on the night.

But I will say he continues to show flashes of offensive skill that bode well for the future, such as this evasion that led to a zone entry:

Again, it’s a small thing, and I don’t expect people will be lining up to buy $200 tickets to see a player dangle around another player once on the night, BUT it at least shows promise.

It also shows just how insanely skilled Quinn Hughes was when he first joined the Canucks and was doing stuff like this multiple times in a game from day one.

Honestly, it’s going to be an unfair shadow for Buium to live in, because his normal progress as a young defenceman is never going to be able to live up to what Quinn Hughes did, you just have to hope he can ignore that noise and find a way to continue to evolve his game.

Best good intentions paved the way to hell or something

Rossi just got his first goal with the #Canucks !

— Probably But Not Necessarily Ian Bell (@ianb) December 28, 2025

The Sharks would get their third goal, this time at the hands of ultra good host Marco Rossi, as he tipped in a rebound past a flummoxed Thatcher Demko:

William Eklund got credit for the goal, but this is where I think we need to copy soccer and denote things as own goals. How can Eklund look his family in the eyes and tell them he scored tonight? How can he live with that lie?

And while it wasn’t exactly a skilled goal, this is what happens when you outshoot your opponent 37 to 27 and double them up in high danger chances. Luck tends to favour the bold and all that.

Best cause and effect

Game night…C’mon #Canucks pic.twitter.com/Cyrbrwevb9

— JD_Aust (@JD_Aust4005) December 28, 2025

Part of the process. Just have to hope the owners accept it.

Best locking it in

After the cute little 4 game streak, you can feel it now… here come the L’s. #Canucks

— Brock Jackson (@BrockTalk) December 28, 2025

At no point did I think a pass or shot would get completed on this two on one from David Kampf:

Described by one person on social media as “Vey and Chaput mixed into one”, this is just sort of the Kampf offensive zone experience.

Which isn’t even me being snarky. I know it reads that way, but it’s more of an acceptance of his limitations. He is being used in a top six role he is not suited for due to roster issues.

Penalty killing? He’s fantastic. Fourth line center? Feels like a perfect world for him to live in. He’s an upgrade over Nils Aman, 100%.

But anything higher than that, and the guy just isn’t able to put points on the board at a consistent level.

Best right in the kisser

Absolutely atrocious, momentum-killing penalty there by Kane. #Canucks

— Canoof (@Canooflehead) December 28, 2025

With the Canucks snagging a power play late in the second period, I would be remiss if I didn’t showcase one of Evander Kane’s favourite pastimes: taking a penalty in the offensive zone:

I don’t know, I just giggle every time it happens now. It just feels so familiar and comforting to me now.

Best getting one back

Rossi makes up for his boo-boo #Canucks

— MDWhite (@White3D64197) December 28, 2025

Speaking of Corolla Garland dragging the team back into the fight, here he is creating room in the offensive zone, before ending in a goal from Marco Rossi:

Garland’s tenacity pays off as he drives through two Sharks, keeps the puck in the zone, and eventually sets up a point shot that leads to the rebound goal.

Now, is Garland raising his game because he loves and respects sharks in nature, so it naturally brings it out of him in games against the Sharks? Of course he is. But that’s all the more reason to admire him.

Best tanking it hard

Canucks penalty summary:
Myers
Kane
Myers
Kane next?#Canucks

— WMG (@WestMG94) December 28, 2025

With Tyler Myers already in the box serving a penalty, Marcus Pettersson got a penalty for tapping another man’s stick, causing him to drop it (aka one of the dumbest penalties in hockey), which led to an extended two man advantage for the Sharks.

And at first, you just assumed Celebrini would score right away, because that’s sort of his thing.

Demko, though, had other plans:

Then with Macklin feeling a bit too smug, Sherwood stripped him of the puck in his own zone, and almost scored a shorthanded goal:”

Chalk that trade deadline value of Sherwood up to a first rounder and a roster player at this rate.

But alas it finally came to an end when former Canuck and noted head kicker Adam Gaudette made a picture perfect pass to Igor Chernyshov for the Russian’s first NHL goal:

I will give credit to both teams, the third period got considerably more entertaining if anything else.

Best talk your shit

Conor Garland didn't hear no bell! Shit talking with Adam Gaudette, this is the good stuff. pic.twitter.com/IebAQ2LYwY

— Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) December 28, 2025

See? This is the kind of guy you ride with. The guy who isn’t down in the dumps and is still mixing it up with the other team telling them this ain’t over.

I mean, it was over. But Garland at least made them think it might not be over. And that’s all you can ask for.

Best hard disagree

Love Buium but Hronek should be on pp1 until Buium's ready for primetime. Make him earn it #Canucks

— Jake's Tiny Stick (@prairienuck) December 28, 2025

I’m kind of a trial by fire guy, so I am all for Buium rocking that first unit as long as possible.

Though I do agree when something like this happens, you do hope you aren’t hurting his confidence:

Giving up a breakaway on the power play and then taking a penalty chasing the guy down isn’t a normal strategy to use, but if anything, it’s a unique one?

Best didn’t hear no bell

31 shots to 18 fo SJ. 4-2 SJ.

We just don’t have a good enough roster to compete seriously in this league. #nhl #Canucks

— bavel_puree (@rickcochrane_re) December 28, 2025

Perhaps inspired by Garland’s shit-talking of Gaudette, Drew O’Connor would score the Canucks final goal of the night, when he intercepted a pass in his own zone, and sped down the ice to snipe home a sexy looking shot past a slightly dismayed Yaroslav Askarov:

Like I said, if you’re going to tank, at least put on a bit of a show to entertain the fans for a period.

Best passenger players

Drew O'Connor has nine goals this year. He tied with Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser for second on the #Canucks goals list

— Adam Kierszenblat (@Adamkblat) December 28, 2025

It’s worth noting that Drew O’Connor is actually a play driver for his line. He just skates super hard and generates chances on his own.

We live in a world in which Drew O’Connor is currently more effective at carrying a line over DeBrusk and Boeser.

Best extended clip

Most momentum the Canucks have had all game, Buium showing some good work on the PP as well pic.twitter.com/tM1iNGspO7

— Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) December 28, 2025

To get around video clip limitations, I encourage you to watch the video in the tweet, because this was both the most exciting part of the game for the Canucks, and for the people who enjoy dreaming of a better future.

It was the most exciting part of the game because, yeah, that was as close as the Canucks came to tying the game up. They were an inch or two away from making it 4-4 on that shift.

It’s also exciting for the future because Buium showcased his offensive chops on the shift, and made several really good plays during it.

But it’s also kind of sad because Elias Pettersson once again passed out of a prime shooting spot:

Look, we all sat under the Henrik Sedin learning tree, so we all know him passing to Jake DeBrusk isn’t a terrible idea.

But this season is kind of toast, so why not just use it to get your groove back? Get selfish with that puck my man. I agree that his shooting lane was blocked pretty effectively when he first got the puck, but those guys were sliding left to right. Hold onto that puck for half a beat and your shooting lane is wide open again.

That’s the kind of confidence people want to see from Elias. They want to see him holding onto a puck and finding a way to get a shot on net. Nobody is really waiting around hoping to see what scoring spot EP40 will pass out of next.

Just shoot man. Find a way to get the puck on net.

Best ice cold

Macklin. Damn. #Canucks

— Jeromy Corrigan (@JCorgi37) December 28, 2025

Call me crazy, but I think this kid is going to be a good player one day:

We live in a world in which two local players in Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini are most likely going to light the Canucks up for the next decade, and the closest the Canucks got to having a local kid on their team do well recently was Jake Virtanen.

That feels unfair.

Best closing comments

Igor Chernyshov is gonna be one hell of a player

— Harman Dayal (@harmandayal2) December 28, 2025

Yes. Yes he is. He is big and skilled, and I am not a size elitist at all, but I do think the Canucks could benefit from having some bigger skilled players.

I know the rebuild is over because Sheev Buim had some good shifts a month ago or whatever, but the Canucks need like 6 or 7 picks in the first two rounds of the draft this year and probably next if they want to truly build a contender that can keep up with Celebrini's Sharks

— Cody Severtson (@CodySevertson) December 28, 2025

Yes. This game felt like a warning sign that the Canucks need to stick to the plan and not get too juiced after watching one good road trip.

The Canucks are 4-11-1 at home this year after losing to San Jose.

That’s embarrassing.

— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) December 28, 2025

Gotta feel the burn to make it worth it.

Best jersey Botch

@TheStanchion #Canucks pic.twitter.com/0405vTEHcO

— John Lyotier (@lyotier) December 28, 2025

Sponsored by bet365

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/stanch...ng-vancouver-canucks-fall-6-3-san-jose-sharks

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

3 Canucks Stars of the Week: Thatcher Demko stands tall, Garland keeps fighting

Welcome back to Stars of the Week at CanucksArmy! Every week, we’ll be bringing you our Top Three best and brightest performers on the Vancouver Canucks that week. Disagree with our picks or have your own stars to nominate? Let us know in the comments below!

This week, the Canucks faced off against former coach Rick Tocchet’s Philadelphia Flyers to a 5-2 loss and hosted divisional rivals the San Jose Sharks at home, ending in a 6-3 loss. Admittedly, this is not the largest sample size of games. You might be wondering how the 2 games + 2 losses = 3 stars equation works. It simply does not. Open your heart to team tank. Everyone can be a star when you’re in 32nd place in the league!

While the rest of us are set to regroup ahead of 2026, the Canucks will likely remain the same team in the New Year. The trade deadline and Olympic break will define just how they end their season, but it is safe to say there won’t be any wild underdog story ahead. Hopefully, the Canucks have been taking some notes from the Sharks on how to execute a rebuild – my apologies, hybrid rebuild.

Thatcher Demko​

It cannot be emphasized just how much these two losses are not on the shoulders of Demko. He nearly singlehandedly ensured neither of these games was a full-on blowout loss.

Philadelphia was not a good showing for any Canuck, but Demko was not given much help, either. The Flyers were relentless with their shots on his net, like the raven rapping on Edgar Allan Poe’s chamber door. When all was said and done, Demko’s SV % was .875 with a 4.55 GAA. When you interrogate those numbers a little more, though, the majority of shots Demko faced in the entire game were high danger chances (13), and every single goal he allowed was high danger (4). The Flyers were storming Demko’s crease like the Battle of Helm’s Deep, and the skaters in front of him let them.

Demko shuts the door once again, this time on Owen Tippett’s breakaway chance.

: Prime Video | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/61xrv1cm0R

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 23, 2025

After Vancouver was trampled by the Sharks, Demko had an interesting comment suggesting that the Sharks’ first goal should have been challenged for goaltender interference, claiming Ryan Reaves made contact with him. Adam Foote was also asked about this decision, but referenced the precedent that incidental contact when a skater and goaltender are going for the same puck is not, in fact, interference (this is outlined in the 25-26 NHL Rulebook under rule 69.7).

Given that failed coach’s challenges now result in a man advantage for your opponent, I understand the call here. But, truthfully speaking, what do the Canucks really have to lose at this point? Goaltender interference reviews are inconsistent at best, to the point where it’s become an ongoing joke.

Demko’s comment might be viewed as not a great sign for the state of the team’s faith in their own coaching staff, but he echoed what most people watching were probably thinking. A man of the people.

Conor Garland​

The Canucks returned to Rogers Arena for their first home game since Quinn Hughes, professionally speaking, got the hell out of dodge. It was basically Conor Garland versus the San Jose Sharks.

Garland factored in on two out of three goals, drew penalties, was a menace against civilized society, and was overall the best player the Canucks had on the ice. He also took a moment to chirp former teammate Adam Gaudette, despite the Canucks being down 4-2 at this point. I thought Garland loved sharks?

Conor Garland didn't hear no bell! Shit talking with Adam Gaudette, this is the good stuff. pic.twitter.com/IebAQ2LYwY

— Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) December 28, 2025

It’s hard to tell whether that attitude is hope or hubris, but I’ll take anything right now.

Drew O’Connor​

Drew O’Connor netted the final goal against Philadelphia, a melancholy finale for a melancholy game. Then a few days later, he pickpocketed the Sharks on the penalty kill like Oliver Twist for a shorthanded goal – unassisted, at that.

Canucks goal

Drew O'Connor with a goal on the Penalty Kill, and the Canucks make it a one-goal game!

Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/UkcTKNaIjV

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 28, 2025

READ NEXT: ‘It’s embarrassing’: Canucks’ Jake DeBrusk reacts to upcoming healthy scratch​

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/3-vanc...cher-demko-stands-tall-conor-garland-fighting

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Scenes from practice: Canucks shake up line combinations ahead of Monday’s game in Seattle

The Vancouver Canucks will have a number of new looks to their forward ranks when they face the Kraken in Seattle on Monday. Following a listless 6-3 loss to San Jose on Saturday night, Adam Foote will be making veterans Jake DeBrusk and David Kampf healthy scratches.

What we saw​

#Canucks at practice Sunday

Kane-EP40-Boeser
Öhgren-Rossi-Garland
O’Connor-Raty-Sherwood
Hoglander-Sasson-Karlsson
*DeBrusk-Kampf-(Chytil) extras

MPett-Hronek
Buium-Myers
DPetey-Willander

— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) December 28, 2025

In an effort to get Brock Boeser going, the Canucks are reuniting him with Elias Pettersson. Those two will have Evander Kane on their line.

Liam Öhgren gets bumped up to a second line opportunity with fellow newcomer Marco Rossi and Conor Garland.

Aatu Räty returns to the line-up after sitting out four of the last six games including Saturday. He’ll centre Drew O’Connor and Kiefer Sherwood while Nils Höglander gets back into action after three straight press box visits. Hoglander will skate with Max Sasson and Linus Karlsson.

For DeBrusk, this will be the first time as a Canuck that he has missed a game. He and Teddy Blueger were the only players to suit up for all 82 games last season. And the winger had appeared in all 37 games to this point this season. Meanwhile, Kämpf will sit after playing 17 straight games since signing with the team in mid-November.

The other news of the day was head coach Adam Foote confirming that Filip Chytil is ramping up for a return to game action perhaps sooner than many had anticipated. The Czech centre, out since October 19th with a head injury, skated with the group for a second straight day. Once again, he wore a red non-contact jersey. But Foote said on Sunday that Chytil could play ‘within weeks’. No one in the organization is putting any firm timeline on Chytil getting back in uniform. And all of this is subject to him not experiencing any kind of setback. But the fact Chytil was on the ice with the team for a second straight day indicates that he got through Saturday’s morning skate without issue. He skated as an extra on Sunday, but was an active participant in all of the team’s drills.

The Canucks coach confirmed that Kevin Lankinen will start on Monday in Seattle while Thatcher Demko will get the nod at home against Philadelphia on Tuesday. The Canucks have a second set of back to back games later in the week. The goalies will likely split those games at home against Seattle and Boston.

Fil Hronek leads #Canucks end of practice circle pic.twitter.com/M1dFPgU8Yx

— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) December 28, 2025

What we heard​

Adam Foote on the possibility of Filip Chytil returning to Canucks line-up:

“Two to three weeks? I see it being less than four, but I don’t know for sure. We have to get him back up to speed, but he’s had a couple of really good weeks which is a real good sign. Knowing that he hasn’t had a setback in two weeks is huge. When we believe he is in full shape, then he’ll be able to take some contact.”

Foote on what he needs to see from Nils Hoglander in his return to game action: “When you miss that much time – and we had some wins going on, too – it’s just getting reps. He plays so well below the tops of the circles. He’s on that puck. Just pushing those routes and the pace. When you miss time you don’t necessarily have your legs completely even though you put the work in for two months, it’s hard in a game situation. He was going to come out with three in four anyway. And we won a few there. He understands. But he looked like he was really hungry today.”

Foote and Jake DeBrusk also spoke about the winger’s upcoming healthy scratch, and you can read those quotes by clicking here. You can also check out what they had to say via the CanucksArmy YouTube channel below!

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/scenes-practice-vancouver-canucks-shake-up-line-combinations-seattle

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Canucks prospect Gabriel Chiarot traded to OHL Kitchener for 8 draft picks

Vancouver Canucks 2025 fifth-round NHL Draft pick Gabriel Chiarot is on the move in the Ontario Hockey League. And boy, did he bring back a significant return.

Just hours before he was set to suit up for his now-former club, the Brampton Steelheads dealt Chiarot to the Kitchener Rangers in a blockbuster transaction. In return, Brampton received the rights to Adam Valentini along with eight draft picks, including multiple early-round selections spread across the next several seasons.

The complete package of picks heading to Brampton includes:

• Brampton’s 2nd-round pick (2027)
• Kitchener’s 2nd-round pick (2028)
• 3rd-round picks (2028, 2029)
• 4th-round pick (2028)
• 5th-round pick (2027)
• 8th-round pick (2029)
• 10th-round pick (2026)

Chiarot, 18, departs Brampton as the club’s leading scorer, posting 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) in 31 games this season while serving as an alternate captain and logging consistent top-line minutes. He sits just six goals and 10 points shy of his previous career highs with half the season remaining.

The move positions Chiarot with a Kitchener team firmly in contention, with notable drafted prospects such as Christian Humphreys (COL), Jack Pridham (CHI), Cameron Reid (NSH) and Luca Romano (NYI). Widely viewed as a legitimate playoff threat, the Rangers currently sit second in the OHL’s Western Conference with aspirations of making a deep postseason run and pushing for a Memorial Cup berth.

“We are excited to add Gabriel to our group,” Rangers general manager Mike McKenzie said in the league’s press release. “He’s a player we’ve had our eye on for a while. He plays a fast, fearless game and brings an edge that we feel is important, especially as we look toward the playoffs.”

Selected 175th overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, Chiarot quickly made an impression within the Canucks organization, earning an entry-level contract directly following his first NHL training camp. The Hamilton, Ontario, native has been viewed as a versatile, Swiss Army Knife-type forward, capable of contributing up and down the lineup while bringing energy and bite to the ice.

Across 145 OHL games, all with Brampton, Chiarot has produced 70 points (41 goals, 29 assists) and accumulated 134 penalty minutes.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancou...el-chiarot-traded-ohl-kitchener-8-draft-picks

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

The Stanchies: Kevin Lankinen remains a shootout savant as Canucks topple the Kraken 3-2

Look, I don’t think the Canucks are making the playoffs, but if the league decided to stop playing 60 minutes of hockey and award standings points only based on shootouts? I think they might have a shot.

I don’t know how to explain Dominik Hasek Kevin Lankinen’s perfection in shootouts, but I am not here to question it, either. In a season in which we have so little to enjoy, I will take weird phenomena like this and just embrace it. The tank is still the ultimate goal here, but if you can’t enjoy Kevin turning into a literal brick wall the second overtime ends in a hockey game, then what are we even doing here.

And to Lankinen’s credit, the Canucks 3-2 win over the Seattle Kraken was much more than just the shootout heroics. We all know that the Canucks netminder has struggled this season, but on this night, he stopped 37 of 39 shots (many of the high danger variety) as he backstopped his team with a tidy .949 save percentage, finishing with a 2.11 goals saved above expected.

In fact, once overtime ended and we all joked the game was already over, but Seattle just didn’t realize it yet, we all kind of looked around and realized we weren’t joking all that much. We’re at the point where if Lankinen does let in a shootout goal, we would all be severely disappointed in him. He has set the bar so high and must continue to live up to this impossible standard, otherwise we’ll have nothing left in this city. This is our identity now. You get to a shootout in Vancouver, you lose, end of story. It’s all we have, don’t take this from us Kevin.

Of course, there were a few other storylines woven in throughout this game. The growing pains without Quinn Hughes continue, as zone exits and entries appear to be a foreign currency that the Canucks currently don’t have on hand, as the team struggled heavily on that front. Conor Garland continues to be the heartbeat of this team, as a spirited fight from the diminutive winger seemed to give the Canucks a spark they sorely needed in the first period.

And yes, Jake DeBrusk was a healthy scratch, as “wingers who sort of exist I guess?” continues to be the tag line for a team in dire need of offensive production.

Look, I like Jake DeBrusk as a player. Obviously we all know he is a very streaky player, as we all fondly remember November Jake. October Jake kind of sucked, though. December Jake hasn’t paid his rent yet and we’re all a bit frustrated with him not emptying the dishwasher. Which means January Jake is going to be amazing, right? The math is right there laid out in front of you, binary is no joke.

But honestly, between you and me, they could have scratched any player not named Fil Hronek and I wouldn’t have batted an eye. Maybe Elias Pettersson too, purely because I wouldn’t have the heart to go online to see the discourse surrounding it, but anyone else? Yeah, sure. Scratch away. I can’t imagine taking anyone out of this lineup would cause a noticeable dent in anything. Possibly Conor Garland as well, that one might be the one guy I’d keep around. Other than that, what’s the worst that’s going to happen? Nobody is lighting the world on fire for this team. At best it jumpstarts a player and gets them going. At worst they get into a fight with another player for reasons, it festers for around a couple of seasons, the general manager locks them in a room and tells them to deal with it, until it eventually implodes and takes down the entire team in a couple of seasons.

Wait.

The point is, when Filip Hronek, Drew O’Connor, and Linus Karlsson are leading the charge for five-on-five offence, you have an awful lot of leeway in lineup choices. It’s hard to tell the coach with a straight face that he can’t take you out of the lineup when you’re struggling to keep pace with Aatu Räty.

And look at that, the Canucks won the game without Jake. I wouldn’t say they played tremendously better without him, but I don’t think anyone missed him on the ice either. Which is the sort of damning indictment that showcases why it’s Tank Season and wins are to be shunned when you’re watching Gavin McKenna do a hard reboot into a first overall pick during the World Junior tournament.

So, much like the city of Langley, the Canucks result was better than you expected…but it’s still ultimately the city of Langley; You wouldn’t want to live there long term and you hope you can get out soon.

Team tank rolls on tomorrow against the Flyers, but for now, let’s dive into the game.

Best putting your nuts on the table

Lankinen needed to allow that breakaway to go in to continue to be team tank. It was only 46 seconds in. #SEAKraken #Canucks

— Tyson Fedor (@TysonFedorTV) December 30, 2025

Brazil nuts that is, because who likes them? What better way to let a team know you are in a heated rivalry than by showing them ugly nuts?

And Kevin Lankinen? He was locked in. This was prime October/November 2024 Kevin Lankinen on Monday night, the kind of Kevin you brag to your parents about.

Kaapo Kakko wants to score on Lankinen? Sorry, gonna need better than that:

This was not a pretty game by any stretch of the imagination. When two basement-dwelling teams face off against each other, it’s usually a solid display of uninspired hockey. The Canucks’ young defence had some struggles as well, as Zeev Buium showcases in that first clip.

Which is why sometimes you just have to enjoy what you can, you know? I imagine the players don’t enjoy losing (just taking a wild guess here), and I don’t think “tanking for Gavin!” is a rallying cry that fills them with too much inspiration. So yeah, sometimes when a player is locked in like Kevin was, I just go along for the ride. What else are you gonna do, you know?

And as we’ve said in the past, it’s not an effort issue with this team, it’s the skill gap issue. It doesn’t make the games any easier to watch aesthetically, but it sure feels better than watching a skilled team not trying in a losing season.

So let’s get back on track here and answer the important questions. Did Tyler Myers take a penalty? You’re damn right he did!

Here is Ben Meyers committing some Meyers on Myers crime, as he walks right around the Chaos Giraffe, forcing Lankinen to make a stop in the slot:

Amusingly enough, the veteran defenceman on the team in Myers and Marcus Pettersson struggled the most in this game, as up next we have MP3 getting absolutely dog walked by Jordan Eberle shortly thereafter:

So leave it to Tom Willander to step up big and make a goal-saving block to show the veterans the “right way to play” a couple of shifts later:

As you can tell from the clips, it’s a bit of a greasy game you have on your hands. Resist the urge to wipe your lap, try and use wet wipes, but please don’t flush them down the toilet. I know you’ve done that in the past Chris, but stop it. Yes, I am talking to you.

Best get behind it

At least Petterson does defensive things..the other slumping vet's don't. #Canucks

— T H (@Tiredcanuckfan) December 30, 2025

While Ray Ferraro tried to say he felt like this was one of Brock Boeser’s best games in recent memory, I wasn’t seeing it? He had another unflattering showing in my humble opinion, and his underlying stats put him at the bottom of the team. Last in expected goals at 5 on 5, last in Corsi, only one shot, yet had the most ice time of any forward. His line also had the most offensive zone starts as well, so it wasn’t like he was working from behind. Just wasn’t a banner night for Brock.

We’re at the point where, yeah, if they healthy scratched Boeser, it would be right in line with taking Jake out of the lineup. Throw Evander Kane into the mix as well while we’re at it. Why not.

Elias Pettersson, on the other hand, showed a little more oomph. He scored a goal, which we will see later, and he was once again making smart defensive decisions on the ice. It felt like he was visible for some good reasons at the very least.

His hockey IQ was on display on the penalty kill when he read a pass and intercepted it neatly to kill off an offensive zone entry from the Kraken:

And while I don’t think “falling to the ice and using my ribs to torpedo my opponent” was the gameplan here, you can at least see the effort he makes in every zone:

At the very least, Rachel Gunn might have learned some new moves watching that play.

I also had high hopes that EP40 grabbing the puck and shooting into traffic was a sign of things to come in the game:

He didn’t pass out of it, he didn’t hold onto the puck and softly smother the play in the corner until it died, crying and apologizing about how he was sorry this had to happen, he just grabbed the puck and ripped it.

Now, personally? I drop to my knees in Walmart any chance I get to scream at Elias to shoot the puck as much as possible, but sadly, he finished with only two shots on net. The good news is that he was third in shot attempts with six, but yeah. That 11.6 million dollar price tag means you’re not exactly going to be celebrating shot attempt production anytime soon. At the end of the day, Elias Pettersson needs to find his form and become that number one center he used to be. Which starts with getting shots on net, and not “shits on net” like I almost typed by accident.

Best hello old friend

0 chemistry on this team #canucks

— Omertà (@ewcuddies) December 30, 2025

Former Canucks first rounder Jared McCann showed off a heck of shot in his short time with the Canucks, and wouldn’t you know it, that continues to be the case now, as he worked a quick little give-and-go for a piss missile one-timer goal to make it 1-0 Seattle:

Fun fact: only three players drafted after McCann have scored more career points than him: David Pastrnak, Adrian Kempe, and Brayden Point.

Fun fact number two: Jacob Middleton was the last selection taken in the 2014 NHL draft, and has played 339 career games and currently plays with some person named Quinn Hughes.

Fun fact number three: While an impressive career despite being picked dead last, Jacob still has a way to go to catch Patric Hornqvist, who was picked last in the 2005 draft. He ended up scoring an incredible 543 points and played over 900 games in the NHL.

Fun fact number four: Jason Cugnet was a goalie drafted in 1995 in the 9th round by the Vancouver Canucks, and I only bring this up in the hopes someone who knows him sees this and sends him a picture of his name drop, wondering why we’re talking about him.

Anyways, that was a nice shot from Jared.

Best leading by example

Conor Garland is the leader of this team pic.twitter.com/BtNhqks7mp

— Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) December 30, 2025

Some gifs need sound, and this is one of them.

And while I think forced fights can be absolutely soul draining when done at the wrong time, there is a marked difference between Vinnie Desharnais sadly dropping his gloves and going through the motions on Brock Boeser’s behalf, versus Conor Garland owning up to a questionable elbow he threw earlier in the game on McCann and them settling it on the ice themselves.

It just all feels very Yellowstone, with men riding horses and spitting out tobacco as they air their grievances with fisticuffs, so they can all move on.

And that was a really good fight from two players who aren’t exactly UFC ready. Though I will say that at the end of the fight, Garland throws in a Shoryuken that catches Jared, before Corolla drags him down to the ice for the takedown. I think that one sealed the fight for Garland on the judges scorecards.

You can see the bench is pumped about the fight, Kiefer Sherwood in particular seems absolutely delighted by the turn of events, and it gave some juice to the Canucks. After looking pretty listless to start the game, the team had some energy after watching Garland throw ham bones. They in fact would almost immediately score right after the tussle when Liam Öhgren jumped up off of a faceoff and found Linus Karlsson alone in front of the net:

First off, that’s a very smart play from Liam. He continues to be a guy that intrigues me, he just has this good combination of a heavy game combined with a delightful tease of skill. It’s like he’s flirting with you from across the bar, he seems so approachable and part of you can’t help but wonder if there’s a 50 point player in him somewhere.

As for Linus Karlsson, he continues to impress me with his blue paint game. This is one of those reasons I don’t particularly miss Jake DeBrusk, because Karlsson has been doing the same net front game as Jake, except better, and for a much cheaper price tag. He just has no fear setting up in the crease and has shown an NHL finish when he gets the puck down low.

And moments later, the duo almost scored again, with Karlsson crashing the net and causing chaos before sending the puck back into the slot for Ohgren, who just couldn’t find a handle on it:

Again, this wasn’t particularly inspiring hockey, and not much will be when a team is heading down a tank-based path. But there are some silver linings to be found when you watch some of these young kids play.

Best keeping it on track

Myers IS OUR TANK COMMANDER

I’m ok with that #Canucks

— bavel_puree (@bavel_puree) December 30, 2025

The Canucks would then give up a goal with under a minute left in the period when Zeev Buium went for an ill-timed line change, leaving Tyler Myers and D Elias Pettersson to try and figure out how to make it all work:

I haven’t been enamored with DP25’s game this year, I think his decision making has been exposed somewhat in the Adam Foote’s Whacky Inflatable World of Defensive Stuff We Try and Do system, and his gap control has been problematic at times.

When you add in Tyler Myers chaotic nature where I don’t even think he knows what he’s going to do on some plays, it can lead to moments where yeah, two dudes collide and give up a two on nothing rush that ends in a goal. The best I can make out is that Tyler Myers and Elias Pettersson both thought they were going to take the puck, then both decided that the other guy was going to take it, so they both backed off. It was synchronized mistakes at least, which is beautiful in its own way.

All I know is that when Elias Pettersson first jumped on the ice, everything was fine:

But half a second later, he was backing up and colliding with Tyler Myers:

In the blink of an eye, it had all fallen apart.

Best he sure does Reggie Ray

Liam Ohgren rules

— Jay (@JHammer_87) December 30, 2025

I don’t have a ton of exciting highlights, but what I do have are small little things that I picked out that made me half smile. That’s the bar here, folks, and will continue to be so for the rest of the season.

So let’s all enjoy Ohgren pursuing the puck, using his big body to win the puck battle, and having the skill and patience to maintain control of the puck and getting it back to the point for a shot attempt:

I am interested to see how he develops, what can I say. I like his skill set. It feels alluring, and if Judd Brackett liked it enough to draft it in the first round, I feel like that’s a good sign.

Best shooting your shot

One of the nine Pettersson’s on the #Canucks makes it 2-2.

— Beneath The Waves (@BTWSEA) December 30, 2025

The best offensive play of the game for Vancouver by far was their second goal, in which Zeev Buium and Tom Willander passed the puck down the ice to Evander Kane, who then found EP40 in the slot for the shot:

Things to note on this goal:

• Elias Pettersson directing traffic. You can see him motioning to Willander for the pass to go to Evander Kane and not himself, which led to the efficient zone entry.
• The Canucks defence is young, my friends. 20-23-year-olds are going to make their share of mistakes, but it’s also nice when they come together to combine on a goal like this. I don’t know what the future holds for this team, but it’s nice when you get a glimpse of something good out there.
• EP40 shot the damn puck. No hesitation, he just did a little dingle dangle and unleashed his laser. That’s the Elias everyone needs to see more of.

Best protect your peepers

It is just SO very #Canucks to end up with a penalty that literally nobody knows is a penalty

— Coco (@AllLoveCoco) December 30, 2025

The penalty in question was when D Petey grabbed a visor and was then penalized for it:

I like the snarl to DP25’s game, I think he’s one of the top guys on the team who loses their shit anytime you breathe on a Canucks goalie. But with that comes face washes, and in this case, grabbing a visor and giving it a shake, which is a no-no in the NHL.

Luckily for Vancouver, they killed off the penalty, but the team continued to struggle to get the puck out of their zone, which led to more chances for Seattle.

A good example of this is when Willander and EP40 combined to both turn over the puck on the same play, leading to a scoring chance for the Kraken:

The same duo then combined to give up an odd-man rush when both players jumped up in the offensive zone, leaving Buium the task of trying to clean it up:

Wasn’t a slick night of hockey, you know?

Best Jake who?

Watching this game and not missing Debrusk at all #canucks

— -Rutherford's- Traded Quinn Hughes (@Jhammy51) December 30, 2025

The Canucks did have their moments in the second, most notably when Max Sasson did a little deke of his own, getting the best look of the period against Joey Daccord:

Please note Linus Karlsson being hard on the puck and creating enough of an issue to prevent Seattle from getting a stick on the loose puck. The guy grinds hard, and I dig it.

You also had Conor Garland being the resident tough guy of the time, this time making sure he’s out there finishing checks:

I don’t think the Canucks should assign a captain this season, but I will say I think Garland has stepped up into the leadership void in a huge way. He is constantly trying to drag his team back into the fight and although Lankinen will, and fully deserves, to get the spotlight, Conor was a big factor in this victory.

You also had Elias Pettersson setting up Marco Rossi for an offensive rush on the powerplay that ended in a missed shot, but it’s the thought that counts:

Nothing groundbreaking, nothing to write home about, but I needed to include these highlights so Quads doesn’t yell at me about missing any action.

Best relax, calm down

Quinn Hughes is still leading the Canucks in points btw 17 days after the trade

— John Puck (@johnpuck1992) December 29, 2025

It’s not just the points with Quinn Hughes, it’s the lack of puck control.

Like, we all knew he was the best player on the team by far with the puck, we saw it night in and night out. And I know nobody took it for granted that he was a wizard with the puck. But there is still something very stark about watching life without Quinn Hughes because zone exits with possession are a mythical unicorn at this point, much less a zone entry with possession.

It was just a lot of the Canucks either flinging the puck up along the boards and getting cut off:

Or when they did get a zone exit, it was a pass to nobody, which would lead to a turnover and in this case, a scoring chance against:

And even when they’d win a puck battle, like Garland does here, the puck just wouldn’t get out of the zone, forcing Lankinen to make one of his best saves of the night:

It’s ugly hockey at its core, but a necessary one if the tank is to continue.

Best Kevin can’t hear you

All of a sudden Lankinen want to be a decent goalie like wtf #Canucks

— SELL THE TEAM (@KingofWhopper) December 30, 2025

Kevin Lankinen was the first star in this contest, as Seattle should have easily won this game. You want to take a shot from each faceoff circle? No problem, Kevin won’t sweat it:

To the Canucks credit, they also had some pretty timely shot blocks on the net. DP25 made a huge play on Kakko, deflecting the puck on what looked like a sure goal on an empty net in the third period:

And Tom Willander continues to impress with his speed, as he wins the Jeff Tambellini Back Check of the Night award against Seattle for this effort:

You’ll notice that rush from Seattle started because EP40 just threw the puck in the middle of the ice and hoped something good would happen. This is the height of the Canucks offence right now, hucking the puck into the middle and praying someone finds it.

And with the game coming to a close, Ryan Winterton found his way being Zeev Buium, only to be denied by Kevin:

Lankinen’s rebound control has been his biggest issue on the season, so that rebound to McCann wasn’t great, BUT full credit to Kevin for not sliding over too far, making sure he squared himself up to his net to make the next save.

Best this used to be fun

What is this OT play? Alot of skating, drop passes that lead to nothing but drawing a penalty #Canucks

— R𓃟byn (@Hunny_diva) December 30, 2025

A Canucks overtime is not fun to watch.

Back in the day, when JT Miller didn’t openly hate Elias? Good times. Hughes, EP40, JT Miller, that was an enjoyable romp. You knew JT Miller would either score a breakaway goal or give up a breakaway goal. It had a sense of finality to it.

Nowadays it’s the Canucks grinding out the overtime to try and get it to the shootout, which is weird, and uncomfortable to watch, but when you have Lankinen in net, probably the right strategy?

The Canucks did find themselves in a bit of trouble in overtime when Sherwood and Kane both attempted to take a tripping penalty (Only Evander was give two minutes):

Best part of that? Sherwood unloading a slapshot into the empty net like the true troll he is. That should raise the asking price on him to three first rounders.

But you also had Fil Hronek continuing to be the only defensive player who shines in the Adam Foote system, as he continues to be the rock of this defence. Just makes smart decisions and blocks shots when you need him the most:

He has been the absolute stud on the backend for Vancouver this season.

And just for an extra dash of fun, here is Lankinen making one more save in overtime:

Your main takeaway from these clips should be the fact that Vancouver isn’t doing anything offensively in any of them. In fact, Sherwood scoring on the delayed penalty was the closest they got to scoring in overtime.

Best it was inevitable

Liam Ohgren with another shootout winner and Kevin Blankinen continues to rock the skills comp for another 2 points! Wooooo! #Canucks

— Neil Collins (@neilycanuck) December 30, 2025

First up let’s watch stupid Seattle players actually think they might score on Kevin Lankinen:

Patient and calm, there is no goalie better in the league at shootouts than Lankinen. We’re at the point where he’s like the Mariano Rivera of hockey, and if Thatcher Demko got a game to the shootout I would take a long hard moment to think about playing Lankinen’s entrance music and sending him into the game from the bullpen.

And at least this time it didn’t take a campaign from Brock Boeser to get Ohgren into the shootout, as he went third and sealed the game with a breakaway goal worthy of Alex Mogilny:

That is two straight goals where Ohgren is almost too cool for school for me? Look at his smug, knowing look after he scores, I absolutely love it. If the live broadcast had cut to that Jon Hamm meme right after his celebration, I would have happily accepted it.

Just a filthy goal from the newest Canuck, sending Vancouver into a game against the Flyers on Tuesday night against former friend turned quitter Rick Tocchet.

Will the tank continue? We shall see!

Best accurate statement

Jake DeBrusk watching the #Canucks win the game without him. pic.twitter.com/hYyexBTYpB

— Justin in East Van (@EastVanJustin) December 30, 2025

Best whoops

DISGUSTING hands as Gavin McKenna gets the hatty! #WorldJuniors
pic.twitter.com/nyHLP4xK82

— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) December 30, 2025

Oh, how did this get in here, sorry, trying to delete.

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/stanch...t-vancouver-canucks-topple-seattle-kraken-3-2

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Canucks: Höglander and Räty scratched for DeBrusk and Kampf vs. Flyers

Playing for the second night in a row, the Vancouver Canucks are making three lineup changes ahead of their game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Jake DeBrusk, David Kämpf and P-O Joseph, who were all healthy scratches for last night’s 3-2 shootout win in Seattle, will all draw into the lineup. Nils Höglander, Aatu Räty and defenceman Elias Pettersson will all sit out tonight.

DeBrusk has just one goal in his last 16 games and was taken out of the lineup in an effort to jumpstart his season which has yielded just nine goals – with eight of them coming on the power play. The last time he put a puck in the net was December 14th in New Jersey.

The decision to scratch Höglander and Räty will not sit well with many in the fan base. The Canucks need to figure out what they have in both players and it’s hard for them to play their best when they come in and out of the lineup on a regular basis. This will be the fourth time in the last five games that Höglander has been scratched while Räty will watch for the fourth time in six games.

“We’re going to go day by day, Adam Foote said about his lineup decisions.”You look at our schedule and how condensed it is. I can’t sit here and tell you we’re going to see a lot more of that with our players. With all these games, they get to push each other. There are going to be guys on tired legs and we have to recognize that and maybe give them a break. To get through the schedule, I look at it like we need four lines and six D – we need everyone. That’s a good thing.”

When asked if there are too many bodies around these days and if the team needs a trade to create space for younger players, Foote wasn’t prepared to go down that road.

“Coaches don’t think there are ever too many bodies,” he said. “That’s not my department. I’m just going day by day and trying to put in my instincts what I think has to happen to get the two points.”

P-O Joseph will dress for the first time since a 3-1 loss in Colorado on December 2nd which just happens to be the last time fellow blueliner Elias Pettersson came out of the lineup.

In other news, Adam Foote confirmed that injured centres Filip Chytil and Teddy Blueger both skated at Rogers Arena this morning. Foote placed the timeline for Blueger to return to game action at a couple of weeks.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancou...-jake-debrusk-david-kampf-philadelphia-flyers

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Instant Reaction: Canucks start well but fall 6-3 to Tocchet’s Flyers

Welcome back to Instant Reaction, the series here at CanucksArmy where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Vancouver Canucks game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!

Starting Lineup​

Warmup #Canucks lines vs. @NHLFlyers

Kane. EP40. Boeser.
Öhgren. Rossi. Garland.
O’Connor. Kämpf. Sherwood.
DeBrusk. Sasson. Karlsson.

MP29. Hronek.
Buium. Myers.
Joseph. Willander.

#DemkoTime

7pm on @Sportsnet650 https://t.co/J6DNM1E8Qt pic.twitter.com/gTwK7FsNz2

— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) December 31, 2025

First Period​

Quick note: We are aware of the issue with Twitter/X videos not playing within our website. This is because they want you to leave our site and go to theirs. If you’d like to see a video in this article, click the tweet itself (instead of the media player) and you’ll be redirected to Twitter/X where you can watch the highlight. And of course, for full, uninterrupted videos, be sure to check out The Stanchies later tonight!

Evander Kane fought!

To start things off, the Canucks were firing everything they could on net, and recorded eight shots on goal before the game was even four minutes old. And on that eighth shot, David Kampf buried the puck past Dan Vladar to make it 1-0 in a hurry.

CANUCKS GOAL

David Kampf opens the scoring tonight! That's his 2nd goal of the season.

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/Yg8EPzz57B

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 31, 2025

Almost immediately after the goal, the Flyers took the game’s first minor penalty, giving the Canucks’ power play their first chance to work on the night. With Jake DeBrusk back in the lineup and back on PP1, the Canucks’ man-advantage unit looked solid. Despite that, they didn’t score.

That being said, they did continue to continue to rack up the shot totals on Vladar and the Flyers. Philadelphia didn’t come ready to play, and the Canucks, on the second leg of back-to-back games, certainly did. The Canucks put up 10 shots before the Flyers got their first registered shot on goal.

The Flyers would answer, however, as Noah Cates let fly on a wrist shot that was deflected by Liam Ohgren on its way to the net, which changed the angle enough to fool Thatcher Demko.

Noah Cates gets the Flyers on the board. We are tied.

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/llXQWmBoyk

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 31, 2025

1-1.

After a tremendous start to the period, the Canucks were pretty quiet for the final ten minutes of the opening frame.

Some takeaways from the first:
-Nice first period, and some good pace from both teams.
-Do NOT like Nils Höglander and Aatu Räty both being out of the lineup. This is a rebuild, isn’t it? Even if it’s a “ultra-cool retool with an extreme hybrid form 3000” or whatever they’re calling it these days, shouldn’t young guys be in the lineup? Nils Höglander has sat for four of the team’s last five games. Nope. Don’t like that.

Second Period​

The Flyers kicked off the second period with some solid pressure, and Thatcher Demko made a great save off of Matvei Michkov, who found himself with an early breakaway chance.

The Canucks’ start to the second period was basically the polar opposite of their start to the first period. They were on their heels early, and eventually, that led to a goal against.

Carl Grundström puts the Flyers up 2-1

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/FsxOUotDWN

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 31, 2025

2-1.

Jake DeBrusk and Linus Karlsson nearly executed a perfect give-and-go play that would have given DeBrusk his second 5v5 goal of the season, a goal he desperately needs.

Jake DeBrusk and Linus Karlsson connect for a nice passing play but DeBrusk can't beat Vladar

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/g0Rh2Rt3xF

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 31, 2025

On the next shift, Liam Ohgren drew a tripping penalty, giving the Canucks their second power play chance of the night. This time, the power play didn’t look as dangerous, and once again didn’t score.

With under five minutes to go, the Canucks’ defensive zone struggles were put on full display, as Travis Konecny was left alone in front of the net and was able to get his own rebound and put the Flyers ahead by two.

The Flyers take a 3-1 lead.

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/3nBsWqv4C6

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 31, 2025

3-1 Flyers.

Some more takeaways from the second:
-Tom Willander’s abilities on puck retrievals have improved so much since the start of the season. Great to see. He’s starting to do more and more of the little things right.
-This game quickly lost its flow from the first period.
-I so badly wanted to see Jake DeBrusk score a goal on that give-and-go.

Third Period​

The third got off to as good a start as anyone could have hoped for for the Canucks, as Drew O’Connor pulled them within one almost right away.

CANUCKS GOAL

Drew O'Connor cuts the Philly lead to one with his 10th goal of the season!

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/eZjX7jiJM8

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 31, 2025

3-2!

Annnnddddd it’s gone. Just 20 seconds later, the Flyers jumped out in front by two again.

Aaaaannnnnndddddd just like that the Flyers are back up by two.

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/YmCq51Rf7U

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 31, 2025

Trailing by two, the Canucks got a power play with just under five minutes remaining. They pulled Thatcher Demko to go to 6-on-4, and Owen Tippett added an empty netter to put the icing on the cake. Or so you thought! Tom Willander was Johnny on the spot and wristed home his second goal of the season to pull the Canucks back within two:

Tom Willander scores his 2nd goal of the season.

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/w4zBzSnPvW

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 31, 2025

Once again, the Canucks pulled Demko, but it was too little, too late, as the Flyers added another empty-netter.

6-3 final.

Just four wins for the Canucks on home ice heading into 2026.

Some takeaways from the third:
-Stick taps for John Shorthouse. It’s been a miserable season, and yet Shorty somehow manages to keep us all entertained.
-The Flyers let the Canucks in, but the way they put the hammer down and left little doubt in the end is the mark of a good team.
-Good night for David Kampf. Maybe he was the player who needed the reset just as much as DeBrusk! That’s sarcasm, for those who are new here.

What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/instan...ell-fall-6-3-rick-tocchet-philadelphia-flyers

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

When Rutherford confirmed the Pettersson-Miller rift: Top 10 Canucks stories of 2025 – #1

Welcome back to our annual series here at CanucksArmy, where we ring in the new year by looking back at the top 10 Vancouver Canucks news stories of the past calendar year.

NUMBER 1: Rutherford says Pettersson-Miller rift means ‘no good solution’ to keep Canucks’ core together​

Was there ever any doubt? When you have a year filled with as much drama as the Vancouver Canucks did in 2025, of course the President of Hockey Operations confirming the rumoured rift between the team’s two star forwards is going to come in at number one!

Not only did Rutherford confirm the rumoured rift existed, he declared that it was so bad that there was just no possible way the Canucks could keep their core together. Here was some of what Rutherford said in the interview with The Globe and Mail’s Gary Mason.

“I felt like for a long time that there was a solution here because everybody has worked on it, including the parties involved,” Rutherford said. “But it only gets resolved for a short period of time and then it festers again and so it certainly appears like there’s not a good solution that would keep this group together.”

“When you don’t have chemistry, it’s hard to be that consistent team because there’s too much going on in the room for everybody to concentrate on what they’re supposed to do.”

Check out the original story by clicking here!

As you read earlier in the list, the JT Miller trade itself was one of the biggest stories of the calendar year, so naturally, Rutherford confirming the rumoured rift between Pettersson and Miller was going to come in at number one.

Check out our other top 10 stories of 2026 so far!
#10 – Canucks sign Garland and Demko to contract extensions on day one of free agency
#9 – When Rutherford hinted at trading for Jack and Luke Hughes to keep Quinn in Vancouver
#8 – Canucks select Braeden Cootes with 15th overall pick of 2025 NHL Draft
#7 – Brock Boeser details Allvin’s last-minute phone call that kept him in Vancouver
#6 – When Rick Tocchet was brutally honest about JT Miller’s poor play
#5 – When Brian Burke offered his thoughts on Elias Pettersson and JT Miller
#4 – When Rick Tocchet announced he was leaving the Canucks
#3 – Canucks trade JT Miller to New York Rangers
#2 – Canucks trade Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/when-j...-rift-top-10-vancouver-canucks-stories-2025-1

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

A look back at the top Canucks news stories from 2025

Over the last 10 days, we here at CanucksArmy have compiled a list of the top 10 Vancouver Canucks news stories of the year 2025. With 2026 now officially upon us, we thought it’d be fitting to have one final look back on those top stories as we eagerly look ahead to a year that is hopefully filled with many more positive stories than we saw in 2025. Here’s our list!

10: Canucks sign Garland and Demko to contract extensions on day one of free agency​

Remember the good vibes of the offseason? Conor Garland and Thatcher Demko both committed to the Canucks on day one of free agency, signing extensions literally as soon as possible. Brock Boeser re-signed. The big bad vibes of the 2024-25 were gone and everyone was ready to turn the page. And hey, maybe all these Canucks committing to the team would be a preview of what was to come the next offseason, when Quinn Hughes would be extension eligible!? As we know now, that’s not exactly how things played out…

9: When Rutherford hinted at trading for Jack and Luke Hughes to keep Quinn in Vancouver​

Wouldn’t this have been a nice curveball to actually execute on? Unfortunately, all this out-of-left-field comment from Rutherford really did was get people talking more and more about the possibility of Hughes leaving and his desire to play with his brothers. Read the full story here.

8: When the Canucks drafted Braeden Cootes​

See! It wasn’t ALL doom and gloom in Canucksland in 2025! The club selected Braeden Cootes with the 15th overall pick, and people were immediately excited. Cootes would go on to knock the door down and earn an NHL roster spot in his first professional training camp, which has only grown Canucks fans excitement level for the 18-year-old centre.

7: Brock Boeser details Allvin’s last-minute phone call that kept him in Vancouver​

Like Garland and Demko, Brock Boeser signed a new contract with the Canucks on July 1st. Of course, the circumstances around Boeser and his new deal were quite different, as it really did seem like both parties were ready to move on. But as free agency opened, Canucks GM Patrik Allvin made a last-minute phone call to Boeser’s agent Ben Hankinson, which ultimately kept the winger in Vancouver on a brand-new seven-year deal.

“It felt like the door shut a couple of times there [with the Canucks],” Boeser said. “So I really had to wrap my head around moving on, and then obviously, trying to get a sense in my head what might be a good fit and all that. So there’s so many things going through my head, and that’s why I said my head was spinning a lot, and it was hard to kind of grasp, and you know, that phone call kind of came out of nowhere. So it was definitely a shock to me. But you know, the way I felt when that phone call came is, like, I told my agent. I was like, ‘get a deal done’, and then we made something work. I didn’t even know if Patrik was calling to get a deal done. He was just calling Hank, I was just assuming that was it. So, you know, I’m really happy that he did.”

6: When Rick Tocchet was brutally honest about JT Miller’s poor play​

I was in the room when Rick Tocchet said the following quote:

“He’s struggling. He’s caught in between. You know, it seems like every time he’s on the ice, something bad happens. I think he’s got some bad luck, but he’s also got some reads that he’s got to – big pause – he’s got to look at himself right now and focus on some of these reads. You can’t dive in on the four-on-four, things like that. I think he’s trying, [but] sometimes the focus level has to get a little higher.”

Honestly, I had to actually listen back to my audio recording of Tocchet’s answer to make sure I wasn’t hearing things, and that Tocchet did really say that “it seems like every time he’s on the ice, something bad happens.”

5: When Brian Burke offered his thoughts on Elias Pettersson and JT Miller​

Everybody and their mother had an opinion on the rift between Elias Pettersson and JT Miller. But when Brian Burke offered his, people really did care to listen. Read more here.

4: When Rick Tocchet announced he was leaving the Canucks​

This one came as a bit of a shock to the fanbase, and if we’re being honest, to the Canucks themselves. The club did everything they could to keep Tocchet but in the end, their bench boss elected to test free agency and ended up in Philadelphia — a place he’s comfortable in from his playing days — with a big-money contract in hand, similar to the one the Canucks offered him.

3: The JT Miller trade with the Rangers​

After months of speculation and a bombshell interview from Jim Rutherford, the Canucks finally pulled the trigger on a JT Miller trade, sending him to the New York Rangers. The Rangers named Miller their captain at the start of this season. Read more here.

2: The Quinn Hughes trade​

Of course, there was only one trade bigger than the JT Miller trade in 2025, and that’s the Quinn Hughes trade. The Hughes trade is no doubt going to go down as one of the biggest in Canucks franchise history, so of course it’s high on this year’s list. Read more here.

1: When Rutherford confirmed the Pettersson-Miller rift​

Enough ink has been spilled on this one. Let this be the last time we mention for a long time.

Happy New Year from all of us at CanucksArmy!

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/look-back-top-vancouver-canucks-news-stories-2025

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Canucks prospect Riley Patterson earns OHL Player of the Month Award

As the calendar flips to a new year, Vancouver Canucks prospect Riley Patterson is closing out 2025 with an impressive individual accolade. The Ontario Hockey League announced its December award winners on New Year’s Day, with Patterson being named Player of the Month after a dominant stretch for the Niagara IceDogs.

The Patty Party rolled all month long

Riley Patterson was a difference maker in December, stacking up 19 points (9-10-19) across 11 games for the @OHLIceDogs. He sits tied for fifth in #OHL scoring with 45 points (21-24-45).

DETAILS : https://t.co/pv0DFZeNkj@Canucks |… pic.twitter.com/sIjFZWcUMJ

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) January 1, 2026

Patterson led all OHL skaters in scoring during the month, piling up 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) across 11 games. His December featured seven multi-point performances, including three separate three-point outings and two overtime-winning goals. He was also shooting at will, firing a league-leading 56 shots over that span.

The strong month has vaulted the 19-year-old into the league’s top five in scoring. Through 33 games this season, he is on pace to shatter his career high (62) with 45 points (21 goals, 24 assists), putting him on a 90-point pace. Despite serving as a prominent fixture on Niagara’s power play — often quarterbacking from the blueline — just eight of those points have come with the man advantage. Much of his production has come at even strength, where he has shown the ability to score off the rush, release quickly from the slot, or finish in tight around the net.

Selected by Vancouver in the fourth round (125th overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft, Patterson signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Canucks on September 21, 2025, before being returned to the OHL for continued development.

Acquired by Niagara in an offseason trade, Patterson has benefited from full-time usage down the middle this year. He has held his own in the faceoff circle as well, posting a 50.6 percent win rate while handling significant minutes in all situations.

Now in his third OHL season, Patterson is positioning himself as a legitimate candidate to turn pro once his season concludes. Although joining the NCAA has become a new avenue for Canadian Hockey League players, a spot on the Abbotsford Canucks for the 2026–27 season remains a realistic next step if his trajectory continues.

Also included among the league’s award recipients was Caleb Malhotra, the son of Manny Malhotra. The 2026 draft-eligible forward was named the Rookie of the Month after he produced 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in just 10 games. He now sits tied for second in OHL scoring with 48 points.

Malhotra has quietly emerged as an intriguing name for Canucks fans to monitor closely. With Vancouver holding two first-round selections in the 2026 NHL Draft — and the potential to add more — his continued progression will be well worth tracking as draft season approaches.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-prospect-riley-patterson-earns-ohl-player-month-award

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

‘My confidence has been pretty low’: Canucks’ Boeser discusses scoring struggles

These are not the best of times for Brock Boeser. That pretty much goes without saying. His Vancouver Canucks are wallowing near the bottom of the National Hockey League standings. His good friend and long-time teammate Quinn Hughes was recently dealt away. And, on top of that, Boeser is mired in one of the worst scoring slumps of his career.

Other than that, though, everything is great.

A 40-goal scorer just two seasons ago, Boeser has now gone 14 games without a goal. But the struggles go much deeper than that. The veteran winger has just one assist in that time and has gone nine games now without a point. He hasn’t picked up a power play point since a 6-2 win in Tampa Bay on November 16th.

“It’s been tough – my confidence has been pretty low,” Boeser admitted after a New Year’s Day practice at Rogers Arena. “We talk about these slumps and the only way out of it is hard work and trusting the process.”

To that end, Boeser was one of the first skaters on the ice on Thursday morning, putting in 20 minutes of skills work prior to practice with Jake DeBrusk, Aatu Räty and P-O Joseph. It’s not rare to see players on the ice ahead of practice, but it’s usually young guys who see limited ice time and are seeking more puck touches.

In this case, though, Boeser knows he needs to do whatever is necessary to regain his scoring touch.

“I feel like I’ve still had a lot of chances, I just haven’t put the puck in the net,” he says of a drought that stretches back to November 28th in San Jose – his lone goal in the past 21 games. “That’s on me. I have to find ways to bear down and find a way to put the puck in the net. It’s definitely been hard to stay positive, but it comes down to the work. And I think when you put the work in, you’ll get bounces.”

CANUCKS GOAL

Brock Boeser rips one home from the slot to open the scoring in San Jose.

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/cOIyexUSop

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) November 28, 2025

At practice on Thursday, Boeser skated on a line with Evander Kane and Max Sasson. His most frequent centres this season at 5-on-5 have been David Kämpf (114:31), followed by Elias Pettersson (98:10) and Lukas Reichel (94:48).

Boeser admitted that a lingering midsection issue before Christmas had hampered his play and forced him to miss a couple of practices to conserve his energy for games. But the 28-year-old says that with the brief holiday break to rest, he’s feeling better and says that is no longer a problem.

What is a problem is Boeser’s shot volume. A goal-scorer throughout his career, the Burnsville, MN, native has always been a high-volume shooter. But he failed to register a single shot on goal against the Philadelphia Flyers in his last outing on Tuesday night. He has just five shots over his last five games. And over his 14-game drought, he’s managed just 23 pucks on net.

He knows that’s not enough.

“Yeah, for sure,” he said. “When I score goals, I have a high volume of shots. I know I did look at that. Not enough shots lately and there have been times where in the past few games I could have put the puck at the net and I passed instead. I think I have to have a more shooting mentality and it definitely starts with the volume of shots.”

As recently as November 3rd against the Nashville Predators, Boeser scored twice, including the overtime winner and had six shots on net. That capped a six-goal in 12 games start to the season. Boeser added two more goals in the four games that followed, and with eight goals through 16 games, was on a 40-goal pace. And since then, his offence has essentially fallen off a cliff.

Boeser watched as another veteran winger, Jake DeBrusk, sat out earlier this week as a healthy scratch in Seattle. It was clearly a message from the coaching staff to DeBrusk individually, but Boeser knows there was greater meaning in the message, too.

“It’s a message that you can’t be complacent, it doesn’t matter who you are, you have to bring it every night,” he said. “We have a lot of young guys and we’re trying to build something here. You have to show up each and every night, ready to work and ready to commit to the style of play that we want to play.”

Whether Boeser is in line for the healthy scratch treatment remains to be seen, although injuries to top six forwards Conor Garland and Marco Rossi likely spare him the indignity of a night in the press box for now. But head coach Adam Foote was pleased to see Boeser putting in work before practice, trying to fight his way out of the funk he’s in.

“He wants to score goals,” Foote said. “Shooters go shoot and they do the work and he wants to get more reps. It’s a discussion we’ve had a group and he’s on board. He missed some practices with the injury and it’s just reps, reps, reps.”

Boeser’s next chance to bump his slump comes Friday at home against the Seattle Kraken. He’s hoping he’s left his scoring struggles behind and that flipping the calendar to a new year will get his season going in a new direction.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/confid...er-canucks-boeser-discusses-scoring-struggles

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Canucks sign Linus Karlsson to two-year contract extension

The Vancouver Canucks have signed winger Linus Karlsson to a two-year contract extension with an annual average value of $2.25 million. The club announced the signing Friday afternoon.

General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the #Canucks have agreed to terms with forward Linus Karlsson on a two-year contract with a $2.25 million AAV. pic.twitter.com/bJLreailf4

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 3, 2026

“Linus has taken a number of big steps since joining our organization,” said Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin via a press release. “He has worked hard on his game, and we have been impressed with his development both on and off the ice. A leader last year for our Calder Cup Championship team in Abbotsford, Linus used that momentum and experience to solidify a position this year in Vancouver. We look forward to helping him continue to grow moving forward.”

Karlsson, who turned 26 in November, has established himself as an everyday NHL player with the Canucks this season after producing above a point per game pace in both the AHL regular season and in the Calder Cup Playoffs with the Abbotsford Canucks last season. Through 36 NHL games so far this season, Karlsson has tallied nine goals and seven assists, good for eighth among Canucks forwards in points. Karlsson has managed to produce despite limited ice time, as he has been averaging just 10:31 of ice time per game this season, the second-lowest among regular Canucks skaters.

The Canucks originally acquired Karlsson in a February 2019 trade with the San Jose Sharks, sending Jonathan Dahlen back the other way. Throughout his time with the organization, Karlsson has had a few brief stints in Vancouver, but struggled to put up points and eventually always found his way back down to the AHL. His good habits and work along the walls made him a favourite of Canucks coaches as a fill-in guy, but he was never able to establish himself as much more than that.

This season, however, Karlsson has paired a strong training camp and preseason with a solid NHL season, where he’s recorded career-highs in games, goals, and assists with over half the season to go. And now, he’s earned himself a brand new contract. Karlsson’s deal kicks in next season and runs through the 2027-28 season, at which point Karlsson will become an unrestricted free agent.

READ NEXT: Could the Canucks sell high on Drew O’Connor? ​

Sponsored by bet365

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-sign-linus-karlsson-two-year-contract-extension

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

The Stanchies: Canucks start the new year off on the right foot with 4-3 loss to Kraken

The “Thirst for First” continued on Friday night in Vancouver, as the hometown Canucks fell 4-3 in a shootout loss to the visiting Seattle Kraken. Team tank’s job? Completed, for the most part.

Team entertainment’s job? I’m pretty sure that corpse has been floating down the Fraser River for a couple of months now. Occasionally, ducks swim near it before flying away, and I don’t know if that’s the beautiful cycle of life or just sort of sad.

The point is, the results for Vancouver continue them on the path toward a high draft pick. The only way it could be better would be if their road and home results were swapped, because even though losing is for “the greater good,” I am starting to feel worse and worse for people in attendance for these games. I can just imagine someone bringing a family member to the game for the very first time, while you patiently explain that no, this was good that they lost, and yes, shots from the point into traffic ARE considered the pinnacle of excitement in some countries.

With Conor Garland and Marco Rossi joining the walking wounded, Vancouver continued to look much as it has for much of this season, like a late-90s website. And as has often been the case this season, the effort was there, but the results of a victory just slipped out of their grasp despite a spirited comeback in the second half of the game.

Sometimes we talk a lot in the intro because something big happened in the game, or something thematically relevant went down, but on this night, it was about as plug-and-play as they come. Canucks went down early, worked hard on the forecheck to grind out some goals to tie it up, before losing in the shootout because the Canucks are cowards and refuse to listen to my idea of using closers in hockey. But I digress.

With the Boston Bruins in town tomorrow, the turnaround will be quick, so let’s sign off on this game and get you back to your regularly scheduled programs, i.e. doom scrolling on your phone so you don’t have to be alone with your thoughts.

Best he’s right, you know

Timing on Linus Karlsson extension is bizarre.

If you think he’s a top-9 fixture, 2 years isn’t sufficient to lock in upside.

If you’re not sure, why pay now when he’s on a % driven heater?

If it’s a good story + you want to reward him, why announce it on a Friday? #Canucks

— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) January 3, 2026

The big news before the game was Linus Karlsson signing a new contract that brought with it some security and a little bit of that life-changing money. I also assume I’m going to win on my lotto tickets. Statistically, “1,2,3,4,5” has to win one day, and I’ll be ready.

And, much like the Max Sasson re-signing, on a human-interest level, you absolutely love to see this. Both players worked their way through the system despite many people doubting their ability to land in the NHL. Both players helped the farm team win the Calder Cup and will one day receive a ring to celebrate it in 2031.

And both players have earned it, quite frankly. In a world in which hard work doesn’t often lead to the results you’d wish for, it’s nice to see an old-fashioned victory like this for sports humanity.

But as Drance says, if you want to look at how the hot dog is made, I do agree there are definitely things to question from the Canucks’ point of view on it. Don’t get me wrong, end of the day this cap hit will most likely mean nothing to the team in the near future, but from a process point of view, you can’t help but remember the days of Benning overpaying for bottom six talent and plugging up the salary cap where it wasn’t needed, and wonder if this current regime can avoid the same mistakes.

Overall, though, my takeaway is that this is a great day for Linus Karlsson and well earned on his end.

Best working through their issues

Goodness gracious, that was a dime by Brock Boeser. What a pass. Max Sasson just couldn't get the shot off quickly enough across his body. #Canucks

— Daniel Wagner (@passittobulis) January 3, 2026

The first period was like any good Jason Statham movie: a hardworking man trying to live a normal life, until circumstances brought him back into a past life of violence and destruction by the time the third period rolled around. And by violence, I just mean working hard, cycling the puck in the offensive zone, but that doesn’t really sell on the movie poster.

On a side note, we really need a new action movie surrounding hockey because I feel like the world is ready for another mascot trying to murder someone in a meat slicer.

For what it’s worth, the Canucks probably deserved to win this game, as they carried most of the play on the night. And if ever there was a night one of their struggling wingers was going to break through, it was going to be in a contest like this.

The first period saw the Canucks jump out with purpose, as Brock Boeser had the nicest pass of the opening frame with this nice setup across the ice to number two centre Max Sasson:

One part of Sasson’s game I like is how he wheels through the middle to give his teammates a target to pass to. A lot of times, the Canucks can get stuck in the mud, and they stop moving their feet, so they don’t often generate these scoring chances where a guy is coming through the slot with speed. At the end of Quinn Hughes’ reign in Vancouver, it just felt like watching him skate around while everyone stood still watching, which is part of what made for some of the more tedious hockey you’ll watch this season.

And in what has become a staple of the Canucks games as of late, Five of Five Maestro Drew O’Connor got into the mix early, as his low shot for a rebound ended up giving Kiefer Sherwood a good look at Joey Daccord:

Jokes aside, Drew O’Connor is legitimately one of the most consistent Canucks at five-on-five hockey this season, which is both surprising and a touch alarming if we’re being honest. Clearly, we’re all happy for him, but you have to think others can step up to the plate a bit? Brock Boeser’s struggles continued in that regard as he had his third game in a row at the bottom of the expected goals percentage at five-on-five for the Canucks, while DOC, along with linemates Kiefer Sherwood and David Kämpf, led the team in that category.

Speaking of trying to make their impact, Nils Höglander also got a good look on net early, coming in off of the wing and trying to go short side on Joey OK:

Which was followed up by Zeev Buium doing a good job of shielding Jacob Melanson off of the puck before turning the play the other way and getting the puck up to Liam Öhgren:

I assume Aatu Räty shot the puck there out of fear of being healthy scratched again, as he wanted Joey OK to cover the puck to give him a faceoff he could win to prove his worth.

Best calm as bleep

almost had a heart attack when demko came out the crease

— amy (@huggyquinnifer) January 3, 2026

Even on my best days when I was younger and working at Blockbuster Video, did I ever have this much composure with a customer barreling down on me demanding to know if someone had returned a copy of What Women Want yet?:

Matty Beniers is a skilled player, too; it’s not like Demko was out here trying to casually flip the puck over the stick of Steve Bernier. Yet there he is, walking out of his net with the aura of Tony Soprano picking up his newspaper at the bottom of his driveway. It’s incredible.

I still prefer the Dom Hasek method of taking them out at their knees, but this is a solid second option.

Best life’s like that

12 mins in and we're outshooting them 9-4.
So…. we don't win the games we outshoot the opponent, right? #Canucks

— Dragon Was Slayed (@522IntoOvertime) January 3, 2026

The Canucks had sixteen shot attempts midway through the first period and had all the momentum, including Elias Pettersson’s lone shot on net in the entire game:

With Garland out, someone needs to pull off the sneaky pick-six puck intercepts, and while I have full faith in EP40’s ability to do so, I find myself once again asking him to get five shots on net in a single game.

I’m not even being greedy and asking for double digits. I’m not out here telling him to get thirteen shots. Just get five. Five whole shots on net. Please.

Best doing the dirty work

Demko #Canucks

— Suffering Canucks Fan (@CanucksWontWin) January 3, 2026

As for Thatcher Demko, he stopped 25 of 28 shots on the night, and it wasn’t a particularly hard night being asked of him. Vancouver had fourteen high-danger attempts compared to Seattle’s paltry five, but that didn’t mean Thatcher didn’t have a handful of banger moments.

One of his best stops was on Jamie Oleksiak of all people, as he made a tremendous right-to-left save to stone the tall Kraken defender before the puck bounced off of PO Joseph’s skate and out of trouble:

And Demko made sure to save a lil’ something something for Jared McCaan on the power play, falling backwards on the puck after the initial shot in the slot, giving the former Canuck just enough hope that he might have scored:

As you can see from the highlights, the Canucks pretty much led the way in the first period, which is why it was obvious Seattle would score first, because sports are dumb and rarely make sense.

Best Little Buff Boys

Kraken goal came at end of 2:15 shift for Zeev Buium

— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) January 3, 2026

Before we get to the Seattle goal, I do want to point out how close Zeev Buium came to being sent to the netherworld were it not for Adam Larsson pulling up on this hit:

Buium is lucky this isn’t the 1990s, as Scott Stevens would have possibly ended his career for daring to circle behind the net with his head down. Hell, Raffi Torres was probably sitting at home jumping up and making hissing noises at the TV at the opportunity Zeev was handing out there. Zeev is lucky Adam was nice on that hit and didn’t bring the beer-league energy of a divorced dad “going through some things,” you see in Surrey rinks. “Seriously, he’s a really nice guy off the ice, I swear.”

Zeev’s shift continued after that hit, however, and he ended up being stuck in the Canucks zone, earning the dreaded Sportsnet “two minutes or longer” shift length bug, before Cale Fleury scored his first NHL goal since the Brian Mulroney administration:

Not much to break down on it, either. Cale see puck, Cale slap puck, Cale score puck. With a perfectly placed shot to go along with Tom Willander grinding up on Demko like it’s a Friday night at the Penthouse, it’s no surprise Seattle made it 1-0.

Best waiting for January Jake

Debrusk used to bury those without a problem, you know it's a huge confidence issue when you're looking to pass in a prime scoring position

— Ricky (@Van_city_Nucks) January 3, 2026

To be fair, this might have been a shot or a pass, but the point remains that December Jake was still in DeBrusk’s system early on. And not to harp on Boeser, but when you see two struggling wingers in Jake and Brock, I think the healthy scratch motivated Jake to the point where DeBrusk has been the better of the two in the last several games. I know DeBrusk’s game rounding into form lends itself to being more highlight worthy (he can generate some nice rushes to the net) compared to a Brock Boeser heater in which he’s getting shots on net, but we’re still waiting for Brock to even get to that point in a game.

Best KISS rule

When your team is as bad as the Canucks, please don't get cute. Shoot when you have a good scoring opportunity. Of course the other team comes back the other way to score. Brutal. #Canucks

— Vincent Chan (@mrvchan) January 3, 2026

To be fair, Drew O’Connor is the most lethal guy on the team for Vancouver right now, so I understand trying to feed him the puck:

Things to note on this shorthanded play from Vancouver:

• You can almost see the exact moment Drew O’Connor realizes Ryker Evans is going to pass without looking along the blueline. The second Ryker puts his head down and spins into the pass, Drew jumps the lane and makes the perfect intercept. Incredibly played from DOC.
• You cannot find a more awkward 2-on-0 than one in which both skaters have their shooting side in the middle of the ice. This was first date at the movies levels of clumsiness as both guys fumbled along with the puck.
• Give credit to Shane Wright’s hard back check, as even with the awkward offensive rush from Vancouver, if he doesn’t get his stick in the passing lane at the end, DOC might have had a tap-in.

After another rush attempt on the same shift from Sherwood and O’Connor, Seattle would eventually score on the power play off of the counter counter attack, with Jordan Eberle finding Chandler Stephenson for the one timer near the faceoff circle:

This is a case of DOC and Sherwood getting a little too big for their britches, as they had nothing left in the tank after the second attempt at rushing down the ice. Drew can barely make it back into the play before Seattle scores to make it 2-0.

Greedy little buff boys, greedy!

Best making up for it

Reliable Shershot! #Canucks

— Snowstar444 (@snowstar444) January 3, 2026

Perhaps feeling the shame of blowing out their gas tank shorthanded, Kiefer Sherwood would respond quickly with a goal of his own, after converting a rebound of a Jake DeBrusk shot:

That’s a good zone entry from Brock Boeser with Sherwood, and much like Max Sasson in the first period, it’s Kiefer moving his legs that lets him float into some empty space to jump all over the Jake DeBrusk rebound. And kudos to Jake as well, he skated hard into the slot to get a shot on net, and that’s what the Canucks need from him. No one loves his blue paint game more than me, but Jake needs to be effective all over the ice, and skating with purpose is one of the major ways he can do that.

This goal was then followed up by the play of the year, however, as David Kämpf would come waltzing in, undressing two Kraken defenders, before kicking the puck off his skate to his forehand a la Pavel Bure, and going bar down with perhaps the hardest wrist shot I have seen this year:

No, but that would have been pretty cool though, right?

Best responding to responding

I submit that Sasson did not anticipate Evander Kane would randomly drift towards the puck-carrier instead of defending the centre of the ice as F1. #Canucks https://t.co/VnJFUbVc3j

— Daniel Wagner (@passittobulis) January 3, 2026

Ben Meyers would then promptly restore the two-goal lead for Seattle when he would crash the crease and tap in the pass from Ryan Winterton, which my mind wanted to type as “Featherbottom,” and I don’t have any idea why:

That’s pretty much how 75% of the goals are scored in any NHL video game ever right there. Cross-crease one-timers rule the day.

I agree with both Lachlan and Daniel in that Max Sasson’s lack of strength is going to be a hindrance to his NHL long-term centre aspirations if he can’t outmuscle other NHL centres, and that Evander Kane just sort of floating away at one point probably created a bit of confusion on the play?

“Dad left to get milk” is a bold defensive strategy to use in the NHL, that’s all I’m saying.

Best tit for tat

DEBRUSK THE DROUGHT IS OVERRRR

— q (@MLN2521) January 3, 2026

Folks, may I introduce January Jake?

Setting up shop on Ryan Featherbottom, the man who just helped score against Vancouver, to tap in his own cross crease one timer felt poetic.

And yes, that is one much-maligned Brock Boeser feeding the pass in the general area of Jake, knowing that scoring in Tim Horton’s is one of his favourite things to do. In fact, the puck sort of pinballs around Jake’s skates and Joey OK’s pads, before bouncing in.

It’s the exact type of goal January Jake scores, to be honest. Not December Jake, though. December Jake is the worst person I know.

Did you hear December Jake stands on the left side of the escalator and refuses to move?

Best I wish he was joking

Realistically what could Vancouver Canucks get for O'Connor/Kampf/Sherwood as a package? Whole line for barely any cap.

— Gravey (@Bronze_Jinjo) January 3, 2026

I honestly have a dream of an entire line being traded at the deadline, just for the pure dramatics of it all. The NHL could use some batsh!t crazy things like that happening; it truly could.

And hey, this line would be extremely affordable for a deep team looking to bolster its bottom line.

If you think I’m joking, I want to be clear that this line showed the most offensive creativity of any line on the night. At one point, Kämpf was trying between-the-legs no-look passes to Sherwood:

Moving the puck around at will, finding good looks on net, this line was downright dynamic!*

*Dynamic for a game between Vancouver and Seattle.

Best proving your worth

THAT'S why you pay Linus Karl$$on. #Canucks

— Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) January 3, 2026

Feeling good about life, January Jake decides to get his third point of the night, as he pulls up quick on a zone entry to find Fil Hronek for the point shot, which Linus Karlsson is all too happy to clean up:

I know Linus has been on a bit of a hot streak, and the Canucks are hoping this is the real final form on him, so while we wait to see where the truth lies, I am just going to enjoy the ride. I have always liked Karlsson’s game, as he has shown a real NHL finish around the net, which is always a commodity in a league that tightens up and clamps down come playoff time.

And the rest of the third period, honestly, was two teams working hard, trying not to get scored on. I don’t have any highlights to show because it was a bunch of chip-and-chase hockey with effective line changes. And I don’t think anyone has ever yelled, “honey, take a look at this effective line change Wyatt just showed a clip of”, so let’s just jump into overtime.

Best making them see it

Vince Dunn scores to win, but the officials had called interference on Berkly Catton prior to the apparent Kraken game winner.

Surprised that was called, but the #Canucks have a power-play opportunity and a chance to win it 4-on-3.

— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) January 3, 2026

Elias Pettersson was both interfered with and also sold it like he was in the main event of Wrestlemania:

The one thing I can agree with is that “soft interference” occurs all game long, and the officials only seem to call it when they’re bored or when it impacts the game to the point a team gets a scoring chance out of it.

And here, yeah, Elias Pettersson is taken out of the play. Even if he doesn’t fall to the ice doing a full 360, falling just short of leaving a pee trail on the ice to really sell it, he is impeded from making a play on Vince Dunn. So I kind of get Elias going out of his way to make sure the official knows he wasn’t able to make a play due to it.

Which meant the Canucks got a power play, and they had two really close chances to win it.

The first was Fil Hronek having two good looks on the net, and oh my god, I am going to scream about the second look after you watch the clip:

Look, I get the theory of walking in, faking the shot, and dragging the puck so you can freeze a defender in a shot-blocking animation, giving you a shooting lane.

But sometimes you just have to walk into a puck and launch a piss missile.

You want to block this shot? Sounds good, eat rubber. See how badly they want to win. Lean into that son of a bitch. There is a universe where Fil Hronek walked into that puck and launched a nuclear bomb of a shot, and I wish that was our universe right now.

The other good chance was Elias Pettersson trying to feed January Jake in front of the net:

That’s about as close as you can come to scoring without hearing the goal horn go off, as Vancouver can at least rest easy knowing their power play was working well on the night.

Best all good things must come to an end

One of the worst home records in NHL history continues #Canucks

— Rod Mickleburgh (@rodmickleburgh) January 3, 2026

Vancouver ended with the right result; however, when Matty Beniers enjoyed life for a brief moment where he didn’t have to worry that Tyler Myers was going to murder him:

That was the lone goal of the shootout, giving the Kraken the two points on the night.

Would Kevin Lankinen have stopped that?

Would it have been badass if Kickstart Your Heart had played over the loudspeakers, announcing Kevin coming into the game as the closer? Damn skippy.

Does it make sense to bring in a goalie cold like that for the shootout? Of course not.

Does that stop me from dreaming of said scenario? Of course not.

The actual tragedy in this game came when the Vancouver DJ played “Hello” by Adele before a Kraken took a penalty shot. Not to get too worked up, but these games lack excitement as it is, so when they finally get to a breakaway contest, your instincts were “you know what would really get this crowd amped up about a big save? Making you think about a relationship that fell apart that you’re not really over, but you love them so much you hope they’re doing well now.”

When in doubt, hit the Darude – Sandstorm button. It’s very easy.

Next game is Boston on Saturday night; go to bed.

Best it is what it is

Quinn Hughes 4 points already and 15 min still left in the third. YOU'RE WELCOME #MNWild – all #Canucks fans.

— Nikster (@NiksterPen) January 3, 2026

Look, Quinn Hughes is going to post a 100+ point season next year, just accept it at this point.

Best over before it began

Asked #Canucks Buium if he had any World Juniors bets with his new teammates: pic.twitter.com/jGoTvJ8tmp

— Adam Kierszenblat (@Adamkblat) January 2, 2026

Sponsored by bet365

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/stanch...t-new-year-right-foot-4-3-loss-seattle-kraken

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Friedman: Canucks made a new contract offer to keep Kiefer Sherwood

After re-signing Linus Karlsson yesterday, the Vancouver Canucks may not be done there, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman:

“Last night, the Vancouver Canucks announced that they had re-signed Linus Karlsson to a two-year deal. The big name everybody in Vancouver is kind of talking about right now is Kiefer Sherwood, [an] unrestricted free agent having a career year. The Canucks did make a new offer to Sherwood this week. I still think there’s a sizable gap here. I don’t have a timeline for when anything is going to occur in terms of a trade or anything like that, but both sides did talk this week. I still think, however, there’s a gap in where Sherwood would like to be and what the Canucks are willing to do. So let’s see where it takes us.”

Sherwood, 30, signed a two-year, $1.5 million AAV contract with the Canucks in the summer of 2024. In his first year in Vancouver, Sherwood had a career high of 19 goals and 40 points in 78 games. He also set the NHL record for hits in a single season with 462.

Through 40 games of the 2025-26 season, Sherwood is on pace to set new career highs. He is currently on pace for 34 goals and 42 points, while seeing his time on ice jump two-and-a-half minutes from last season’s averages.

The Canucks are currently 31st in league standings, just two points ahead of the Winnipeg Jets for dead last in the league. Vancouver’s management team of Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin has gone public, stating that, given the team’s current position in the league standings, the plan was to trade their veteran UFAs and look toward the future as they enter a transitional phase toward a rebuild or a hybrid retool.

Since then, the only trade management has made is that of team captain and franchise defenceman Quinn Hughes. None of the reported veterans made available have been traded, and now they are reportedly looking to extend their hottest trade chip, Sherwood.

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/friedman-vancouver-canucks-new-contract-offer-keep-kiefer-sherwood

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Instant Reaction: Special teams the big story in Canucks’ 3-2 OT loss to Bruins

Welcome back to Instant Reaction, the series here at CanucksArmy where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Vancouver Canucks game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!

Starting lineup​

Warmup #Canucks lines vs. @NHLBruins

Kane. Sasson. Boeser.
DeBrusk. EP40. Karlsson.
O’Connor. Kämpf. Sherwood.
Öhgren. Räty. Höglander.

MP29. Willander.
Buium. Hronek.
EP25. Myers.

Lankinen

7pm on @Sportsnet650 https://t.co/J6DNM1E8Qt pic.twitter.com/UmRbEhHwoO

— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) January 4, 2026

Minor lineup changes for tonight’s contest. The forward group remains intact from Friday night’s loss to the Seattle Kraken, but Elias Pettersson comes in on the blueline for PO Joseph. Kevin Lankinen gets the nod.

First period​

Tom Willander brought Canucks fans to their feet – and not in a good way, in a near-goal against. With Morgan Geekie pressuring him, Willander lost control of the puck, allowing Geekie to steal the puck and ring it off the far side post. David Pastrnak followed that up with a threatening chance of his own, after sneaking behind Filip Hronek and Zeev Buium and was all alone on a breakaway. Unfortunately for Pastrnak, breakaways are just in-game shootout attempts. So you knew Lankinen was going to stop it:

Kevin Lankinen stops Pastrnak on the breakaway!

Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/vuMI6ipzWC

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 4, 2026

There was a stretch of about five minutes in the middle of the period where we went without a whistle. And there was no action. It was a lot of going back and forth, dumping the puck in, changing, heading up ice, dumping the puck in, changing, etc. There was one solid chance, however, when Elias Pettersson took the puck off the boards, spun around a defender to collect it, and then ripped a shot off Jeremy Swayman’s right pad.

Later in the period, Marcus Pettersson got his stick up on Pastrnak. To which we had to witness the most boring minute of hockey, with the Bruins gaining the zone on the delayed penalty, only to misplay the puck and clear the zone themselves. This happened at least three times. But I guess it worked? Because the same Pettersson tripped Pavel Zacha as he entered the zone. Four-minute power play for the Bruins, with one of the Canucks’ best penalty killers in the box. And Boston capitalized.

Hometown kid Fraser Minten, playing his first NHL game in Vancouver, accepts the puck in the bumper, and has time to collect it, spin into a better shooting position and wire one past Lankinen.

Fraser Minten makes it 1-0 Boston on the Power Play.

Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/8w8zDxg2t0

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 4, 2026

1-0 Bruins.

The rest of the Bruins’ power play was short-lived after Kiefer Sherwood drew a retaliatory slash from Viktor Arvidsson following a hit. Bruins lead heading into the break.

First period takeaways:

– Lankinen needs to work on his rebound control. It’s been an issue this season, resulting in multiple goals against, and it nearly happened again in the first. Viktor Arvidsson shot it off the right pad of Lankinen, which left the juicy rebound hanging out in the slot. Luckily, Max Sasson was there to save the day and check Charlie McAvoy out of the way. But that’s something that has been costing Lankinen, and something he needs to clean up.

– Didn’t think it was a banner period for young Tom Willander.

Second period​

The Canucks waste no time getting their first tally of the game. Filip Hronek fires a pass from the point to the net front that hits Pettersson’s skate and goes through Swayman’s five-hole. The Bruins’ netminder would cause a fuss about the goal against, but to no avail. Tie game.

Canucks Goal

Pettersson gets his 10th of the year, and the Canucks tie the game at 1!

Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/3nPVSBAR9M

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 4, 2026

1-1 tie.

Following the goal, both teams would trade penalties. Familiar face and most penalized player in the league, Nikita Zadorov, dumped Aatu Räty to the ice with a cross-check, sending the Canucks to their first full power play of the game. Willander got another shot as the quarterback of the top unit, but no dice. Then, Max Sasson dumps Casey Mittlestadt along the boards. But another familiar face, Elias Lindholm, would make the Canucks pay.

Pastrnak walks down the left wall, maintains a threatening positioning, leaving Lankinen unsure of whether he will pass or shoot, and threads the needle to Lindholm to get enough of it to re-direct it behind the Canucks goaltender and give the Bruins back their lead.

It's another Power Play goal for the Bruins as they retake the lead.

Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/ljgHVILNHc

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 4, 2026

2-1 Bruins.

Zadorov’s former Canuck was showing, as he sent his former club back to the man advantage after a puck-over-the-glass penalty. Willander remained the defenceman on the top unit and had a hilarious snap hook one-time shot that somehow went in the corner. But later in the power play, Pettersson set him up for redemption. He claps a one-timer off the pad of Swayman, leaving DeBrusk with a wide-open net. Swayman robs his former teammate.

DeBrusk gets robbed by Swayman.

Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/8umqn6PBTX

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 4, 2026

The Canucks were gifted yet another power play, and they finally converted on their fifth opportunity. Buium found a streaming Filip Hronek down the right wall. He tried to feed a pass to Linus Karlsson at the net front, but it went off Charlie McAvoy’s skate and behind Swayman to equalize the match. Sometimes you’ve got to be lucky to be good.

Canucks goal

Hronek banks it off McAvoy to tie the game at 2!

Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/1vdsDGdZ6t

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 4, 2026

2-2 tie.

And that was the period.

Second period takeaways:

– This has been a boring game. The Bruins had the old LA Kings approach, where they wouldn’t pressure the puck carrier; instead, they sat back and clogged up the neutral zone. And the Canucks just couldn’t get anything through, which was a huge result of them having just 10 shots on goal at 5v5 through the first 40 minutes of the game

– The DeBrusk-Pettersson-Karlsson line has yet to be on the ice for a 5v5 shot attempt against through 40 minutes. That’s bonkers.

Third period​

Another period of this game, another Canucks power play opportunity. But, as most of the Canucks’ power plays on the night, nothing too exciting happened.

Halfway through the final period, the shots were 10-4 for the Canucks, indicating they were far outplaying their opponent. However, there wasn’t a single standout chance for the Canucks. They were all fairly non-threatening, especially given how calm and locked in Swayman looked. Sure, he allowed two goals, but both of them were lucky deflections. The Canucks have yet to beat him cleanly.

The Canucks’ best chance of the period came toward the tail end, when Karlsson sprung Pettersson down the left-side boards. Pettersson protected the puck with his body to get around the Bruins defender, flipped the puck to his backhand as he skated through the top of Swayman’s crease, but ran out of room, and his backhand shot attempt hit the side of the net.

The Bruins had chances of their own, but both teams were comfortable with the scoreless third period and took their loser point into overtime.

Overtime​

Räty’s bad night on the draws continued, as he lost the opening faceoff and the Bruins went on the attack. Scoring threat Morgan Geekie walked in and nearly ended it on the first shot, but rang it off his second post of the game.

Pastrnak wiffed on a one-time shot, which sent Liam Öhgren on a partial breakaway in overtime. McAvoy was draped all over him, so he had to focus on winning the race for the puck. However, had he stopped up and realized his surroundings, he could have found Buium for a chance.

But as the game started, hometown hero Fraser Minten buried the game-winner with 19 seconds remaining in overtime.

Fraser Minten wins it for the Bruins in Overtime.

Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/LVMIaDYG6R

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 4, 2026

3-2 Bruins Final.

Full game takeaways:

– This game kind of felt like the hockey gods getting a bit of retribution for the Bruins after they dominated the Canucks in TD Garden but walked away with the loss. A similar outcome to this one, but the Canucks were on the losing end of this one.

– Special teams were the big losing factor for the Canucks in this one. They only capitalized once on their six power play opportunities, while they only killed one of the three penalties they took. Faceoffs were another massive loss, as they won just 32.8% of the draws tonight. None of the Canucks’ four centres finished with a faceoff winning percentage above 42% tonight.

– Evander Kane did not play the final 9:39 minutes of the third period and did not get a shift in the extra frame. There was no mention of an injury, so if this was a benching, Kane might be next on the list of veteran forwards who need to sit out a game.

What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/instan...y-vancouver-canucks-3-2-ot-loss-boston-bruins

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

3 Canucks Stars of the Week: Linus Karlsson’s three-point week leads the charge into 2026

Welcome back to Stars of the Week at CanucksArmy! Every week, we’ll be bringing you our Top Three best and brightest performers on the Vancouver Canucks that week. Disagree with our picks or have your own stars to nominate? Let us know in the comments below!

Welcome to 2026! It’s a new calendar year, and the Vancouver Canucks are in 31st place in the 32-team National Hockey League. This is an improvement on last week. We have learned over that time frame that the Canucks are not losing; they are consolation-prize winners. Out of an available eight points through four games, Vancouver picked up half of those with a 1-1-2 record. If we’re going by college rules, 50% is still a pass.

There were a handful of feel-good storylines this week for the team, namely, Jake DeBrusk shaking off an offensive drought with a three-point game after being healthy scratched, or Kevin Lankinen bagging yet another shootout win, for example. Ultimately, these storylines don’t amount to anything exciting when missing the playoffs is already a foregone conclusion. It is, however, a welcome change to the general influx of feel-bad stories that have afflicted the Canucks in recent years.

Linus Karlsson​

Linus Karlsson’s entire season is one of the aforementioned feel-good storylines. Six years after his signing rights were first acquired in possibly the only Jim Benning move that has aged well, Karlsson has won a Calder Cup in Abbotsford and become a full-fledged NHL regular all in the same calendar year.

Signing contracts & scoring goals.
Big day for Linus Karlsson. pic.twitter.com/SZCEDb0bpN

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 3, 2026

Karlsson had three points this week and has been excelling on the wing alongside his countryman, Elias Pettersson, especially in the overtime loss to the Bruins, where their line dominated. Karlsson is intuitive at playmaking but also isn’t afraid to zero in at the net front, aspects of his game that have made him a valuable asset. An exact valuation of $2.25 million AAV, actually, after Karlsson signed a two-year contract extension this week.

Filip Hronek​

Following Quinn Hughes’ departure from Vancouver, his former defence partner Filip Hronek has been sucked into the ex-captain’s ridiculous ice-time power vacuum that remained. Hronek has topped all skaters in ice time this week, even playing just over 30 minutes against the Canucks overtime loss against the Boston Bruins. He’s been paired with rookie Zeev Buium a handful of times, who’s been stepping into his predecessor’s skates in more ways than one, and they’ve been formidable in all zones on the ice. Hronek is truly capable of playing on any pairing. For a man of few words and even fewer media engagements, Hronek is an indispensable leader for the Canucks blue line at this point.

A power play goal against Boston complemented Hronek’s three-point week on Saturday night. Back in my day, Hronek’s shot on the power play was as feared as a raptor in Jurassic Park. The team may be down, but Hronek certainly is not.

Canucks goal

Hronek banks it off McAvoy to tie the game at 2!

Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/1vdsDGdZ6t

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 4, 2026

Elias Pettersson​

Since returning from injury last week, Elias Pettersson has been consistent with the Canucks, and was named to Sweden’s Olympic roster. Have yourself a week, EP40.

Pettersson is the glue of the newfangled, shiny, and successful DeBrusk – Pettersson – Karlsson top line, like the one Beatle who kept the band together through the band’s worst strife – it’s up to you to determine which Beatle that is.

Canucks Goal

Pettersson gets his 10th of the year, and the Canucks tie the game at 1!

Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/3nPVSBAR9M

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 4, 2026

Pettersson has been defensively solid, relative to the rest of the roster at least – but the defensive side of Pettersson’s two-way centre capabilities has rarely been the part of his game in question. Luckily, the offence has been there as well, with two goals and an assist this week. He’s been back taking faceoffs, although the Canucks have collectively struggled in that respect, and the only game in which they had the edge in the dot was their shootout loss against the Seattle Kraken. This was also Pettersson’s most successful night, in that respect, with a 61.5% win percentage in 13 faceoffs, tied only with David Kämpf.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/3-vanc...-karlssons-three-point-week-leads-charge-2026

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Letter grades for each Canuck at the midway point of the season

We have officially hit the mid-way point of the 2025-26 Vancouver Canucks season, following Saturday night’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins. And it hasn’t necessarily gone as fans, management, or the players had hoped.

At the time of this writing, the Canucks sit 31st in the NHL standings, three points ahead of the last-place Winnipeg Jets. Coming into the season, the strengths of this team were looked at to be team defence and goaltending. At the halfway point, they’ve allowed the fourth most goals against in the league.

This season was supposed to be about winning to keep their captain, Quinn Hughes. But that didn’t go as planned; he was shipped out in mid-December. Elias Pettersson was supposed to have a massive bounce-back and prove he’s worth the hefty price tag, but he’s on pace for just 22 goals and 56 points. The injury bug has hit nearly everybody on the roster, and

Everything that could have gone wrong, did. That being said, there have been a few bright spots this season. Let’s get into the letter grades at the halfway point of the season.

Criteria: players must have played at least 50% of the Canucks’ games. David Kämpf, Lukas Reichel, PO Joseph, MacKenzie MacEachern, Nils Höglander, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, Braeden Cootes, Derek Forbort, Teddy Blueger, Nils Aman, Joe LaBate, as well as newcomers Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi and Liam Öhgren, will not be graded.

Forwards​

Elias Pettersson – C+

Offensively, Pettersson’s grade should be lower. Sure, he leads the team in points with 25 through 33 games. But that’s just not good enough for the $11.6 million man. His pace of 56 points – 62 for an 82-game pace – is that of a second liner. Not a premier player, as he’s paid to be. His rating gets a boost to a C+ because of his stellar defensive play this season.

Conor Garland – B-

Garland has been okay this season. He’s on his usual 45-50-point pace as he has been every year since coming to Vancouver. It’s just been a bit of a struggle to stay on the ice for Garland, as he has battled through numerous little injuries that have held him out of the lineup. He has seven goals and 22 points through 33 games at the halfway point. He deserves a higher grade than most of the other struggling offensive forwards on this team because, despite his smaller frame, Garland finds ways to stay relevant when the puck isn’t going in for him, as he did when he fought Jared McCann earlier last week.

Kiefer Sherwood – A+

Was there any doubt that Sherwood would receive the highest grade? In many games this season, he’s been the only Canucks player going, singlehandedly dragging his team into the fight of the game. Sherwood is not only the emotional leader with his hard work, physicality and passion on the ice, but he’s their goal-scoring leader, with 17 already this season. It’s a shame he will likely be moved, because he is a heart-and-soul player that teams typically want to keep around.

Jake DeBrusk – C

Had it not been for his resurgence after his healthy scratching, DeBrusk’s ranking could have been lower. However, he’s got the benefit of recency bias, coming off a seven-shot outing in which he was not on the ice for a 5v5 shot attempt against, and a three-point night the game before that. But the glaring issue with DeBrusk is that he has only one 5v5 goal halfway through the season. That’s just not gonna cut it. If he continues to play this way through, especially with Pettersson and Karlsson, that should change.

Evander Kane – C-

I’m sure most fans will want this rating to be lower. Has he been less physical than expected? Yes. Does he take some questionable penalties and have some effort issues on backchecks? Absolutely. But that was kind of how he was advertised before coming to Vancouver. He has six goals and 19 points through 40 games this season, which is kind of disappointing given his deployment. Canucks management probably has some buyer’s remorse after this offseason move.

Brock Boeser – C

The talk surrounding the Canucks struggles of late has been that their offensive forwards have not been pulling their weight. That starts and ends with Brock Boeser. Through the first month and a bit of the season (18 games), Boeser had eight goals and 14 points. However, Boeser has just one goal over his last 23 games, and zero in 16. In fairness to Boeser, he’s mostly been playing with Lukas Reichel and David Kämpf as his centreman. Regardless, he knows he needs to be better, especially as a leader for this group and would likely agree with a C letter grade.

Linus Karlsson – A

It took him a bit to get into the Canucks lineup, but once he did, Karlsson hasn’t looked back. He’s continued to produce, despite playing in a bottom-six role for most of the season. He’s now up to 10 goals (tied for second on the team) and 18 points through 38 games. Karlsson’s efforts have earned him top-line and PP2 deployment, as well as a healthy raise to $2.25 million annually. For a guy who wasn’t expected to make a massive impact at the NHL level, he has blown expectations out of the water and turned himself into an everyday NHLer and is worthy of an A letter grade.

Drew O’Connor – B+

Like Karlsson, O’Connor gets a high letter grade because of his impact relative to expectation. O’Connor has been available for all 41 games this season, has scored 10 goals and 16 points and is one of the only Canucks to have a positive plus-minus rating. He has been trusted in more offensive situations, and it has paid off: O’Connor is on pace for a career year in the goal department, projected to hit 20 goals for the first time in his career.

Aatu Räty – C+

Speaking of another player with a positive plus-minus rating, we have Aatu Räty. If you ask Adam Foote, Räty’s letter grade would be much lower because he hasn’t fully earned his head coach’s trust. But his underlying numbers have been solid. He has three goals and 11 points through 33 games and had a stretch in which he was in on five of six Canucks goals. Feel a C+ is a fair grade, all things considered.

Max Sasson – C+

Sasson’s speed alone earned an NHL contract. After what was a hot start to the Abby line, Sasson has slowed down. He’s been asked to play higher in the lineup because of the team’s centre deficiencies, but that hasn’t necessarily translated into production. He has eight goals and two assists for 10 points this season. Where he really struggles is in the faceoff dot, where he wins just 40.8% of his draws. He projects to be more of a winger on the team once they get some healthy bodies back and can afford to move him there.

Arshdeep Bains – F

Bains just had enough games played to make the list. He gets a failing grade just because of the opportunity he was handed to begin the season. With the Nils Höglander injury, Bains started the season in the top six on Chytil’s line. He even got penalty killing time. However, that was short-lived: he was quickly demoted and couldn’t perform against weaker opponents. He was placed on waivers and was not claimed. Seems like a fail is a fair grade.

Defencemen​

Filip Hronek – A+

Hronek was one of the best Canucks when Quinn Hughes was on the team. But that’s even more glaring now without Hughes. After a pair of points in Game 41, Hronek is now tied with Elias Pettersson for the team lead in points with 25. In the 10 games without Hughes, Hronek has nine points, and has logged 24+ minutes in eight of those games. Oh, he also leads the team with a plus-three rating while averaging over three minutes more ice time than the next highest Canuck. He’s been one of the few players to step up their game this season, so Hronek undoubtedly deserves an A+.

Tom Willander – B-

Has his season been perfect? No. But for a player who many believed needed more time to develop in the AHL before he made an impact at the NHL level, he’s been pretty darn good. There are always going to be growing pains for a 20-year-old defenceman as he transitions to the professional level, but he’s going through the motions and learning fast, which has kept him in the NHL so far. Heck, he’s even getting PP1 time now. There are so many dark spots surrounding the team this season, but watching the progression of Willander has been exciting.

Tyler Myers – C

It hasn’t been a great season for Myers. After back-to-back resurgent seasons, the 35-year-old looks to be hitting a decline. He isn’t the strong shutdown defenceman he moulded into over the past few years. Where he does hold value is in his veteran leadership and ability to help the young defenceman develop on a pairing with him.

Marcus Pettersson – C+

Most of the same things can be said about Pettersson. By no means is he declining because of age, but it’s easy to notice that his game hasn’t fully translated to Foote’s new systems. The defensive defenceman has been logging heavy minutes, which has only increased since Hughes was traded. He has an even plus-minus rating, which, considering the Canucks’ team defence, is actually pretty good, so he gets the slight edge over Myers for those reasons.

Elias Pettersson – C-

It’s safe to say it hasn’t been the sophomore season DPetey was hoping for. After a strong, physical 28-game stint at the tail end of last season, Pettersson has often found himself serving as a healthy scratch as punishment for defensive mishaps. Now, it’s important to remember that Pettersson was sheltered in his minutes last year and is now being tested with harder minutes and some PK time. Young defencemen are going to make mistakes, and the best way to learn from them is to play through them. That said, the C- grade is deserving.

Goaltenders​

Thatcher Demko – B

Demko has shown flashes of his old self this season. Although his 8-8-1 record may not reflect that, his 2.72 goals-against average and .906 save percentage might. He even had a stretch during the Canucks’ four-game winning streak in which he allowed two goals in three games. He’s slowed down since the Christmas break, but when he’s been healthy this season, Demko has been a bright spot in goal for his team.

Kevin Lankinen – C-

Lankinen in the shootout? That’s an A+. But on his season as a whole, it may even be lower than the C-. Last year, he was the reason the Canucks were nearly in a playoff spot. But that has regressed to his worst season in the NHL, as he has a 3.37 goals against average and a .884 save percentage. How much is that him regressing after a breakout campaign, and how much is that the new team defence? The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Regardless, a first-half worthy of a C- for the Finn.

What do you think, Canucks fans? Which of these letter grades do you strongly agree/disagree with? Let us know in the comments below!

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/letter-grades-each-vancouver-canuck-midway-point-season

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Canucks: Braeden Cootes and Team Canada earn Bronze Medal at 2026 World Juniors

Vancouver Canucks 2025 first-round pick Braeden Cootes is heading back to the WHL with hardware.

Canada closed out the 2026 World Junior Championship with a 6–3 victory over Finland, capturing the bronze medal and ending a two-year medal drought for the program. The win marked Canada’s first medal since winning gold in 2023 and its first bronze since 2012 — a tournament that also ended with a victory over the Finns.

After a heartbreaking semifinal loss to Czechia, Canada earned a chance at redemption against a Finnish team that had fallen to Sweden in an overtime thriller the night before.

Canada strikes early, trades first-period blows​

The game opened at a frantic pace. Canada wasted little time getting on the board, as Michael Hage slipped a perfect feed to Sam O’Reilly just over a minute into the contest, setting up a crafty finish to make it 1–0.

CANADA OPENS THE SCORING

Sam O'Reilly finishes off the Hage pass to make it 1-0 early.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/d09QNGKNSF

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 5, 2026

Finland answered immediately on its first shot. Arttu Väliäla collected a drop pass in the slot, used traffic to his advantage, and snapped a shot past Carter George’s blocker to even the score.

FINLAND ANSWERS RIGHT AWAY

Arttu Välilä scores on Finland's first shot of the game.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/VjtZTvaDlY

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 5, 2026

The chaos continued moments later, and this time, it came off the stick of a Canucks prospect.

Braeden Cootes jumped on a pass from Keaton Verhoeff, cut to the middle, spun toward the net, and snapped a shot blocker-side to restore Canada’s lead before the five-minute mark.

CANADA AND FINLAND TRADING GOALS

Braeden Cootes makes it 2-1 Canada just five minutes into the game!#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/luF9BGktMJ

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 5, 2026

Just past the midpoint of the opening frame, Canada ran into penalty trouble. Finland capitalized after a failed clearing attempt, working the puck around the umbrella before Julius Miettinen dropped to one knee and fired a shot through George to tie the game at two.

FINLAND TIES IT ON THE POWER-PLAY

Julius Miettinen makes it a 2-2 game.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/38NpxaBlXT

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 5, 2026

However, Canada had the final say in the period. On the power play, Zayne Parekh walked the blue line and wired a wrist shot bar-down, capping the first with a 3–2 Canadian lead.

PAREKH RECORDS HIS 12TH POINT

He's now tied Alex Pietrangelo (2010) & Bryan McCabe (1995) for most points by a Canadian defenceman at a single #WorldJuniors. pic.twitter.com/A8Uac4S1Jx

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 5, 2026

The goal was Parekh’s 12th point of the tournament, tying Alex Pietrangelo and Bryan McCabe for the most points by a Canadian defenceman in a single World Junior event.

Parekh makes history, Canada pulls away​

Parekh didn’t wait long to break the record outright.

Early in the second period, he pinched aggressively to keep a puck alive, which eventually found its way to Tij Iginla. Iginla slid the puck to Porter Martone in the slot, and the winger made no mistake, beating Petteri Rimpinen clean to double Canada’s lead. With the assist, Parekh became the most productive defenceman in Canadian World Junior history with 13 points.

Canada continued to press. Minutes later, O’Reilly struck again, redirecting a Gavin McKenna one-timer to make it 5–2 and put Canada firmly in control.

ANOTHER ONE FOR O'REILLY

Canada converts on the power-play to make it a 5-2 game.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/ULv2ZtyLHk

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 5, 2026

Finland pushed back late in the period, cutting the deficit to two when Heikki Ruohonen slipped a shot under George’s blocker off the rush, but Canada settled things in the third.

FINLAND MAKES IT A TWO-GOAL GAME

Heikki Ruohonen makes it 5-3 late in the 2nd period.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/HwOL4SZ0Ev

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 5, 2026

After spending much of the tournament as a facilitator, McKenna grabbed his fourth goal after finding multiple teammates with opportunities. McKenna jumped on a rebound to triple the team’s lead en route to the Bronze Medal finish.

MCKENNA MAKES IT A 6-3 GAME

That's a four point night for him and Michael Hage.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/CVTa0ZiGI5

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 5, 2026

Team Canada: You’re the 2026 Bronze Medal winners.

CANADA BEATS FINLAND TO WIN BRONZE AT THE #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/3EZtwkuGtB

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 6, 2026

What it means for Cootes and Canada​

After earning Gold at the U18’s back in May, Cootes wins his second medal within a year. Over seven games, the Alberta native averaged 8:48 of ice time, contributing two goals and seven shots as a fourth-line depth player. As an 18-year-old, he is eligible to return in 2027, where he’s likely to enjoy a much larger role (if loaned from Vancouver).

Reports indicate that Cootes was traded from the Seattle Thunderbirds to the Prince Albert Raiders on Monday. However, nothing has been made official. He has 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists) through 17 games as captain of the Seattle Thunderbirds.

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Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancou...-canada-earns-bronze-medal-2026-world-juniors

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

NHL Notebook: Flyers extend offseason Canucks centre target Christian Dvorak

Welcome back to NHL Notebook — the series here at CanucksArmy where we deliver you news and notes from around the National Hockey League — oftentimes through a Vancouver Canucks-tinted lens!

The Vancouver Canucks’ top mission this offseason was to find another centre to help complement Filip Chytil in the middle six. They set their sights on Christian Dvorak as their top target and threw both big money and term at him, despite him not panning out in his last destination with the Montreal Canadiens.

But it still wasn’t enough to entice Dvorak, as he wound up betting on himself, taking a one-year, $5.4 million contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. And it paid off.

Flyers extend Dvorak​

The Philadelphia Flyers announced on Monday evening that they had come to an agreement with centreman Christian Dvorak on a five-year, $5.15 million AAV extension.

DONE DEAL FOR DVO.

We have agreed to terms with forward Christian Dvorak on a five-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $5.15M. https://t.co/0jLng32Pec

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) January 6, 2026

Dvorak, 29, fully transformed into the Flyers’ top centre, and the points have followed. Through just 39 games, Dvorak has nine goals and 25 points, with a plus-eight rating in 17:06 minutes of average ice time. The Palos, Illinois native is on an 82-game pace to set career highs in goals (19), assists (34) and points (53) in his first year with the Flyers.

He has spent most of his time skating on a line with Trevor Zegras, who was also acquired by the Flyers this summer. The duo has played a big part in the Flyers’ competitiveness this season, as they currently hold the top spot in the Eastern Conference Wild Card and are just four points out of the top spot in the Metropolitan Division.

Looking back, Dvorak made the right decision not to come to Vancouver. The reported offer from the Canucks to Dvorak was a three-year, $4 million AAV contract. He may have gotten similar deployment as a top-line centre, especially with the number of injuries the Canucks suffered down the middle, but he wouldn’t have the same supporting cast to help him thrive.

Instead, he earned $1.4 million more this season and played in a more favourable offensive environment, which helped him secure a long-term contract in his preferred location. Now, he’ll make $25.75 million more over the next five seasons with the Flyers, rather than having two more years on a deal with a rebuilding/retooling Canucks.

Source: https://canucksarmy.com/news/nhl-no...couver-canucks-centre-target-christian-dvorak