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
Following Adam Foote’s media availability, the only lineup changes we were expecting were that Evander Kane would return and Jonathan Lekkerimäki would sit. However, the Canucks were hit with a significant blow, as Elias Pettersson left pre-game skate with an upper-body injury and would miss tonight’s game.
With Pettersson out, here is how the Canucks lined up:
Warmup #Canucks lines vs. @mnwild
DeBrusk. Lekkerimäki. Karlsson.
Boeser. Kämpf. Garland.
Kane. Sasson. Sherwood.
O’Connor. Räty. Bains.
Hughes. Hronek.
EP25. Myers.
MP29. Willander.
Tolopilo
7pm on @Sportsnet650 https://t.co/5URkcFMDBa pic.twitter.com/ra8JyCeN1w
— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) December 7, 2025
First period
With all the drama surrounding the team over the hour before the game, with the report of the New Jersey Devils and Canucks having a conversation on Quinn Hughes, and Pettersson being ruled out, the Canucks had a chance to get ahead early after Minnesota Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt took a tripping penalty on Filip Hronek.
Without Pettersson, the top power play unit consisted of Hughes, Brock Boeser, Conor Garland, Jake DeBrusk and Evander Kane. The Canucks failed to register a shot on goal. And shortly after the penalty expired, Mats Zuccarello was sprung on a two-on-one with Matt Boldy, who made no mistake to put the puck in the yawning cage.
Boldy right out of the box gets the scoring started early for the Wild.
Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/ispr4G42dt
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 7, 2025
1-0 Wild.
The Canucks had a few chances, but it was really the Wild who came up with the more threatening chances. But tonight’s starting goaltender, Nikita Tolopilo, made some solid saves to keep his team within one.
Linus Karlsson has been playing well of late. And while we did not get to see Karlsson, Pettersson and DeBrusk build off that impressive performance against the Utah Mammoth, Karlsson has not been afraid to get into the rough stuff. His bread and butter is at the net front, and he wasn’t shy to get physical during the play and after the whistle with Wild captain Jared Spurgeon.
Although they were outshot 10-4 in the opening period, the Canucks walked into the first break down just one goal.
First period takeaways:
– The Canucks did a fine job in the faceoff dot without Pettersson. They won the battle 60%-40%: Räty 4/4, Kämpf 3/4, O’Connor 1/2, and Sasson 1/3.
– The Wild converted on a lot of rush chances, including a Kirill Kaprizov breakaway. Kaprizov and Zuccarello also connected on a few East-West passes that led to dangerous scoring chances. The Canucks might be in trouble.
Second period
Mere seconds after the second period puck drop, Marcus Pettersson takes a cross-checking penalty on Boldy in the defensive zone. But the Canucks killed it off.
Ryan Hartman appeared to get injured on a play in front of the Canucks net early in the frame. His replacement, Nico Sturm, came onto the ice and was hit with a high stick and seemed to be favouring his nose as he went to the Wild bench. Neither player would miss a shift.
The Canucks had some trouble breaking the puck out of their zone due to the offensive zone pressure from the Wild forecheckers. But Minnesota forgot about the one-man breakout, Quinn Hughes.
Hughes sends a long stretch-pass to Kane on the left side boards, who enters the zone on the rush. He sends a cross-ice pass to Kiefer Sherwood, who doesn’t have the best shooting angle and sends the puck to the net front. With a defenceman on his back, Räty enters the
1-1 tie.
Psych. The goal was reviewed, and it was determined that Räty kicked the puck in. No goal.
1-0 Wild.
But don’t worry, the Canucks didn’t let that disallowed goal discourage them.
Karlsson enters the zone with speed and keeps his head up, scanning the ice for a passing option. He stops up and finds Willander on the right side, who fires the puck into traffic and places it perfectly over Jesper Wallstedt – who never saw the puck – and under the bar for his first NHL goal.
Canucks Goal
There's no overturning this one. Willander gets his first career goal and we are tied!
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 7, 2025
1-1 tie. FOR REAL.
Elias Pettersson (D) gave as big a celebration for his teammate’s first NHL goal as Willander did. But Pettersson did not have to wait long to get a goal of his own.
Following a faceoff win by Räty, Willander goes D-to-D to Pettersson. He fires a floater toward the net, which sneaks through traffic and handcuffs Wallstedt, beating him between the high pad and under the glove.
Pettersson makes it 2-1 Canucks!
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 7, 2025
2-1 Canucks.
There wasn’t much of a push back from the Wild after the Canucks took the lead. Boldy had a pair of shots, but in terms of scoring chances, the Canucks did a good job of limiting the Wild. The Canucks didn’t have many chances of their own until Räty got the puck on his stick.
With a board battle taking place behind the Canucks net, Räty goes back in support and gets the puck loose. Kane challenges the Wild defenceman along the boards and kicks the puck up the ice to a streaking Räty.
Räty wins the race for the puck and is sprung on a two-on-one with Sherwood. With Jacob Middleton playing the pass, Räty lines up for a shot at the top of the left circle and wires it into the top left corner.
Raty gets his goal! 3-1 Canucks
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 7, 2025
This one counts.
3-1 Canucks.
Aatu Räty has now been in on four of the last five Canucks goals.
The Wild did answer with a chance of their own, the best one coming off a Joel Eriksson Ek tip, which beats Tolopilo, but not the crossbar.
Vancouver only had six shots in the period, but they managed to capitalize on three of them. The Canucks lead 3-1 after two.
Second period takeaways:
– Canucks had a real problem breaking the puck out of their own zone through this game due to the tenacious Wild forecheck. But they made the most of it when they did.
– I’ve been really liking what I’m seeing out of Linus Karlsson. At the tail end of the period, Karlsson had a shift where he stepped up on Danila Yurov, which knocked the puck loose and straight to Max Sasson at the net front for a backhand chance. Later in the shift, Karlsson picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and entered the zone slowly, pulling the defender, which gave DeBrusk time to catch up and get open for a one-time chance. The pass was blocked, but it was still encouraging to see Karlsson slow the play down.
Third period
The Wild came to play in the final period, logging six shots in the first three minutes.
But any hope for a comeback was lost when Wallstedt mishandled the puck behind the net, and Räty scoops it up and buries it into the open net.
Raty steals it from Wallstedt and makes it 4-1 Canucks!
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 7, 2025
4-1 Canucks.
O’Connor gets a cross-checking penalty for sending Middleton into Tolopilo, who was down and in the splits with a 6’3″, 220-lb defender on top of him. The Canuck netminder was fine, but that couldn’t have been comfortable.
Sherwood was sprung on a shorthanded breakaway, but could not get a shot away after a slash from Brock Faber. This sent the game to four-on-four.
There wasn’t much else going on for the next 10 minutes. The Wild had their pushes, but Tolopilo and the Canucks played prevent defence and limited their opportunities.
Boeser took a late tripping penalty on Boldy with around three minutes remaining. Playing at 6-on-4 with the goalie pulled, Zuccarello circles the faceoff dot and fires a shot farside on Tolopilo, who Eriksson Ek was screening.
Zuccarello makes it 4-2.
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 7, 2025
4-2 Canucks.
Kaprizov took a cross-checking penalty on Karlsson in the Vancouver end, sending the Canucks to the power play late. The Canucks spent the final 40 seconds in Minnesota’s end to ice the game.
4-2 Canucks win.
Game takeaways:
– With the number of injuries down the middle of the ice, I don’t think it’s outlandish to say that Räty has been the Canucks’ second-best centre on the season. And he only built to that case tonight. After serving as a healthy scratch last week against the San Jose Sharks, Räty had a disallowed goal the following game against the Los Angeles Kings. Since then, Räty has scored two and been in on five of the last six Canucks goals. Two of those games he played under 10 minutes, and he went 29/36 (78%) in the faceoff dot.
– Karlsson has played himself into a bigger role on this team. The way he’s slowing the game down, finding time and space with his head up to find the right play, has been awesome to watch.
What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!
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It’s actually comical how inconsistent this team is.
The Vancouver Canucks somehow, someway, managed to beat the Minnesota Wild by a 4-2 scoreline. With Elias Pettersson being a late scratch on this roster, one might’ve been forgiven for thinking that it would be a one-way demolition at the hands of one of the best teams in the NHL so far this season. Instead, it was the Canucks who struck against all odds, the hockey gods perhaps paying them back a bit for being so unfortunate the previous night.
Here’s the win, by the numbers.
As always, you can find our glossary guide of advanced stats here.
Game Flow
At no point during this game was Vancouver in control. While the Canucks held a narrow 53.85 CF% in the first, their xGF% sat at 27.76 as the Wild managed to put up 1.03 xGF against Vancouver’s own 0.4. The closest this gap got was in the second period, where the Canucks had a 0.43-0.37 xGF lead. Funnily enough, that would be all they would need to strike three times in the middle frame. The third period featured them turtling with a 44.00 CF% and 27.31 xGF% as Minnesota looked to avoid losing to the worst team in the NHL – and despite giving up 5 high-danger chances alone in the period, the Canucks still held firm to take the win home.
Heat Map
The heat map also reflects just what a one-sided game it was when it came to scoring chances. While the Wild only had a narrow 21-20 lead in overall scoring chances, the high-danger chances were a lopsided 10-2 for the visitors. That much is shown by the two drastically varying hot spots, where Minnesota had a veritable lake in front of Nikita Tolopilo, while Vancouver barely challenged Jesper Wallstedt from high-danger areas. Still, it’s interesting to see that Minnesota only got one goal at 5v5 play, and it wasn’t from one of those high-danger chances they racked up. As for the Canucks, one of their two high-danger chances was converted into a goal, which is a pretty darn good conversion rate.
Individual Advanced Stats
Corsi Champ: Aatu Raty had himself a night. The Finn saw himself get bumped up the lineup due to Pettersson’s injury and put on a show between Kiefer Sherwood and Evander Kane, putting up a team-best 69.57 CF% while also finding the scoresheet twice. With 2 goals and 1 assist, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Raty also had the second-best xGF5 on the team with 56.27, on ice for a 9-3 lead in scoring chances and 1-1 split in high-danger chances. It’s one of the best games of his professional career, and hopefully Raty can build on this positive going forward.
Raty gets his goal! 3-1 Canucks
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 7, 2025
Corsi Chump: Bringing up the rear of the pack in CF% was Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who recorded a 20.00 CF%. Demoted to the fourth line, Lekkerimäki barely saw any playing time at 5v5 action and was unable to dig himself out of a statistical hole. His 5.12 xGF% ranked him as the third-worst Canuck in that category, with the rest of his linemates joining him as the bottom 3. This was as the Swede faced a 0-3 hole in high-danger chances and the 5th-worst xGA at 0.93. Not the best performance, but it wasn’t as if he was set up for success.
xGF: With all the trade rumours swirling around him, Quinn Hughes has continued to play good hockey. His 58.49 xGF% was a team-best for the Canucks, with the defenceman out there for a 12-4 edge in scoring chances. That being said, Hughes was also on ice for a 1-3 hole in high-danger chances, but given just how much he played and the quality of competition, those numbers do make sense for him. He also led the team in raw xGF, sitting at 0.76 on the night.
GSAx: This was a gem of a performance by Nikita Tolopilo. The Belarusian netminder faced down one of the best teams in the league and came out on top, turning away all but 2 chances against 3.44 xGF to finish with a 1.44 GSAx. It was excellent, and from an AHL netminder, it is a lot more than one could be asking for. The only blemish to his record is that of the two goals, they were split between middle and low-danger chances, which isn’t the best. Still, Tolopilo more than did his part to get the Canucks the win in this one.
As a team
CF% – 44.76% HDCF% – 25.00% xGF% – 31.13%
Just as they deserved to win against the Mammoth, the Canucks deserved to lose against the Wild. The hockey gods really do have an ironic way of evening things out, as this group took care of business in a game where they didn’t play all that well. It was great to see the younger palyers step up in the absence of Pettersson down the middle, and especially more so for the likes of Raty and Tom Willander to find the scoresheet. Again, hopefully this isn’t an outlier and these performances can become more common from these players. As for the team… we’ll see exactly what’s in store for them.
Vancouver hosts the Detroit Red Wings tomorrow night.
Stats provided by naturalstattrick.com
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The Vancouver Canucks might be battling it out for last place in the NHL with the Calgary Flames right now, but they’re the ones with all the smoke.
The trade winds have been blowing in BC for more than a month now, and have recently approached near-hurricane velocity with the revelation that the Canucks and the New Jersey Devils have “had a conversation” about Quinn Hughes.
The topic itself is nothing new. Folks have been talking about Hughes-to-Jersey since at least this past April, when President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford brought it up unprompted in a year-end presser.
But what is new is that, for the first time ever, Rutherford and GM Patrik Allvin seem to be opening the door ever-so-slightly to openly discussing the trading of Hughes. If and when that happens, it’ll be the biggest and perhaps most consequential trade in franchise history.
As it stands, Hughes has a season-and-a-half remaining on his current contract and no trade protection. That’s why, although the logical outcome may be joining his brothers in New Jersey, that’s far from the only possible outcome. Any contender in the league could use Hughes’ services for the next two playoff runs, and several of them would be happy to make a bid or two towards acquiring him.
In other words, if the Devils want to get their hands on Hughes early – and retain the ability to sign him to an eight-year contract – they’re going to have to pay for the privilege. And pay mightily.
The importance of this trade means that it is one that the Canucks cannot afford to mess up, with ‘messing up’ here equating to getting anything less than maximal value back.
So, what’s the most that the Devils could offer up in return for Hughes?
The Big Pieces
Any Hughes trade should be focused on quality over quantity (or, perhaps, quality and quantity). If the Canucks aren’t walking away with multiple blue-chip pieces, they’ve done something catastrophically wrong. The Devils do, indeed, have a couple of interesting names to consider.
The 21-year-old right-shooting defender was selected second overall in the 2022 Entry Draft, but has taken a little longer than average to arrive. This 2025-26 season appears to be a bit of a breakout, however, with Nemec already up to six goals and 15 points through 29 games.
Nemec’s overall game is still a work in progress, and his deployment remains relatively sheltered. Still, he’s stepped up into a bigger role to cover injuries before and seems to grow with each new opportunity. Most still believe he has top-pairing potential in the long term, even if he’s unlikely to reach that in New Jersey with Brett Pesce occupying the top 1RD slot for the time being.
Nemec isn’t an ideal centrepiece for the Canucks, who already have Tom Willander and Victor Mancini on the right side, not to mention veterans Filip Hronek and Tyler Myers. But if they’re focused on getting the single-most value they can, present and future, that’s probably Nemec, one way or another.
Silayev is considered the Devils’ top prospect by a long shot after having been selected 10th overall in the 2024 Entry Draft. The LD stands out from the crowd due to his 6’7”, 207-pound frame that still might be growing, but that’s not his only gift. Silayev is a great skater, and not just for his size, which allows him to provide both puck-carrying abilities and a wide range of defensive coverage. Such an enormous player obviously has a bit of a learning curve ahead of him. Still, Silayev is expected to come over to North America next season to really start that NHL career in earnest. He’s a true blue-chip prospect, and plays at a position that the Canucks will suddenly be in need of should they trade Hughes.
The Medium Pieces
Even if the Canucks were to get both big pieces we’ve already listed, that still wouldn’t really add up to the full value of Hughes. That will need to be supplemented with at least one or two medium pieces, too.
Mercer is a player the Canucks have reportedly had their eye on for a while. After a starring role at the WJC, Mercer has had an incredibly uneven arrival in the big leagues, scoring as many as 56 points as a sophomore, and as few as 33 the very next year.
The 2025-26 season seems to be an upswing for Mercer, as he’s now up to 21 points in 29 games. He’s a little undersized at 6’0” and about 180 pounds, but Mercer makes up for it with a clever approach to the game and a shifting skating style.
All that said, the Canucks would almost certainly be looking at Mercer as a potential centre solution. Although, he’s had more success on the wing at the NHL level, including this season, where he’s mostly spent time on Nico Hischier’s flank. It’s hard to know exactly what they’d be getting in Mercer, and that’s why he can’t be anything more than an additional piece in a trade like this.
Again, the Canucks aren’t particularly interested in RD prospects. But the Devils’ next best future asset is still probably Casey. The 5’10”, sub-180-pound defender who has enough skill to still be considered a future NHLer despite that size.
Casey is an expert puck-handler in every sense of the word, capable of carrying it up the ice, along the blueline, or even deep into the offensive zone when the situation calls for it. He’s an offensive defender, to be sure, but is also working on rounding out his defensive game to the best of his abilities down in the AHL right now.
The fit is less-than-ideal for the Canucks, but if they’re selling off a multitude of veterans, maybe having some redundancy at every position is a fine idea, anyway.
The Canucks aren’t interested in draft picks as the primary returns in the veteran trades, but that doesn’t mean they will turn them down. With the Devils seeming to overall have fewer interesting pieces to offer, they’ll need to supplement somehow, and a first-round pick goes a long way toward that.
The Devils have all future first rounds in hand. But the 2026 pick would be especially nice to acquire, because it has the potential to end up pretty high. Right now, the Devils are one point out of a playoff spot. But they’re also just three points ahead of the bottom-10. Acquiring New Jersey’s first – without any protective clauses – could be smart business with high upside.
Cap Considerations
To fit Hughes now and into the future, the Devils may require some cap cleanup. Whether that comes from the Canucks helping them out or some other side deals, there are some names worth thinking about.
Hamilton, and his $9 million cap hit until 2028, looks like the odd man out in a Hughes arrival. Maybe the Devils would want to keep him around if they had to deal Nemec away, but at some point, Hamilton’s contract is going to be a problem that needs solving.
He has a 10-team no-trade clause, and given his experience in Calgary, we kind of doubt Hamilton would waive it to go to Vancouver – nor would Vancouver have much need for an expensive veteran RD. But perhaps the Canucks could be a middleman, acquiring Hamilton and then flipping him elsewhere for a second-round pick or something similar.
The Devils would especially like to ditch Palat and his $6 million cap hit. Unlike Hamilton, Palat is no longer a high-level player and has just 16 points in his last 100 or so games. Palat also has a 10-team NTC, and it’s unlikely he waives that to go from a contender to a rebuilder, but maybe the Canucks could play middleman with him, too.
Of course, the Canucks could always retain on Hughes’ contract to make a trade even more worth the Devils’ while. That would cost assets, though, to the tune of at least one extra medium piece, if not more. With the Devils already a little short on interesting things to offer, especially compared to some other potential suitors, one wonders if they can cobble together enough to swing Hughes at 50% – does a four-piece package of Nemec, Silayev, Mercer, and a first even get them there?
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We’ve reached the point in the season where Quinn Hughes mentioning the New Jersey Devils GM by nickname has caused everyone to rethink their lives and wonder what any of it all means.
And I don’t mean that to discredit the emotions currently going on in the Vancouver fanbase, as it’s quite understandable after a decade-plus of losing, combined with almost two seasons of “wtf is going on with our team, emotionally,” you might find yourself a bit on edge. So while I don’t necessarily think Quinn Hughes saying “Fitzy” is that big of a deal, I do understand that when you have been given absolutely no answers, you might find yourself overanalyzing every single thing in an attempt to find an answer. It’s the equivalent of misplacing your keys, and after hours of searching everywhere you can think of, part of your brain is inevitably going to have a conversation with itself about whether you should check your freezer.
“I’ve never put my keys in the freezer.”
“But what if this time you did.”
“I would never have a reason to put them in the freezer, I think the starting point of this debate is flawed.”
“But what if you were getting ice for your drink and they fell in. It’s probably best if you just look.”
“OK but like…..ok fine, fine, I’ll check in the freezer.”
So who’s to say calling someone a nickname, or someone wearing green shoes, or someone not drinking coffee like they used to, ISN’T a sign of some sort of impending action. It’s a Knives Out mystery, and you’re all invited to participate.
Canucks Nation is basically at the point where all they can do is wait for Elliotte Friedman to get bored and casually mention the Hughes situation, and then act like he’s shocked it caused such an uproar.
“I’m not saying anything is imminent, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s revealed that it’s possible that it might be a reality that Quinn Hughes might one day be interested in pursuing the sport of hockey in a market that may or may not be Vancouver.” followed by him chastising the market for over-reacting to his report the next day.
All of which is to say the Vancouver Canucks played the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night, and it’s safe to say that the games kind of feel like they are firmly in the back seat of the Hughes situation, more so than ever before.
Which isn’t to say the 4-0 defeat at the hands of the Michigan-based hockey team wasn’t an exciting game. I am sure people who paid money to watch the Canucks lose on home ice are quite content to sit back and wait and see how another made-for-TV drama plays out over the course of a season.
But it’s probably safe to say we are currently knee-deep in the swamps of apathy in this market.
Were there boos at the end of this game? A few. But for the most part, it feels like the fan base is just trudging along in the rain, waiting for a sunny day that might never arrive. I think it’s hard for people to emotionally invest in a team that has asked so much of them the past few seasons, with so few returns. There is no grand plan on the horizon, and all you can do is wait and see how the Quinn Hughes situation plays out, which doesn’t exactly sell tickets or hope. “Want to see if we screw up trading our generational player that we backed ourselves into a corner with?” isn’t quite as catchy as “Compete is in our nature.”, alas.
Which isn’t to say there might not be hope one day. For all we know, Quinn Hughes could stay and turn things around. Or maybe they trade him, get an exceptional return, and start a rebuild/retool in earnest.
It’s just, again, it’s hard to believe in a team that has felt like it’s been following the same script for years, and there has been nothing to suggest they’ll try anything different.
It almost feels like nothing will change in this market unless you scare the owner with low ticket sales, but even then, it feels like a time loop of the next guy coming in, promising he can turn things around in a hurry.
Which kind of makes you think and ponder what the one common denominator has been with the Canucks ever since they fired Mike Gillis. Really makes you think.
Anyways, let’s dive into the game.
Quinn Hughes and Dylan Larkin tapped each other after the ceremonial pick drop. Quinn to Detroit confirmed#Canucks
— canucksdaily (@nucksabeautyeh) December 9, 2025
Is Quinn Hughes giving Brock Boeser a tip that he’s on his way to Detroit??
WE JUST DON’T KNOW.
Whole lotta Red Wings jerseys in the crowd, eh?#Canucks
— Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) December 9, 2025
This isn’t the ’90s, must-see-tv Red Wings, this is the “haven’t made the playoffs in nine years, oh hey Patrick Kane is still playing??” version. Yet their fans are now a noticeable presence at Canucks games, which you know, probably isn’t a great thing for the team.
At least you can see the nice new black seats clearly? I never thought a moral victory would be “don’t have to look at the disgusting maroon-stained seats in 4K anymore,” but damn it, I am taking it.
Which on a side note, for the people who bought their old seats from Rogers Arena, what’s the deal? Everyone’s got their kinks in life, and I don’t judge fandom, but I just do not understand how you get one of those run-down seats that would be an absolute adventure under a black light and feel comfortable with it in your house. That’s all I am saying.
Anyways, to the Canucks credit, and for fans of being “right there” in the pursuit of victory, Vancouver probably deserved a better fate on the night? They controlled most of the first period, and Jake DeBrusk alone should have had around 27 goals, but this is also a team that is second-last place in the NHL, so it’s kind of hard to be like “oh man, I’m telling you, they HAD this one” and be taken seriously? We are firmly in the “Once is a mistake, twice is a habit, and twenty times is just who we are, this is emphatic proof of what we are; we can’t fight it anymore, please stop asking us about it.”
With the Canucks still dealing with the absence of Elias Pettersson, their centre depth makes me uncomfortable to look at, but as I said, they managed to dictate the opening frame of this game.
First up, you had Conor Garland finding Brock Boeser for an absolute bullet of a one-timer:
You know how a one-timer is good? When the guy drops to one knee to propose to it. And Brock leaned into that shot, but John Gibson, as he did all night, denied him.
Up next, you had Evander Kane giving the puck away, only to see Kiefer Sherwood steal it back and get it over to Kane again, who then found the Canucks hottest goal scorer, Aatu Räty, down low:
One day Aatu Räty will score between his legs, putting him up on the wall beside Ryan Shannon’s spin-o-rama shootout goal. Fun fact: Nikolai Khabibulin got so angry that he got deked out of his jock that he punched Shannon in the head. Also, that clip makes me miss John Garrett on commentary more than I realized.
Up next, we had Quinn Hughes dingle-dangle his way to setting up Jake DeBrusk setting up shop in Tim Horton’s, only to just tip the puck high and wide:
And then we had Fil Hronek long bombing the puck to Corolla, who once again set up Jake DeBrusk for a great scoring chance:
Jake does a great job of batting down the puck and then tries his vaunted shootout goal, where he cuts one way to drag the goalie with him and then softly chips it back the other direction as if to say, “ha ha, you’re so stupid, I can’t believe you thought I was shooting blocker side.” The puck was rolling, which made the accuracy on the shot tougher than normal, and it is probably the kind of situation November Jake scores on, but not December Jake.
Never, December Jake.
It is baffling to me how Adam Foote succeeded as the defence coach under Tocchet. The defending in front of the net has been atrocious all year. #Canucks
— Mcsuper(@Macusian12345) December 9, 2025
If you got that sinking feeling after watching the Canucks dominate that there would be a defensive lapse leading to a goal, congratulations, you’re a well-versed hockey fan:
As well as the Canucks played to open the period, we know they remain prone to defensive breakdowns and bad coverage. Which isn’t even based on other teams coming out like the ’80s Oilers and just running the Canucks out of the rink. Most of the time, it’s just basic hockey, where the other team is cycling the puck, and before you know it, the Canucks have pissed their pants and a man is wide open.
I just find it hard to trust in Adam Foote’s defensive system because I still don’t quite know what he’s trying to do with it. All we have are the results, which are the Canucks attempting some sort of man-to-man defence that inevitably breaks down when two or more Canucks randomly swarm at a player with the puck.
And on this play, Aatu Räty leaves the net front to chase JT Compher, who had just beaten Marcus Pettersson behind the net. Conventional wisdom says you stand your ground if you’re Aatu, because you need to defend the crease. Let MP3 try to recover and see how things play out. Which maybe that’s a tall task considering how poorly Marcus Pettersson has played this season, but damn it, we’re a society and we have rules. Defend the crease.
But Räty doesn’t stand his ground; he instead chases down Compher behind the net, and JT finds a time-travelling James van Riemsdyk from 2013 all alone in front. 1-0 bad guys.
Was this Kevin Lankinen’s fault? No, it’s hard to blame any goalie for whatever…this season is. You can’t expect your goalie to bail you out for every major defensive breakdown.
But the fact remains: Kevin has probably been the worst goalie on the season for Vancouver, and his contract is looking a bit stinky, so he’s going to get some valid criticism.
All I am saying is I feel calmer when Nikita Tolopilo is in net, which I didn’t see coming.
Can I interest you in a nice Tom Willander rush?
Yes, a shot that was blocked and led to an awkward cover in the crease isn’t the sexiest highlight, but sometimes you take what you can get.
I just really enjoy Tom Willander when he busts out a mini-Hughes rush down the ice. Somewhere in the world, I like to imagine Jiri Slegr looks up and just smiles.
If you were in a court of law and looking across the table at Jack McCoy, Harvey Spector or Ally McBeal, this would be where you’d make your case that the Canucks didn’t commit murder and had a chance to win this game.
Jake DeBrusk, third in your program and first in your hearts, had three chances on a power play midway through the second period.
One was upsetting he didn’t score.
One was disgusting he didn’t score.
And one was merely average; as such, we won’t show it or mention it ever again.
But the first two chances? Nicolas Cage would be needed for the reenactment of how painfully close he came to scoring.
The best chance was probably the spiral pass from Quinn Hughes, sent in from around Robson Street, catching DeBrusk behind the Detroit defence:
Clang clang clang goes the trolley and the post, however, and the Canucks remained scoreless.
Which then led right into Jake DeBrusk having a glorious chance to swat a rebound, which, along with deft tipping, is his bread and butter. Unfortunately, John Gibson didn’t get the memo:
Even the play to set up the shot leading to the rebound is really slick, as Garland passes the puck in the slot to Sherwood, who just sort of spins and shoots it like he’s one of those players on a metal rod in a Bubble hockey game.
If you’re thinking to yourself, “man, sure would be nice if the Canucks shot near the top of the net”, you should 100% be thinking that. But even then, this was a tremendous save from a goalie who was sliding the other way before Jake got the shot off.
Then, after this, Jake rushed the puck on net for a third chance on the same shift, but you could tell by then his spirit was demoralized, and he needed some time to think about life before trying to shoot a puck again.
When you’re told the Canucks want to win now and aren’t looking at getting draft picks or young players.
And that was pretty much the hockey game from Vancouver’s side of things. The good news is this article wraps up pretty quickly because there is only so much I want to talk about Detroit scoring three goals and then watching them park the bus for the third period against Vancouver.
Now, this might shock you, but Detroit’s second goal? It involved bad coverage:
I will say that Linus Karlsson and Drew O’Connor colliding outside the blue line at least provides a reasonable explanation as to why the Canucks had some trouble covering in their zone. This is better than “why did Evander Kane just skate off into the horizon?” levels of bad breakdowns.
That being said, it’s still a breakdown, and with two forwards unable to get back into the play, Detroit quickly moves the puck around the ice before ending on the tap-in from Andrew Copp.
I think Quinn Hughes is probably a bit too aggressive as he lunges at the puck going across to Axel Sandin-Pellikka, which takes him away from protecting the front of the net.
I think Fil Hronek is too slow to get back; he looks extremely casual skating back to his net, to the point that I had to check if he was wearing a hoodie and sandals.
And I think Kevin Lankinen overplays the east/west pass, as he slides out of his crease tracking the puck, which gives him no chance at making the stop on Copp. At the very least, he needs to toss his stick as he reaches back, at least give us the dramatics.
Frustrating #canucks game to watch, but enjoying the perfect tank game.
— Michael Paweska (@mrpaweska) December 9, 2025
If you prefer traditional piss poor net coverage, can I present you with Detroit’s third goal?
Once again, Sandin-Pellikka sets up a man in front, this time finding Nate Danielson all alone in front of Kevin Lankinen after Marcus Pettersson and Conor Garland both chase Marco Kasper along the sideboards. Swarming is cool, right? All the kids are swarming, they tell me.
At one point, Danielson literally skates back and forth through Canucks coverage, and still nobody picks him up, leading to Nate tipping a puck (deftly) pass Lankinen, and then doing some pushups on the crossbar to further add insult to injury.
When Rick Tocchet left, so did any semblance of a defensive system that players understood and trust in, because I do not recognize the player Marcus Pettersson has been this season. It feels like every player has regressed in that regard EXCEPT Fil Hronek. It’s our version of Pluribus. I don’t know why Hronek is immune, but each week, I am waiting to see when the hosts finally figure it out and assimilate him into the hive mind.
Goalie contracts, man.
I understand the theory behind signing Kevin Lankinen (Thatcher Demko will always be injured for half a season). I liked how Kevin played last season. I didn’t think Kevin would play as poorly as he has this season.
But that’s all the more reason why I worry anytime a goalie signs a long-term deal.
It’s not the old days where there were like three top goalies in Hasek, Roy and Brodeur, then a bunch of average goalies, and then Dan Cloutier.
Now we live in a world in which Casey DeSmith will be like a viable goalie for St. Louis in the year 2032 and can get you some wins. You have options.
On the other hand, you watch Edmonton, and you wonder, “That will never be us, right?” So I get the fear of that.
But still. Signing goalies to long-term, high-dollar deals always seems like a risk, especially when you have two of them on the roster.
I think the Canucks had to go with either Demko or Lankinen and then kept Arturs Silovs, but then again, “what if everything goes perfectly right this season?” game planning probably allows you a level of delusion I’ve never experienced.
Surprised we haven’t seen a #Canucks jersey on the ice yet
— Demko’s Kneebones(@BluelineBardown) December 9, 2025
I like how in Vancouver, you know they won’t fire anyone until a jersey is tossed on the ice; it’s our version of white smoke.
Anyways, here is Kiefer Sherwood getting a shot on net to start the third period:
Experience Canucks hockey!
For posterity’s sake, here are clips of the Canucks fighting back in the third period and trying to make a game of it.
Up first, you had the returning Nils Höglander setting up Aatu Räty right in front, only to be denied by Gibson:
I like how Aatu Räty shoved off his check to get open, circa 2003, Todd Bertuzzi, before the coward known as Barry Trotz publicly complained about it, and officials started calling penalties for it.
Then you had number one centre David Kampf setting up Fil Hronek, who can dance for days, and landing a boom, headshot:
And then you had multiple dudes just banging at the puck in the crease as if to say “see? we tried” as the time wore down on the clock:
It was another third period, that’s about the best I can describe it. The Canucks went for a skate, took some shots, and hopefully drank some beers in the parking lot.
Foote is team tank. Empty net with over 5 min#canucks
— NuckenFutz (@itOKimALimoDrvr) December 9, 2025
I keep waiting to see how early Adam Foote will pull the goalie and by what margin. Will we ever see a 7-0 lead where the Canucks pull the goalie two minutes into the third? I can only hope so.
But on this night, Corolla, sweet, reliable Corolla, stalled on the breakout:
Did Dylan Larkin wink at Quinn Hughes? One can only hope.
Full credit to Kiefer Sherwood for showing a modicum of “eff you” energy, as he landed a big hit on Lucas Raymond to close out the game:
That is one of those hits where people debate for days about if it was a headshot or not, leading to AI generated thesis presented at 2 am, followed up by still photos of the exact moment they believe contact was made with a body part, all of which is to say it was a big hit and Raymond is fine, so we don’t need to fight.
And that was the game. Now we can get back to waiting for Elliotte Friedman to tweet about Quinn Hughes again.
Yay.
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It may not be resulting in nightly wins, but the Abbotsford Canucks’ recent stretch has at least offered baby steps in the right direction.
The team welcomed the Coachella Valley Firebirds to the newly minted Rogers Forum for the final pair of games of a four-game homestand. Despite strong efforts from goaltenders Jiri Patera and Aku Koskenvuo, the Canucks dropped both games to draw their record to 5-15-1-3 on the season.
Game One
It was a Saturday night in Abbotsford, and as the team hosted its fifth annual Teddy Bear Toss game, the building buzzed with energy.
After staving off an early Jujhar Khaira hooking penalty, the fans did not have to hold onto their teddies for long.
On a power play of their own, Jackson Kunz jumped on a failed Firebird clearing attempt. Collecting the puck behind the net, he found Nils Aman in the slot, who wasted no time from his knees to send the teddy bears flying.
IT'S RAINING BEARS IN ABBY THANKS TO NILS ÅMAN!pic.twitter.com/lAStPrrXr7
— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) December 7, 2025
He joins a list that includes Jett Woo, Chase Wouters, Phil Di Giuseppe, and Will Lockwood as Teddy Bear Toss goalscorers in franchise history.
Carrying play for much of the remaining period, the Firebirds evened the score on yet another man-advantage. Collecting the puck on the goalline, Oscar Fisker Molgaard spun and found Jagger Firkus with the perfect dish to send Jiri Patera spinning.
THE FIRKUS CIRCUS STRIKES AGAINPOWERPLAY GOAL TO TIE IT UP!
1-1 pic.twitter.com/Mh5waFIJJ6
— Coachella Valley Firebirds (@Firebirds) December 7, 2025
But the stalemate was short-lived, as Jimmy Schuldt responded promptly with his first as an Abbotsford Canuck. Following the initial face-off, Schuldt sent a pass intended for the front of the net, which took a fortuitous bounce off a skate and past Nikke Kokko.
JIMMY RESTORES THE LEADpic.twitter.com/FugiZVHRtp
— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) December 7, 2025
Despite being outshot by a 17-6 margin, the Canucks enjoyed a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes of play.
Just three minutes into the second frame, Mackenzie MacEachern provided some insurance. Jockeying for control on the rush, he fired a quick snapshot to the short side to beat the netminder for the 3-1 advantage.
BIG MAC NETS ONE ON THE BREAKAWAY!
— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) December 7, 2025
The middle stanza saw a total of six penalties called, and despite being outshot for a second straight period, the Canucks enjoyed a solid lead heading into the final stretch.
But the Firebirds had other plans and responded quickly to kickstart an eventual comeback.
Just seconds after the opening minute of the third period, defenceman Tyson Jugnauth sent a relatively routine shot from the blueline toward Patera. Unable to control the puck, he gave up a juicy rebound that bounced out to Firkus. Despite the netminder’s best attempts to slide over, the young sharpshooter deposited the puck for his second goal of the game.
OH YEAH FIRK!!
3-2 pic.twitter.com/BJSycw5MyU
— Coachella Valley Firebirds (@Firebirds) December 7, 2025
Despite allowing a goal that he likely wants back, Patera was the story of the game. Heading into the final minutes of the match, he had made close to 40 shots and kept up his end of the bargain to provide the team’s second win of the homestand.
But with their netminder pulled in the final two minutes, the Birds pressed hard. With some terrific puck movement, the puck found its way to Ben Meyers in the slot, who sent a one-timer past Patera to tie the game late to send this game to an eventual shootout.
BEN MEYERS TIES UP THE GAME WITH 1:34 LEFT IN THE 3RD PERIOD!!
3-3 pic.twitter.com/8AXKHmRBYJ
— Coachella Valley Firebirds (@Firebirds) December 7, 2025
The visiting team would score on their first two attempts in the shootout en route to a 4-3 victory to spoil the Tedyd Bear Toss event at the Rogers Forum. Despite the loss, Jiri Patera earned the game’s second star with a 42-save effort on home ice.
Game two
Unlike Saturday evening, game two wasn’t nearly as electric and eventful. Aku Koskenvuo received his fifth start of the season and was only tested five times in the opening period. For the first time all weekend, the Canucks enjoyed the advantage (9-5) on the shot clock.
The Canucks did draw first blood in the second period, courtesy of Duncan, BC’s Ben Berard. Gaining entry, Nils Aman patiently held onto the puck before firing a spinning pass to the slot where Berard was lurking from the corner. Redirecting the pass, the puck found its way through Victor Ostman for his sixth of the campaign.
HE'S JUST BEN AND HE SCORES GOALS!
— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) December 8, 2025
But like most leads from the weekend, it was relatively short-lived. While killing a penalty of their own, the Firebirds jumped for an odd-man rush on the Canucks.
Collecting the puck on the entry was J.R. Avon, who snapped the shot shortside on Koskevnuo to even the score.
AVON EVENS THE SCORE
1-1 pic.twitter.com/uthAXHl0P7
— Coachella Valley Firebirds (@Firebirds) December 8, 2025
Like Patera on Saturday, the young Finnish netminder played a strong game and kept his team well within the game up until the final buzzer.
With under five minutes to play in the third period, however, the Firebirds struck for yet another late dagger.
Having felt like he was held up, Jimmy Schuldt was caught complaining to the referee, allowing the Firebirds to jump ahead for an odd-man rush. Jacob Melanson dropped the puck back for Ben Meyers before he placed a perfect shot to the short side top corner to ice the game.
BENNY TO BRING THE BIRDS ON TOP
2-1 pic.twitter.com/eahob2W8CP
— Coachella Valley Firebirds (@Firebirds) December 8, 2025
With the netminder pulled, the Canucks provided a late-period push, but weren’t able to find the equalizer. For a second consecutive game, a Canucks goalie was awarded with a player of the game honour (third star) as Aku Koskenvuo stopped 25 of 27 shots in the 2-1 defeat.
Despite being in each game, the Canucks conceded late tallies and dropped both matches to the Coachella Valley Firebirds. They will enjoy a week-long break before heading to Calgary for a quick two-game road trip against the Wranglers.
The puck will drop for game one at the Scotiabank Saddledome at 5:00 pm PT on Saturday, December 13.
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Welcome back to Blackfish: Our weekly Vancouver Canucks prospect report.
To our regular readers: our sincere apologies for missing last week’s edition. The good news is that this report comes jam-packed with everything we missed!
It’s been a turbulent stretch for the farmhands in Abbotsford. Results remain hard to come by, but a win and several close losses have shown proof of life. A handful of young defenders continue to shoulder heavy minutes, Danila Klimovich finally found the back of the net, and the return of several bodies to the lineup has helped bring about a semblance of stability.
Across the CHL, the momentum is a bit stronger. Riley Patterson erupted with nine points, Gabriel Chiarot continued his rugged scoring pace, and Braeden Cootes pushed himself into consideration for a spot on the World Juniors roster.
Speaking of which: three Canucks prospects were invited by their respective nations’ squads ahead of this year’s tournament.
With progress, growing pains, rebounds, and international intrigue all in the mix, this week’s report is a busy one. Let’s dive in.
Abbotsford Canucks
Before we get to the farm team, we thought we’d talk a bit about Tom Willander and what he’s been up to since being recalled in late October.
Since returning to the NHL roster, not only has he picked up seven assists in his 20 games played, but he scored his first NHL goal courtesy of a wicked snapshot release that we’ve seen from him in the past. Instead of looking back at an AHL return, the rookie rearguard’s strong play has prompted calls for even more NHL ice time.
Tom Willander snipes his first NHL goal!pic.twitter.com/y8rt09Tmho
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 7, 2025
Here at CanucksArmy, the consensus for a player to have graduated out of our official prospect rankings is 25 NHL games; Willander looks poised to surpass that mark by Christmas.
Willander’s promotion, along with an extensive list of injuries and absences of other defenders, has naturally taken its toll on the Abbotsford Canucks. Fortunately, things are starting to look better now that capable bodies are returning to the blueline. Not great, but it’s a start!
As you can see from the statistical ledger above, there are very few stat lines worth highlighting. Also, don’t bother looking at the plus/minus category. It’s horrendous. The team’s play as a whole has looked better. They picked up a victory in one of their four home games this past week, with all three of their losses coming courtesy of extremely late third-period tallies to lose by a single goal. Again: Not great, but it’s a start!
Kirill Kudryavtsev returned to the lineup after a brief absence due to injury. He continues to rack up heavy minutes, even surpassing the 28-minute mark at one point last week. Through six games since our last report, he is the only player on the list who posted a positive plus-minus rating (plus 1) while adding two assists to his boxcar stats.
Admittedly, the bar is egregiously low. However, given the minutes he is playing and everything else that is going on in the NHL and AHL organization, it’s the only mildly impressive number worth highlighting.
During that same stretch, Sawyer Mynio added just a single assist and finished with a plus-minus of minus-5.
We’d been wondering whether Danila Klimovich would ever show up for the 2025-26 season. Mercifully, he did. Albeit briefly. Not only did he score his first goal of the season in the club’s 5-2 regulation win against the Tucson Roadrunners, but his second, third, and an eventual shootout winner a few nights later against the Calgary Wranglers!
THE KLIM-REAPER WE ALL KNOW AND LOVE
— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) November 30, 2025
With such a battered and beaten-down roster, Klimovich dusting off the cobwebs to produce at all was vital to the Abby Canucks’ offence.
With just three goals, five points and 45 shots in 22 games, this can’t even be considered something close to a bounce back. It’s something. However, it’s production along the lines of someone who has played their way out of a contract extension, not someone playing themselves toward an AHL top-six role, let alone an NHL future.
Vilmer Alriksson has been a much more impactful player than when he first stepped into the league. In three short months, Alriksson has worked his way out of the bottom six and into a top-six role.
While the production hasn’t been there, his work rate at the net front and in the corners should eventually lead to more on the stat sheet. On a nightly basis, the big man does a solid job of making his opposition’s job tough. He currently sits second on the team in hits with 42, precisely what you want from a player of his ilk: crashing, causing havoc, and making life difficult for defencemen in the d-zone.
On the polar opposite side of the physicaity coin sits Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who returned to Abbotsford after posting one assist in a four-game stint with Vancouver. Down in Abbotsford, he’s a clear difference maker, where his willingness to shoot is a considerable help to a team struggling to put the puck in the net.
Lekkerimäki did not dress in Sunday’s loss to Coachella Valley, meaning he will need to fly and play with the team in their two-game stint in Calgary to be eligible for an NHL recall. If the organization even wants to, that is.
If you’ve been following us here at Blackfish, reading the Farmies, or simply existing in this market, you know that the 2025-26 season has been tough on the Abbotsford Canucks. No position has felt that struggle more than the organization’s goaltenders. Nikita Tolopilo has been solid, but a carousel of absences in Vancouver has seen him start just six times in three months!
It took time, but Jiri Patera climbed himself over the .900 save percentage threshold, while the two rookie netminders, Aku Koskenvuo and Ty Young, continue to operate well below a passing grade.
For Koskenvuo, his play has been much better than his numbers may suggest. He looks calm between the pipes and squares up nicely. As for Young, he has struggled. Winless in seven starts, Young not only sports disappointing numbers, but his struggles have been visibly apparent when facing AHL shooters.
To help him with a reset, the club reassigned Young to Kalamazoo to collect himself and hopefully rebuild his game. Young has previously shown well in the ECHL and AHL levels, and now it’s simply a matter of returning his form to that level. His first opportunity to start for Kalamazoo is Wednesday, when they host the Bloomington Bisons.
World Juniors
For prospect enthusiasts, we’re inching closer to the best time of the year. No, not Christmas. The World Juniors. This year’s event takes place in Minnesota, and the Canucks will have a trio of prospects attending tryout camps for their respective countries.
The first to receive the call was 2025 fifth-round pick Wilson Björck, who was invited to attend the Swedish camp. Inviting just 26 players, the team is set to make just one cut, giving the forward a very high chance of earning a spot, likely to play alongside his younger brother.
Shortly after, Basile Sansonnens received the invite to attend Team Switzerland’s camp, and is a near-lock to make the team. Sansonnens is a shutdown-type of defenceman who carries previous World Juniors experience and logs time for Lausanne HC of the men’s Swiss National League. It would be a surprise not to see him play a significant top-four role for Switzerland.
Finally, the third name announced was Braeden Cootes, who was invited to Team Canada’s camp, which will take place from December 11th to the 22nd.
Sources close to the tournament have told us that Team Canada expects to make three cuts, one from each position. That would bring their roster down to just two goalies, which would be an interesting choice. The team will also keep its roster open until December 22nd in the hopes that a few names will be loaned to them from their NHL clubs.
For Cootes, there aren’t many NHL forwards who could jeopardize his potential to make the final team. Berkeley Catton of the Seattle Kraken would have been a serious candidate before being announced week-to-week with an injury last Monday. The other is Ben Kindel, who would easily earn a spot should he be loaned by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Anaheim’s Beckett Sennecke feels like a bit of a pipe dream for Canada, given that he’s currently fourth on the Ducks by points.
He may not be a prominent member of the lineup, but our money has Cootes earning a spot over a few of the names invited to the camp.
He’s had a productive five-game slate since our last report, picking up three goals and three assists, with 26 shots fired on net. Through 17 games, Cootes is now firing at well over a point-per-game pace with 10 goals and 23 points. And just because, enjoy some of Cootes’ best moments from this season.
All three teams will take part in preliminary action, with Sweden and Canada in a doubleheader.
Braeden Cootes:
- Sweden – Dec. 17 & 20
- Denmark – Dec. 23
Wilson Björck:
- Canada – Dec. 17 & 20
- Switzerland – Dec. 23
Basile Sansonnens:
- Minnesota State (NCAA) – Dec. 16
- Denmark – Dec. 21
- Sweden – Dec. 23
CHL
Elsewhere in the CHL, Riley Patterson led the week with four goals and five assists over four games, sliding into a clear lead in the Niagara IceDogs scoring race.
Running at an 80-point pace, he’s well on track to shatter his previous career high of 59 points. Despite being on the top power play unit, only five of his 30 points have come on the man-advantage. That his 5v5 production covers most of his points totals is very encouraging.
One area of play that significantly improved over the last stretch was his face-off numbers. After a slow start, he’s brought his percentage up to 50% thanks to a string of games that saw him go 9/14, 10/13, 10/12, and 11/19, just to highlight a few.
Sitting just below the IceDogs in the standings is Gabriel Chiarot’s Brampton Steelheads. Despite the team’s middling results through 2025-26, the Canucks’ sixth-round pick has been a decent story. Last week, Chiraot added another four points to his ledger along with 25 shots on goal. With three more goals, he now leads his team with 13 on the year. Though he’s producing at a rate that will eclipse his previous highs, he’s still producing at a disappointing under a point-per-game pace (56 points in 64 games).
Considering his profile, it’s not overly surprising that his production leaves a lot to be desired. However, his “grind you down” style carries a lot of intrigue. Most of his 13 goals have come from jam plays around the net or from a wicked release from in the slot.
It’s been a tough go for Kieren Dervin and the Kingston Frontenacs, who are winless over their last nine games. Dervin’s production took a mighty dip over the last couple of weeks, with just a pair of assists in his last six games. The Frontenacs have only scored 10 goals during that stretch. Still, it’s a disappointing stretch from an intrigued follower’s standpoint.
The cold streak appeared to run through the majority of the Canucks’ OHL representatives.
Aleksei Medvedev’s numbers dropped to earth after an incredible start to his draft-plus-one season. The London Knights have a 5-5-0-0 record in their last ten, with Medvedev posting a .883 save percentage during a run that saw him win just two of his last five starts.
Medvedev’s 2.63 goals against and .0.910 save percentage are still top-ten in the OHL. However, these past few weeks have been a low point. Medvedev will need to shake it off if he hopes to bring the Knights out of the gutter and back to their typical winning ways.
Finally, Parker Alcos continued his positive season over in the dub with another plus-five across four games. Alcos now sits in a tie for fourth among all defenders with a plus-22 on the season.
He’s found a comfortable home paired alongside Ethan Mackenzie, who earned an invitation to Team Canada’s World Junior camp. Together, they have matching plus-minus’ and have formed one of the best defensive pairings in the league.
NCAA
Over in the College circuit, Anthony Romani had a decent stretch, with two goals and two assists in four games. His week was highlighted by his first multi-goal game at the NCAA level.
The situation for the former OHL winger hasn’t changed this season. Romani is on a stacked Michigan State team, building chemistry with the same linemates on the team’s third line. His production hasn’t been off the charts, but he’s found ways to score at 5v5.
The NCAA will head into its final weekend before the league goes on hiatus for the holidays.
Rest of the world
Ilya Safonov continues to plug along as a fascinating profile overseas in Russia. With another two goals, he’s up to 10 on the season. We’re still not convinced that he has much NHL upside. Still, he’s a large body with good hands in tight, who offers tons of intrigue as a potential net front presence.
That will do it for this week’s instalment. With the World Juniors now right around the corner, we’re getting excited to cover some of the preliminary play over the next few weeks.
Until next week, folks — thanks for reading.
Once the Vancouver Canucks drafted Tom Willander 11th overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, there was immediate pressure on him. The 2023 draft was considered very deep, with potential impact players at every position, including in the middle of the first round. His ultimate upside was considered less than, for example, Axel Sandin-Pellikka, but his elite mobility made him a sure bet to at least play in the NHL. His profile was that of an elite puck supporter who can shut down the rush game with his legs. To justify his selection, Willander needed to demonstrate strong development in the details of his game, and early in his career, the results are promising.
Two defencemen were selected before the young Canucks’ rearguard in the draft: David Reinbacher and Dmitry Simashev. Five more were selected after him in the first round. Only Willander, Simashev, and Sandin-Pellikka have actually suited up in the NHL. Expanding this out to include the entire 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 drafts reveals that only 19 defencemen have played 20 or more NHL games.
xGF% = this is the difference between Expected Goals For and Expected Goals Against, represented as a percentage
SCF% = this is the difference between Scoring Changes For and Scoring Chances Against, represented as a percentage
OZ Start % = percentage of time the player starts their shift with an offensive zone faceoff (only accounts for offensive and defensive starts, not neutral zone starts)
DZ Start % = percentage of time the player starts their shift with a defensive zone faceoff (only accounts for offensive and defensive starts, not neutral zone starts)
AVG TOI = average time on ice per game
Willander is sixth in xGF% and fourth in SCF%. This means that when he is on the ice, there is an equal amount of scoring chances for and against the Canucks. It’s not so much that he is winning his minutes but holding the opposition to a draw. For a young defenceman, this is actually very good as it means he is not being taken advantage of or blowing his coverage.
Early in their careers, Willander is outperforming Simashev, who was selected five spots earlier in the 2023 draft, and is roughly on par with Sandin-Pellikka’s results and production. In stark contrast to the vast majority of his peers, however, is that Willander averages less than 14 minutes in ice time. Only teammate Elias Pettersson averages less ice time among these players. The early results and his underlying numbers show that Willander can handle more responsibility.
It’s all well and good to compare him to his peers, but how do these numbers compare to more established NHL defencemen? Well, CanucksArmy has that covered!
The defencemen were chosen as having a comparable playstyle to Willander. Typically, these are strong defenders who provide support in the offensive zone through one-touch passes and constant movement to keep opposing defenders on their toes. Charlie McAvoy, for instance, was frequently cited by Craig Button as an NHLer with stylistic similarities to the Canucks defender.
From a pure production standpoint, Willander is tied for second in points over this 20-game sample size. Once again, his xGF% and SCF% hold up very well, sixth and seventh, respectively. These metrics are in line with Jonas Brodin’s numbers. Brodin and Willander are roughly the same size and are both excellent skaters whose offence comes from supporting rather than driving. One primary difference, and this leads to Brodin’s counting stats being very muted, is that the offensive and defensive zone starts between the Wild and Canucks defenders are opposite of each other.
His ice time remains obscenely low with the second-lowest average. He has averaged nearly two and a half minutes less than Jaccob Slavin, the next player above him. In comparison, Brodin averaged an even 22 minutes a game through his first 20 times on an NHL surface.
For the season, the smooth-skating defenceman has provided top-four results from below third-pairing minutes.
Willander is third in points, one of only two defencemen on the team to have a positive +/-, second to Quinn Hughes in xGF%, and third, barely behind Filip Hronek, in SCF%. In very limited icetime, he’s produced like a top-four defenceman. However, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention his rather gaudy OZ Start%.
He is second on the team with over 55% of his zone starts coming in the offensive zone. Much of this is driven by small sample size, limited ice time, and getting usage on the second unit power play. At 5v5, his OZ Start% drops to 51% which would put him in line with Elias Pettersson’s deployment.
The power play deployment does not significantly affect his counting stats, either. Seven of his eight points have come at even strength. When adjusted to 5v5, his xGF% drops to 44.67% and his SCF% falls to 45.98%. The sample size is very small, and one game, good or bad in either direction, can greatly skew his numbers.
Ideally, his icetime begins to climb. On December 8th, against the Detroit Red Wings, he saw the ice for 15 minutes. However, the previous game was a gutsy 4-2 victory over the Wild, where Willander scored his first NHL goal and added an assist; he only played 13:18.
As the Canucks’ season collapses in on itself, Tom Willander’s play has been a bright spot. Given his extremely limited icetime, his counting stats are impressive. Putting up eight points through his first 20 games while averaging under 14 minutes a night was not something any of his comparables, peers, or teammates have replicated. With how the Canucks’ season has gone, there’s no reason not to give him more responsibility.
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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!
The Toilet Bowl. The Sad Club Showdown. The At Least We’re Not Them Cup. The Battle for the Basement. No matter what you were calling tonight’s game between the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks, we’re here to give you our instant reaction to it!
Starting Lineup
Warmup #Canucks lines vs. @BuffaloSabres
Boeser. Kämpf. Garland.
Kane. O’Connor. Sherwood.
DeBrusk. Sasson. Karlsson.
Höglander. Räty. Bains.
Hughes. Hronek.
EP25. Myers.
MP29. Willander.
7pm on @Sportsnet650 https://t.co/J6DNM1E8Qt pic.twitter.com/0vmsvmmkyn
— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) December 12, 2025
It was the return of Thatcher Demko to the Vancouver goal crease!
First Period
The building was quiet in the first period, and for good reason. This one was a snoozefest early on.
Rasmus Dahlin opened the scoring on the Sabres’ fourth shot of the night, and this was one that Demko wanted back:
Rasmus Dahlin opens the scoring for Buffalo.
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 12, 2025
1-0 Sabres.
Before the end of the first, the Canucks got their first power play of the game after Tom Willander took a high-stick to the face. If you didn’t watch the game, I want you to watch this play and tell me how you think the officials dished out the penalties. Your hint is that Willander was bleeding.
If you guessed double minor for Jack Quinn, and a minor penalty to Willander for high-sticking, you’d be correct. And no, I won’t blame you if you need to go watch that replay again. What a silly call.
The Canucks did get a power play out of the ordeal though, and Kiefer Sherwood didn’t waste much time to make good on it, scoring his first goal in 11 games:
Kiefer Sherwood scores his first goal in 11 games!
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 12, 2025
1-1 with just over 10 seconds to go in the first.
Some takeaways from the first:
-Really liked some of what I saw from Nils Höglander tonight. It’s good to see him getting more comfortable.
-Who is the Canuck you’ve noticed the least lately? For me, it’s Evander Kane.
Second Period
The Canucks started the second period with some great jump in their game, and it was fitting that Max Sasson pulled away and capitalized on a breakaway attempt to give the Canucks their first lead of the night:
Max Sasson goes five hole on Alex Lyon and puts Vancouver up 2-1!
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 12, 2025
2-1 Canucks.
The Canucks busted out the shoddy defensive zone coverage once again, and this time it was Tage Thompson who took advantage of that.
Tage Thompson rips a shot past Thatcher Demko to tie this game.
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 12, 2025
2-2.
With just over five minutes to go in the period, Filip Hronek took a penalty, giving the Sabres their second power play of the game. Buffalo wasted little time in capitalizing, scoring their third goal of the game on their 12th shot:
The pride of Chilliwack Zach Benson puts the Sabres up by one.
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 12, 2025
3-2 Sabres.
With 46 seconds left, the Canucks went to the power play once again, and were once again looking for a late goal, having already gone 1-for-1 on the night with Sherwood’s tally late in the first. That didn’t happen, so they entered the third with over a minute of power play time to work with.
Some takeaways from the second:
-Quinn Hughes just makes so many things happen whenever he’s on the ice. I hope amidst all the trade speculation and sad times in Vancouver that people are still allowing themselves to enjoy watching the greatest defenceman in franchise history do magical things.
-Brock Boeser missed a couple defensive assignments tonight, including covering Zach Benson in the bumper while the Canucks were on the PK.
-I noticed Evander Kane more in this period than I did in the first!
Third Period
The third period started with utter chaos, as Thatcher Demko raced out to play a loose puck and rifled his clearing attempt off of Tyson Kozak and scrambled back to his crease. Thankfully, the puck stayed out and the Canucks continued to trail by only one.
That was a close call
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) December 12, 2025
Unfortunately, that killed some precious moments off of what was left of their power play.
They didn’t have to wait too long for their next one though, as Nils Höglander drew a slashing penalty with over 13 minutes to play. The Canucks generated some decent looks — there was Brock Boeser’s hard pass thorugh the crease to Jake DeBrusk and Filip Hronek’s point shot that hit the crossbar — but they couldn’t score, moving to 1-for-3 on the night.
That stood as the final.
What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!
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“This is NOT happenstance. This is NOT a simple pattern of failure. This is NOT inspirational. This is active, malicious torment.”
“This is hell.“ – Jon Bois, The Browns live in Hell (2017)
Losing to the modern-day Buffalo Sabres is a statement, no matter how you slice it.
Losing to the Sabres – in regulation, no less – is a fate worse than purgatory. The Sabres haven’t made the playoffs in a generation, and as it currently stands, they’re on par with a Canucks team that’s spent years avoiding a true rebuild, only for those shortsighted decisions to truly come to roost in 2025-26.
Last month, when the Canucks lost to the Blackhawks, it spelled out how they had officially lost ground on a team that had been completely in their rearview less than a couple of years ago. Chicago hasn’t even done a particularly good job rebuilding their roster, the Sabres even less so. But here we are, with both teams (and a few notable others like San Jose and Anaheim) firmly ahead of the Canucks in the standings and beating them on nights where Vancouver played objectively well.
The Canucks’ efforts over the last week against the likes of the Sabres, Red Wings and Mammoth have been among their best of the season. But that good play only amounted to three goals across all those games, with the rest of their offence only showing up against the Minnesota Wild. Today, when it was all said and done, the Canucks had outshot their opponents by a ratio of 2-to-1, were on the wrong end of the score again.
Everyone sees the writing on the wall. The fans at Rogers Arena tonight could barely even muster an angry response, having been in this exact situation so many times before. And if recent history is any indicator, they know there’s no real hope coming.
There’s no way out of this cycle other than steering into the skid, a direction Canucks ownership has routinely been unwilling to go. But maybe – just maybe – a game like this will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Or maybe it”ll be business as usual, taking shortcuts and aiming for the middle from now until the sun burns out. As a positive guy, I’m choosing to believe in the former.
After a loss like this, something’s gotta give.
Thatcher Demko made his long-anticipated return to the Canucks’ lineup, and he did so with some new pads.
For those of you who are big pad design nerds like me, you were probably disappointed to see Demko take the net in plain white pads, as opposed to the more colourful black pads he paired with the Skate jersey at the start of the year.
Odds are that this was a choice that would make Ian Clark crack a smile: the old optical illusion that white pads create for shooters as they blend into the net behind them. How much it actually works is up for interpretation, but if the advantage is possible, why not take it? But it’s definitely the less fun choice.
Demko’s night wasn’t the smoothest ride. He definitely looked a bit rusty in his mechanics, was slow to get up after a few saves, and ended up allowing three goals on just 15 shots. I think getting rid of those cool Skate pads is to blame.
RIP, fun black, yellow and red pads. You shall be missed.
Rasmus Dahlin loves playing in Vancouver. It’s gotten to a point where he’s one of the longest point streaks an opposing player has had in this city, and it continued tonight thanks to some help from the Canucks’ defence.
It’s no secret that under Adam Foote this season, the Canucks have become overly reliant on the swarm defence approach, with players often surrounding the puck carrier from all angles as opposed to playing man-to-man coverage. And it just keeps burning them.
Tonight, on a Sabres zone entry that worked its way around Demko’s net, four Canucks all glided in towards the hashmarks. That choice left a wide open lane for Ryan McLeod to get a soft pass to Dahlin, who stepped into the top of the circles and fired a low knuckler that snuck under Demko.
If the Sabres are having that easy a time finding open ice against your defensive coverage, it’s time to toss those plans in the trash and try something new.
Tom Willander’s night was mostly quiet, save for one ridiculous moment late in the first.
In the final minute in the Canucks’ zone, Jack Quinn tried to juke Willander out in the corner, and somehow managed to smack him right in the schnoz, cutting Willander open. The high stick threw him for such a loop that he fell over and his own stick caught Quinn in the face.
The referees got together, and decided that even though Quinn would be getting a double minor, Willander deserved a penalty too. For being high-sticked!
What’s he supposed to do? Aside from say, “I’m sorry my hands went up, I was literally smacked in the nose with a hockey stick?”
Was it the right call by the precise letter of the law? Sure. But it’s still a dumb call, and you may quote me on that.
Kiefer Sherwood GOAL Fck yeah baby #Canucks pic.twitter.com/39UMGEwKgi
— Huggy
You know who else thought that penalty call was stupid? Kiefer Sherwood, because he wasted no time in erasing the deficit.
With the Canucks on a power play two minutes shorter than it should’ve been, Sherwood took the puck from Quinn Hughes and put a puck on goal that Alex Lyon got in front of. The rebound bounced out to Conor Garland, who couldn’t get it through the sticks in front, but by that time, the initial shooter had followed his own shot to the netfront.
“Coincidental minors, my ass,” he practically said with that goal.
That other sound you hear is Jim Rutherford calling the league’s GMs to let them know the price for Sherwood just went up by a second first round pick. And that’s such a deal for this franchise face, you’re practically robbing them!
As more and more centres have left the Canucks’ lineup, Max Sasson has been carrying more and more of the workload. Today, he took his turn in the Elias Pettersson, “bring the fans out of their seats” role.
This goal starts with Junior Pettersson smashing a zone exit from behind the net all the way to Jake DeBrusk waiting near the Canucks’ bench. As Josh Dunne closed in on Jake n Bake, he slipped the puck through the Sabres’ checker to the A-Sasson, who split the defence and slid the puck incredibly neatly through Lyon’s legs.
There haven’t been a whole lot of genuine success stories for the Canucks this year, but man, is Sasson really becoming one. He’ll certainly be part of any solution in the short term.
Some people never make the same mistake twice. The Canucks, on the other hand, make the same mistake over and over again.
The Canucks swarming tactic once again led to a few too many checkers below the hashmarks, and this time it left Tage Thompson with far too much time and space at the top of the circles. And once he got the puck, nobody even made a real effort to rush him. They simply sat back and watched as Thompson fired the puck over Demko’s blocker.
If I ever see this defence again, it’ll be too soon.
Sometimes even the greats make mistakes. Today the oft infailable John Shorthouse made two.
One was thinking an earthquake had happened during the broadcast (though one did happen in Japan, so he might just be reaching god tier powers). The other was reminding everyone that Zach Benson hasn’t scored all year.
I made the same error in today’s Stanchies Pregame video, literally naming Zach Benson as a player to watch knowing he hadn’t yet found the back of the net. A rookie mistake.
Anyways, Benson waited for the slot to open up on the penalty kill as Doan fed him a quick pass from the goal line. Benson’s shot wasn’t the firmest, but it came off his stick fast enough that an “below game speed” Demko couldn’t cut the angle down in time.
In a completely unrelated story, Tom Willander played just 12 minutes of ice time and was a -1 in that time. And got totally jobbed on a high stick.
I don’t know whether or not this loss will officially close a chapter, but it would be a bit poetic to end on a Zach Benson game winner, no?
Quinn Hughes is secretly playing the long game. He doesn’t want to leave Vancouver, and he doesn’t want Sherwood to leave either.
That’s why he obviously purposefully ripped a bullet of a shot directly into the back of Sherwood’s leg at the end of the second period. After all, you can’t trade for an injured guy!
Look, I’m just reaching for any semblence of a life raft in the ocean at this point. Never let go, Jack.
Thatcher Demko narrowly avoided the ultimate disaster early in the third.
With Buffalo’s Tyson Kozak pressing on the penalty kill, Demko made the decision to leave the net and play the puck. But he somehow shot it right into Kozak instead, sending the puck sailing backwards into the air. Luckily for Thatcher, Kozak had zero clue where the puck had gone until it was too late, and he ran out of real estate to tuck a shot into the empty net.
If that puck had gone in, this game might’ve ended with a few more boos than it did in a one goal game.
For what it’s worth, Alex Lyon did everything the Sabres asked of him in this game. The Canucks threw a lot of good shots his way, and while he didn’t goalie them, he did outplay the guy at the other end.
He even got to the puck he couldn’t find, like this Fil Hronek shot that he lied down to cover up.
Sometimes the smartest path to a save requires some mediation and self reflection.
To borrow their coach’s favourite saying, The Canucks “were right there” in the last stages.
The closest the Canucks came to tying the game were both off the stick of Drew O’Connor. The first was thanks to a steal by Linus Karlsson off the stick of Connor Timmins. Karlsson threw a between the legs pass to Run-DOC to avoid a pokecheck from Lyon, but O’Connor couldn’t get a clean shot.
Then a few moments later, O’Connor got a small break off a pass from Arshdeep Bains and deked Lyon out, but once again rolled a nat one on finishing.
The Canucks worked for a few final chances, knowing the Oilers had managed to find a late tying goal during the Sabres’ last game. But these are not the two-time defending Western Champions. Far from it.
Sherwood took a few one-time opportunites, but the Sabres threw their entire bodies into the shooting lanes like King Harold protecting Shrek from the Fairy Godmother.
No one turned into a frog, but you might’ve heard a clock strike midnight on something else.
Linus Karlsson is becoming such an integral part of the Canucks, that they went out of their way to film a new video segment with him and Nils Höglander in the style of the opening video.
If that doesn’t mean you’ve made it to the NHL for good, nothing will. Good for Linus.
Welcome to the final show, I hope you’re wearing your best clothes.
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Call it the end of an era. Call it the inevitable having come to pass.
Quinn Hughes is a Vancouver Canuck no longer. And now, we’re left to wonder what that means.
To be clear, there was no scenario in which the Canucks ‘won’ a Hughes trade. The old adage goes that the team that gets the best player back in a trade wins that trade, and Hughes is one of the best players in the world. Unless the package included Nathan MacKinnon or Connor McDavid or Cale Makar, there was just no ‘coming out on top’ available here.
That said…
The Hughes trade return IS absolutely massive. Vancouver fans were likely braced for disappointment, and while trading Hughes is a disappointing outcome in any scenario, the trade return is still a lot better than most anticipated.
Zeev Buium is the centrepiece. The Athletic ranked the 20-year-old as the eighth-best under-23 league-affiliated player heading into the season, and the second-best under-23 defender after, fittingly enough, Luke Hughes. He put up six points in seven games at the latest WJC, and is up to 14 points in 31 games as an NHL rookie. Buium is about as blue-chip as a prospect gets, and probably belongs in whatever tier comes higher than that.
Marco Rossi is a player the Canucks have been after for a while. The 24-year-old is already the 2C the team has been looking for, and has the potential to be more than that. He scored 60 points in 82 games as an NHL sophomore, and is on pace for 63 this season across a full 82-game schedule. All this, after starting his career behind the eight-ball due to an extremely dangerous bout with Covid. The Wild’s previous ask for Rossi was Arturs Silovs, Aatu Räty, and the 15th overall pick, just to ballpark his general value – and that was before he signed a reasonable three-year, $5 million AAV extension.
Liam Ohgren is easily the least exciting of the three players acquired, but don’t discount him. The 19th overall pick in the 2022 Entry Draft is still just 21 years old, and has lots of potential left in him. Sure, he’s only achieved seven points in 46 NHL games thus far, but he’s too young to make any conclusions about that. Think instead about what Ohgren needed to do in order to get such an opportunity with the Wild at such an age. Which is score 37 points in 41 games as an AHL rookie last year, all the while displaying an excellent work ethic and future leadership qualities.
The sweetener in all this, meanwhile, is an unprotected 2026 first round pick. Given that the Wild are now even more likely to finish within the top-three of the Central Division, that’s probably a pick ranked anywhere between 20th overall and 32nd…but it’s a first round pick all the same, and it will remain a first round pick with no conditions.
The return, in other words, contains four former or future first round picks, but even that isn’t quite speaking to its value, given the special qualities of Buium or the NHL track record of Rossi.
So, let’s give this trade value some historical context.
This is perhaps the biggest trade since…
We need a starting point, so we’re going to start with what is probably the biggest trade of all-time.
To Quebec To Philadelphia
Peter Forsberg
Ron Hextall
Mike Ricci
Steve Duchesne
Chris Simon
Kerry Huffman
First Round Pick ‘93
First Round Pick ‘94
$15 million cashEric Lindros
The 1992 Eric Lindros trade is still the gold standard for big deals. And, no, the Hughes trade doesn’t quite touch it. Peter Forsberg may not have popped yet as a prospect at that point, but he was still a recent sixth overall pick. Mike Ricci was a recent fourth overall pick. Ron Hextall, Steve Duchesne, and Chris Simon all had lengthy, successful NHL careers ahead of them. And then there’s two first round picks included, and what at the time was a boatload of cash.
There will probably never be another trade like the Lindros trade. But the Hughes trade has the chance to be the most significant trade return since.
Let’s look at some other ‘contenders’ to ensure we can put in in the proper context.
Historical Comparables
We’re going to look at a few key comparables from previous decades, starting with the two most recent Norris Trophy winners to be traded anywhere near to their prime: Chris Pronger and Erik Karlsson.
To St. Louis To Edmonton
Eric Brewer
Doug Lynch
Jeff WoywitkaChris Pronger
The 2005 trade that sent Pronger from St. Louis to Edmonton now looks like a shockingly low return. The 31-year-old Pronger was five years removed from his Hart and Norris Trophies, but still an NHL All-Star and a dominant presence on the ice. He was traded for a younger top-pairing defender who had also been a Canadian Olympian in 2002 in Eric Brewer, and former 2001 first and second rounders in Jeff Woywitka and Doug Lynch, respectively, who never panned out. With all due respect to Brewer, this trade return isn’t even close to the Hughes return, but there is another Pronger trade to consider.
To Edmonton To Anaheim
Joffrey Lupul
Ladislav Smid
First Round Pick ‘07
First Round Pick ‘08
Second Round Pick ‘08Chris Pronger
The 2006 trade that sent Pronger from Edmonton to Anaheim is a lot more of what we’re looking for. That return included Joffrey Lupul, a recent seventh overall pick who had a strong NHL start, Ladislav Smid, a recent ninth overall pick, and then three draft picks on top of all that.
This might be the closest we come to a direct comparable, but the value still probably favours the Canucks’ offer. Buium is the top-ranked young player of the bunch, and a significantly better prospect that was Smid, and Rossi seems like he has a better track record as a young NHL forward than did Lupul. The picks probably add up to pretty close to the value of the pick the Canucks got back and Ohgren put together.
There is at least one more Norris-winner trade worth comparing, too.
To Ottawa To San Jose
Josh Norris
Chris Tierney
Rudolf Balcers
Dylan Demelo
First Round Pick ’20 (conditional)
Second Round Pick ‘19
Second Round Pick ’21 (conditional)
Erik Karlsson
Francis Perron
Unlike Pronger, Karlsson was still in his 20s and still in his prime when the Senators traded him in 2018, and they got an absolute haul back. Josh Norris was the Sharks’ most recent first rounder at 19th overall in 2017, and he’s turned into a top-six centre despite injuries. Chris Tierney was an established young 3C. Dylan DeMelo was a young right-shooting defender who would blossom into a top-four talent. Rudolf Balcers was a meh prospect.
But it was that first round pick that really gave this deal its value. The Sharks chose not to give up their 2019 pick, instead opting for the 2020, which proved a huge mistake as they tanked in the standings and wound up with the third overall pick. The Senators used that pick on Tim Stutzle, their franchise centre.
Given how Stutzle turned out, one could certainly argue that this trade held more value for the Senators than the Hughes trade might end up holding for the Canucks. But even if that’s true, the Sharks never meant to trade a pick that high, so this is more of an ‘oopsie’ than an honest trade return.
While we’re on the topic of historical deals, we might as well stop off at some of the most significant in Canucks history.
To Vancouver To Florida
Ed Jovanovski
Kevin Weekes
Mike Brown
Dave Gagner
First Round Pick ‘00
Pavel Bure
Brad Ference
Bret Hedican
Third Round Pick ‘00
The last time the Canucks had to trade a franchise player still in their prime was when they sent Pavel Bure to Florida in 1999. The key piece back here was obviously Ed Jovanovski, who had been selected at first overall in 1994 and won the 1996 Calder Trophy, but who had plateaued a bit since. Kevin Weekes was a young goalie thought to perhaps have starter potential. Mike Brown was the 20th overall pick in 1997, but he never really panned out, nor did Nathan Smith, the player the Canucks selected with the 2000 first rounder. Dave Gagner was a veteran in his last NHL season.
This trade held the promise of some potential, but everyone except for Jovanovski wound up being largely disappointing. Thankfully, the next major trade with the Panthers would pay greater dividends.
To Florida To Vancouver
Todd Bertuzzi
Bryan Allen
Alex Auld
Roberto Luongo
Lukas Krajicek
Sixth Round Pick ‘06
The trade that brought Roberto Luongo to Vancouver in 2006 felt like good value at the time, and that’s only more true in the retrospective. Todd Bertuzzi was a shell of his former self at that point, and would only wind up playing seven games for the Panthers before being moved again. Bryan Allen was the fourth overall pick in 1998, but had already developed into a fairly mundane, average NHL defender by this point. Alex Auld was a solid backup. That’s not a lot at all to pay for the best goaltender in the world, and it’s a whole lot less than the Canucks just got back for Hughes.
Recent Trades to Compare
None of our historical trades have really stacked up, unless we count the Sharks/Senators trade as having included Tim Stutzle from the get-go, or unless we go all the way back to The Big E. What about some of the more recent trades of true NHL superstars?
To Buffalo To Vegas
Alex Tuch
Peyton Krebs
First Round Pick ‘22
Second Round Pick ‘23
Jack Eichel
Third Round Pick ‘23
The 2021 Jack Eichel trade came under some very specific circumstances. At the time, Eichel had not played in a good long while due to a neck injury and a subsequent dispute with the Sabres about how to treat it. That said, the Sabres did decent – but still well behind the Hughes return – to bring in a young forward on the cusp of a breakout in Alex Tuch, a former first rounder in Krebs, and two valuable picks. And that said, the Golden Knights still did better in bringing in a true 1C who has since led them to a Stanley Cup.
To Calgary To Florida
Jonathan Huberdeau
MacKenzie Weegar
Cole Schwindt
First Round Pick ’25 (conditional)
Matthew Tkachuk
Fourth Round Pick ’25 (conditional)
It’s hard to judge this 2022 trade retroactively, because it’s turned out so poorly. It’s also so different from the Hughes trade as to make comparison impossible. This was intended to be a ‘one superstar for two stars’ sort of deal, but the Flames have tanked ever since, and Florida has won two consecutive Stanley Cups. Suffice it to say that Calgary probably would have been better off to seek a future-based package for Tkachuk, just like the Canucks have done.
To Colorado To Carolina
Martin Necas
Jack Drury
Second Round Pick ‘25
Fourth Round Pick ‘26Mikko Rantanen (50% retained by Chicago)
Rantanen was traded twice last year, and both times as a pending UFA, which should give him less overall value that Hughes, who has a year-and-a-half remaining on his contract. The first return for Rantanen included a premier NHL forward in Martin Necas (with one-and-a-half years of contract himself), a decent young forward, and two picks. Given that Colorado has since got Necas under contract on an extension, the return seems fair, if a little light for a true NHL superstar at 50%.
To Carolina To Dallas
Logan Stankoven
First Round Pick ’26 (conditional)
First Round Pick ’28 (conditional)
Third Round Pick ‘26
Third Round Pick ‘27Mikko Rantanen
The second Rantanen trade is a lot more directly comparable to the Hughes trade because it was far more future-focused. Logan Stankoven was a recent second rounder who had since increased his stock as an NHL prospect, and who has since proven himself a probable long-term top-six centre. The conditions on the first round picks are yet to be determined, but they’re going to be two first round picks of some variety eventually. This trade may have more pieces than the Hughes deal, but none of those pieces are near as valuable as either Buium or Rossi. The return the Canucks got back is of a far higher quality, if not quantity, than all of these recent comparables.
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The Vancouver Canucks (12-17-3) will once again try for consecutive victories for the first time since mid-October when they face JT Miller and the New York Rangers (16-14-4) at Madison Square Garden. The game is set to begin at 4 pm PT.
The Canucks are coming off a 2-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday in the team’s first game since Friday’s massive trade with the Minnesota Wild.
What we saw
Brock Boeser took the morning off, but the veteran winger is expected to be in uniform tonight. However, Elias Pettersson will miss a fifth straight game with an upper-body injury. Pettersson took part in the team’s morning skate, and the hope is that he will return to the lineup at some point on this road trip.
Thatcher Demko makes his third consecutive start since returning from injury. He stopped 25 of 26 shots against the Devils to record his first win since November 3rd against the Nashville Predators. Demko was busy over the final two periods. New Jersey held a wide 21-8 edge on the shot clock over the final 40 minutes.
Newcomer Zeev Buium scored the game-winner and added an assist in his Canucks debut against the Devils. The 20-year-old defenceman was part of a Vancouver power play that went two for three on the afternoon. It was the fifth time this season – and first since November 17th in Florida – the Canucks have struck twice with the man advantage. Jake DeBrusk scored the other Vancouver goal on Sunday, ending a 10-game drought.
Marco Rossi didn’t figure in the scoring in Newark, but logged 18:16 of ice time and went nine for 15 in the faceoff circle. Liam Öhgren saw 11:39 of ice time in his debut with the team.
Offence remains hard to come by for the Canucks, who have scored more than two goals in a game just twice in their last 11 outings. Boeser has one goal in his last 14 games, while Conor Garland has scored once in his last 10 contests.
Aatu Räty will be a healthy scratch for a second straight game. Arshdeep Bains and P-O Joseph are the others expected to be scratched tonight.
The Opponent
The Rangers are playing at home for the second time in 24 hours and the third time in four nights. They fell 4-1 to the Anaheim Ducks last night in a game that was 2-1 into the final minute of play. Igor Shesterkin made 22 saves in goal. Artemi Panarin had five shots on 10 attempts and has registered 25 shot attempts in the past two games.
Panarin leads the Rangers in scoring with 34 points, while he and Mika Zibanejad share the team lead with 11 goals apiece. JT Miller had a pair of goals, including the overtime winner, on Saturday against Montreal, and has nine goals and 20 points through 32 games this season.
Zibanejad did not dress for last night’s game as punishment for missing a team meeting. He is expected to be back in the lineup tonight. Defenceman Adam Fox is second on the team in scoring, but is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury suffered earlier this month.
New York has just one win in its last five games, but has picked up points in three of them (1-2-2).
The Rangers are one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league, ranking 29th in goals per game (2.59). A huge part of the issue is a home record of 4-9-3 in which the team has scored just 30 goals through 16 games.
With the short turnaround, expect veteran Jonathan Quick to get the start in goal. He made 23 saves and blanked the Canucks 2-0 at Rogers Arena on October 28th. Quick, who turns 40 next month, is 3-3-1 on the season with an astounding 1.86 GAA and a .937 save percentage. He has allowed just 13 goals in his seven starts.
News and notes
The Rangers lead the NHL in hits with 901, led by Will Cullye’s 116. Cullye sits fourth in the league. Canucks forward Kiefer Sherwood is second with 140. It was at MSG last season that Sherwood broke the league’s single season hit record.
The officials for tonight’s game are Beau Halkidis and Francois St. Laurent.
Don’t forget to join Rink Wide Vancouver for full postgame coverage after this game – and every game. The livestream starts moments after the final buzzer. Rink Wide is the place for full postgame analysis and discussion. Join the live YouTube chat with your thoughts on the hockey game.
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With the second game of the Quinn Hughes era in the books, I think we can safely say one thing: Zeev Buium will never lose a game ever again.
Yes, your favourite local sporting hockey club defeated the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden to the tune of 3-0, and there are two ways to look at it.
One, the Vancouver Canucks are going to go on a heater, riding on the back of Thatcher Demko, rising out of the bottom of the standings to land back in their comfort zone of the 10-15th pick in the NHL draft, as is tradition.
Or two, the Canucks are simply building up value with their potential trade deadline assets and are merely increasing their future haul of draft picks and/or NHL-ready 23/24-year-olds.
Now I know what you’re thinking: you’re assuming it’s option one, it’s always option one with this God forsaken franchise. They’ll start sniffing the playoffs from a long way out and before you know it they won’t trade anyone at the deadline and they’ll talk about how they owe it to Tyler Myers to win a Cup or something, so they had to keep everyone, how could you expect them to trade anyone when Tyler needs that Cup, why are you being so selfish, why do you hate Tyler, don’t you love Tyler??
But no. It’s a new era in Vancouver. The Undfeated Zeev Buium Era does not deserve such cynicism. I will say that the Canucks winning the last two games is not something I think is a good predictor of future success. If the end of the Quinn Hughes era was a handful of games the Canucks lost that they probably should have won, these last few games sort of feel like the other side of the pendulum. Vancouver scoring on a couple of shots and riding off into the sunset usually doesn’t predict long term success, at most it predicts one glorious season where you lose in the second round of the playoffs before your entire locker room implodes within two years, your centre depth is burning in a pile of rubber tires, and your generational defenceman team captain has quietly slipped out the back door.
Where was I again?
Right.
Look, the idea that Bubble Demko emerges to win a ton of games should frighten all of you; it’s practically the script for season two of Welcome to Derry. I get that.
But teams are bound to win a few games in a season, so we’re still pretty much locked in a world in which Vancouver putters along while we watch the young kids develop.
All you can do is hope for the best, am I right?
Yes, I chuckled nervously writing that.
Let’s just dive into the game.
The Canucks got off to a good start in “Operation: Trade for our veterans” as Evander Kane opened the scoring almost immediately after the puck was dropped:
I don’t imagine Brock Boeser thought sending in a puck along the boards for Evander Kane would lead to a breakaway goal, but linesman Devin Berg set a tremendous pick to make this play happen. And if there is one part of Planet Ice’s game where he excels, it’s in the offensive zone, as the finish on that goal is a true chef’s kiss moment. Kane opens up the hands a bit, gets Jonathan Quick to bite, and then keeps cutting across the crease to finish off the play.
It’s the kind of goal where it feels like it’s worth a first-rounder at the trade deadline. That’s clearly the kind of player to bring in to cement your playoff roster. How do you not watch that and realize that?
All I’m saying is if I’m the Canucks, I’m dropping the video of this goal in the GM group chat, along with the eyes emoji, but not before sending a Max Miller recipe to the chat by accident. “I can’t believe they used to call it Pompkin Pie!”
If I have one request for Sportsnet, it’s that they lean heavily on the things that give this fan base actual joy and excitement.
A great example of this? Early in the first period, noted large man Tyler Myers faced off against noted larger man Matt Rempe. As the two rumbled towards the puck, it was the chaotic giraffe who won the battle, sending Rempe tumbling to the ice, as seen here:
Tyler Myers didn’t even move when they collided; instead, it was Rempe looking like he ran headfirst into a train tunnel painted on a wall. That’s the kind of video clip that will keep you warm on the long nights of this season. We want to see this from every angle you’ve got. We want it in slow motion. We want to see the sneer on Tyler’s face and the look of a man discovering he’s mortal for the first time in Matt Rempe when he is being flung through the air.
But what do we get instead at the next break in play? Brock Boeser getting hit with a puck and having a bit of an owie:
Brock was fine. He played his next shift. He probably got high off of smelling salts and was good to go.
That is not the replay we need in these trying times. We demand the good stuff. You have to work with us here. We no longer have the high supply of Quinn Hughes ankle breaks on demand anymore.
Don’t take this from us.
Aside from Evander Kane’s – aka the best trade deadline asset in the league – goal, the first period was very much a low-event affair. Both teams had a solitary high-danger chance apiece, and it felt like both sides were feeling each other out to see which side wanted to lose more.
The Canucks obviously wanted to lose for draft positioning, but the Rangers also really like losing on home ice to make their fans hate the game of hockey, so it truly felt like an immovable object meets an unstoppable force type of situation.
Vancouver’s best chances came on the power play, where both Brock Boeser and Conor Garland attempted to enter the zone quickly, foregoing the usual foreplay of 30 seconds of puck movement, and instead chose to rush towards the net:
Obviously, with Quinn Hughes gone, the Canucks power play is going to be a work in progress as the team finds its new identity. Not that “Quinn Hughes looks off Elias Pettersson, skates around for 40 seconds, gets frustrated and shoots a wrister from the point” was an elite strategy, but it will be interesting to see what this team does on special teams moving forward. Maybe when Elias Pettersson is back in the lineup, he becomes the focal point of the power play, maybe that unlocks something in him and gets his confidence back?
As for the Rangers, they had a chance on each of their three first period power plays, even if none of them were particularly dangerous.
Their best chance on their first power play was when they worked the puck down low and tried to slam home the puck in the crease:
On their second power play, JT Miller dove in an attempt to slide in a rebound off of a point shot, to no avail (at least it looked cool?):
If I’m JT Miller there, I am 100% saying to the bench, “I was so close dude, I had him dead to rights.” when I get back to the bench. When you dive to get a shot on net like that, you earn the right to say that to a teammate. Sure, they absently nod their head, and it feels like they’re just placating you, but damn it, you take it.
And on their third power play, JT Miller enters the zone before spinning off and finding Vinny Trochek in the slot for a dangerous shot on net:
That was probably the Rangers’ best chance of the first period. John Shorthouse described Thatcher Demko as “fighting off” that shot, and I agree; the Canucks goaltender basically fended off the puck at the last second to prevent a goal. I don’t know what Street Fighter character Demko would play in a movie, but I think we all know it’s Blanka.
And that was the first period. As I said, a low-event period that was a mixture of special teams and Evander Kane proving once again that he’s the missing piece for a Stanley Cup run for a contending team.
Liam Öhgren got the second period off to a quick start for Vancouver, as he got his first goal as a Canuck after chasing down a Linus Karlsson clearing:
This is one of my favourite types of goals, where you beat the goalie and the puck just sort of dribbles in while he stands around, looking kind of confused. Like, he’s sure he got the puck, but he’s also not sure, and now the panic is setting in as he realizes he, in fact, does not have the puck, and oh, there goes the red light.
I like how Liam Öhgren is looking off the puck as if he’s going to pass to someone, even though there isn’t a teammate in the immediate vicinity. I like the swagger of a move that says, “I might pass this puck to nobody, just kidding, eat my shot” as he then powers a wrister through Quick.
I also like how Quick knows something is wrong, and when Öhgren skates in to see if he needs to help the puck get over the goalie line, the Rangers goalie just makes a save animation in the hopes that he gets a piece of the puck, even though he still has no idea where it is. He just knows Öhgren is skating with purpose, and that means he’s in danger.
The second period was better in terms of scoring chances, and it probably should have been 3-0 after this Kiefer Sherwood breakaway chance:
It’s hard to tell how much of the Canucks’ counter-attack rush offence in this game was due to their brilliance and how much of it was due to the Rangers being the Rangers, but it’s probably somewhere happily in the middle?
Either way, it’s nice to know Jonathan Quick continues his streak of making at least one highlight reel save against the Canucks in every single game he’s ever played against them. It brings me comfort to know we can rely upon this.
On the Rangers side of things, Vinny Trocheck was able to find JT Miller down low behind three Canucks skaters, but he was unable to beat Demko in close:
The Canucks responded with an Öhgren rush, and based on his earlier goal and small sample sizes, I find myself extremely disappointed he doesn’t score on every rush attempt:
Still, there has been a lot to like about Öhgren’s game with the Canucks so far. Someone said he feels like a slightly better version of Drew O’Connor, and that feels like a good floor to describe him at the moment. Obviously, you hope he turns into a top-six roster player, but at the very least, he’s looked competent for the Canucks, so you just sort of hope being on a new team unlocks the potential in him. It’s like dating someone new; you just naturally assume you can fix them.
Artemi Panarin then had a couple of chances for the Rangers, the first being his attempt at cutting the puck across the crease:
And then Panarin had the Rangers’ best chance of the game when he got the puck in the slot with time and space, but was unable to beat Demko yet again:
See, what the Rangers don’t know is that Demko gets power from making a team’s draft pick get worse.
Which, on a good team, is perfect. You’ve got a top goalie doing top goalie things. Making you draft 31st instead of 22nd is sort of the endgame there.
But going from third overall to… You know what? I promised we wouldn’t talk about this. Let’s move on.
Did Willander almostfrom the smelling salt there?#Canucks GIF me!
— Dan Murphy (@sportsnetmurph) December 17, 2025
You can almost see Tom Willander’s soul leave his body when the salts hit him:
Kudos to Max Sasson, who, with his new NHL contract, was able to bump Willander on the arm to let him know he is going to get through this. That’s the kind of guy you want riding shotgun with you on the bath salts highway.
Watching Quinn Hughes get rave reviews from the rest of the league now that he’s out of Vancouver is not the most enjoyable timeline to be in. In Vancouver, we KNEW how good Quinn Hughes was, yet it felt like we had to convince everyone who went to bed early that they had no idea how good Quinn was at hockey.
So yeah, seeing people be like “oh my god, this guy tilts the ice so much, he’s so good, who knew??” has been a bit of an “are you ****ing kidding me right now?” moment for those of us in Vancouver. They’re acting like they just found Hughes on the side of the road and he just played his first NHL game ever. It just sort of reinforces how badly the Canucks ownership and management fumbled the bag with this entire situation when you find yourself going “man sure would be nice if Vancouver had a Quinn Hughes” before you remember what life used to be.
All you can do in those moments is watch Zeev Buium and hope he develops into a top-pairing d-man, which is why moments like this will be the sort of thing you pin your hopes on. The moments where Zeev sits back to cover the middle of the ice to prevent a breakaway after a penalty expires:
Again, nothing groundbreaking, but you’re basically watching him develop his game, and plays like these are the types of things you hope to see more and more of each game.
I wouldn’t say he’s a much better player without Quinn Hughes, but I would say they are going to have to rely on him more without Hughes?
In terms of leadership and being someone who can teach Zeev and the other young defencemen, and just in terms of, yeah, he needs to be a steadying presence on the ice. And to his credit, he’s probably been the most consistent defenceman on the team in his own zone under Adam Foote, so seeing plays like this where he calmly breaks up the rush has sort of been the norm for him this year:
It’s never a good thing to lose a Quinn Hughes, but there is something to be said about finding a small joy in being curious to see who steps up in his absence.
I still find it hard to attribute this game to the Canucks being good, or the Rangers being bad, but I will say that the New York offence seemed to rely heavily on just throwing the puck on net from the point:
That kind of offence has been a Vancouver staple the last few seasons, so I had a bit of a Leo DiCaprio moment of pointing at the TV when I saw the Rangers going to this well again and again. They just couldn’t find a way to get good looks on net, and anytime they got a decent shot off from the slot or in the crease, Demko was there to demoralize them.
With the goalie pulled, the Rangers best chance was on a Will Cuylle shot that just hit the side of the net:
But because the Rangers are absolutely brutal at the game of hockey on home ice, that was their best and last effort before Conor Garland iced the game:
To add insult to injury, Corolla pops the puck through Cuylle’s legs to get it into the corner, then puts his entire body into getting enough leverage to sail a puck high up in the air all the way to the other end for the empty net goal.
The best part? Garland sails the puck high over the head of former teammate JT Miller, who can only watch as he wonders why he had to be so mad all the time in Vancouver to make him end up in this situation.
The Rangers have been shut out SIX times at home this season. That is insane.
— Jason Brough(@SadClubCommish) December 17, 2025
And that was the ballgame. Canucks win another game, and now they’re on to visit former captain Bo Horvat and the Islanders.
Let the Zeev Buium Undefeated Streak continue.
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