The
Vancouver Canucks find themselves mired in a bit of a tough situation at the moment. In a season that has gone off the rails, one in which the management has seemingly finally embraced the idea of a rebuild, losing is a prime component of their future plans. And when your Stanley Cup plans now resemble the village of Naukan, there is an acceptance to the entire situation you can try and embrace. It’s not fun, but you can at least accept what your life has become.
So realistically, a
6-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, marking their tenth loss in a row? That’s a good situation for a team looking to land a high draft pick.
But life is rarely that simple, as the intangibles and unknowns of the situation sort of lurk around the corner while this all plays out. You find yourself asking questions about the process unfolding before you.
Is the losing going to hurt the development of the younger players this season?
If so, do you bring in a new coach now to try and set up an actual system that doesn’t resemble drunkenly walking into a bar and pointing at the nearest guy, yelling “YOU!” before you and your buddies rush at them with chairs in your hands raised high above your head?
Or do you simply ride out the rest of the season chasing down as high a pick as possible before making coaching changes in the offseason?
And I realize there is a certain morbidity when openly discussing a rookie head coaches NHL career a mere half season into it, but I do think it’s fair to say that this looks to be one of the most poorly Canucks teams we have seen in quite a while in this city. The team’s record is one thing, but when you watch this team play, it’s truly confounding as to what, if any, system they are trying to deploy.
Which brings us back to the idea of what does the fanbase want right now? And while the simple answer is “losing for draft position” I do think you do need to sell the fans on a glimmer of hope in the near future. Whether that’s in the form of a coaching change or deep roster changes as it relates to the veterans on the team, you eventually want to reach a point where you at least see some fight from this roster. Where you see a team that doesn’t seem resigned to losing night in and night out, one that doesn’t seem either perfectly ok with it, or seemingly has no answer as to how to change it.
I am a big believer in having a winning culture, and I do think this team can improve on that front during the rebuild. In fact, they have to. I just don’t think the current group will ever be the ones to do it. For all the talk Jim Rutherford gave of keeping veterans around so you don’t throw the kids to the wolves, it’s hard to watch the Oilers stomp the Canucks without breaking a sweat and worry about it getting any worse that it is now. The truth of the matter is the veterans are struggling just as much as the rookies on this team, so it’s kind of hard to point to them being the guardians Rutherford has painted them as.
And to be fair to them, many of them signed on for a Quinn Hughes window that has shut forever. And sure, it’s a business, trades happen, and players have to play through anything that changes on that front, I get that. But it truly feels like a mountain too high to climb for the highest-paid players on this team to come together and rebuild a room that was shattered forever during the great JT Miller and Elias Pettersson divorce of 2025. This just doesn’t seem like a room that can overcome the mental damage from whatever fallout the collapse left them with.
So until then, we wait. We wait to see what trades the Canucks make. We wait to see which players rise to the occasion. We wait to see just how committed this ownership is to long-term planning. It means a lot of losing is ahead of us. But it has to be done in a way that builds actual hope. Give the fans something to believe in next season, even if all that is is a plucky roster of newcomers who aren’t bringing any mental baggage from the last core with them, as the team tries to build up a new future.
Otherwise, it’s hard to picture a future other than the one we saw Saturday night.
Damn, Tolo's
#BlackSkate mask is niiiice.
Love the Vadar touch.
#canucks pic.twitter.com/eFmg7BlWfw
— Dragon Was Slayed (@522IntoOvertime)
January 18, 2026
Nikita Tolopilo got the start for Vancouver, and while he got lit up for six goals, at least he looked cool doing it.
It also marks the first collaboration between Darth Vader and the Lion’s Gate Bridge?
Best we were right there moments
Woke up today knowing i’ll be going to a Canucks game for the first time ever, sure we’ve been pretty shit and on a 9 game loosing streak but i’m honestly just happy to be there tonight. Hopefully we can at least win one of the 4 games that i’ll be attending
Go Canucks go!
— Ellis
(@EllisHockey2003)
January 17, 2026
Despite the 6-0 loss, the Canucks and Oilers were dead even at even strength high danger chances with 16 a piece. The Oilers also outshot the Canucks 35-31 on the night, but that was also reasonably close.
Which is where we enter into evidence the “not all things are created equal” clause, as the Canucks’ high danger chances didn’t seem as great a danger as the Oilers’.
Where Vancouver would shoot from the point and slam at the rebounds in the crease to wrack up their high danger chances, the Oilers were setting up tap-ins and odd man rushes with theirs.
It’s basically like when you say you look a bit like a young Brad Pitt on your dating profile, there is some leeway in interpretation of it all that some people might not agree with, despite the fact that you felt you nailed your argument about Febreze being a perfectly suitable option over washing your clothes.
And if there was one period in which you felt like the Canucks might actually be “right there” in the game, it was the opening frame. Due mostly to, well, not being down 6-0.
Still, the Canucks generated their best chances of the night in the first period, and in front of a crowd that had one of the better atmospheres of the season. The invasion of Oilers fans, coupled with whatever bad blood remains from the playoff series a couple of years ago, meant there was a bit of energy in the air on the night.
Vancouver stormed out of the gates, walked cautiously out of the door, and got some momentum based on skating hard and ripping shots. Chaos Giraffe got the party started after a good backcheck from Max Sasson led to a counter attack early in the first:
Marcus Pettersson and Brock Boeser than got a shot each as the “skate really hard and rip shots at those jerks” strategy really began to settle in:
It was a mix of shooting into traffic and hoping for a rebound coupled with shooting at the goalie with no traffic and hoping Tristan Jarry would fall on a banana peel or something and let in a goal. Not the most scintillating hockey you’ll watch, but it’s what’s on the menu for the rest of the season.
Zeev Buium got into the mix next, when he skated into a pass just inside the blue line and unleashed a wrister on net, probably hoping for a tip from Drew O’Connor:
And when pushed back on by the Edmonton Oilers, Vittorio Mancini had a spirited race with Matt Savoie to make sure his earlier pinch at the blueline didn’t lead to a breakaway goal against:
And Fil Hronek, steady, dependable, Fil Hronek aka the Adam Foote Defensive System Whisperer was doing his thing as usual, cutting off pucks around the boards and calmly generating safe zone exits:
It was, by all accounts, a perfectly acceptable period of hockey from the Canucks. They were skating hard, they were generating looks on net, and they hadn’t been blown out yet. You watched the team play and you told yourself “I couldn’t possibly see THIS team lose 6-0 by nights end, certainly not this group of rapscallions.” before nervously eyeing Connor McDavid on the bench.
Best grasping onto the glimmers
Öhgren looked like the best forward out there. No one’s been faster or worked harder so far and that’s a good sign for the youth on this team
#canucks
— David Mo (@Canuckrandom)
January 18, 2026
I think Liam Öhgren stands out on this Canucks team because he has size and uses it well? Like he wins puck battles purely by being a bit of a bully, which this market absolutely loves. And you know how much I enjoy watching Conor Garland play hockey, that guy is a top puck battler in the league in my humble opinion. But there is just something about a hefty dude physically imposing his will that gets you a bit hyped. I think it’s the idea that if you’re ever being robbed in a dark alley, Liam Öhgren might happen to walk by and easily dispatch of said criminals.
Don’t get me wrong, Garland would also dispose of said criminals, but he would take like fifteen minutes of cycling around them to tire them down, and would probably give them a big speech about changing their ways, and it would become a bit of a production. You’d have your stuff back and you’d feel compelled to watch this battle play out because hey, Conor just stepped up to fight on your behalf. But it’s been over ten minutes now and you have to work in the morning, so like, how long are you obligated to stay here, you know?
The bar isn’t too high for highlights around these parts, is what I’m saying, as we’re not exactly watching a young Todd Bertuzzi undress players before scoring TSN turning point goals, but watching Liam Öhgren chase down pucks, generate shots on net, and then continue to chase down pucks defensively? That’s going to sell in this town:
In a season in which a highlight was an elderly fellow actually using the word “rebuild”, sometimes small things like the play of Liam Öhgren can stand out.
Go Tolo
#Canucks
— Huggy
43 (@Huggy_Bear43)
January 18, 2026
Someone on social media called Nikita Tolopilo “Mr. T” and if you know anything about me, you know we are SO running with that.
I’ve said it before, but I enjoy the splash of chaos in Mr. T’s game, as I find modern NHL goaltending can be a bit bland compared to what I grew up on. I’m not saying goaltending used to be better, but I do miss the days when Dom Hasek throwing his stick and jockstrap at the puck was considered a viable strategy for stopping the puck.
And early on, the chaos was working for Tolopilo, as he made a nice stop on Jack Roslovic in the slot in the first period:
Connor McDavid then started warming up, as he began wheeling and dealing as the period was coming to a close, ending in an Evan Bouchard rush to the net that Mr. T just got his gold chains on:
Evan Bouchard would then wheel out of the corner and get another good look on net, only to be denied by the Vancouver netminder:
And to end the period, you had McDavid setting up former Canuck Vasily Podkolzin in the one timer spot normally reserved for Leon Draisaitl, who was not dressed on the night due to being away from the team for a personal leave:
The main takeaway you can glean from these highlights? Edmonton is just a more skilled team. Their shots were all just a little bit closer to the net. The movement with the puck was better and more purposeful. It felt like Edmonton was moving around the ice trying to find elite looks on net, whereas Vancouver truly was set into “thoughts and prayers” shots into traffic.
I don’t know if I pictured the game ending quite like it did after the first period, but you definitely walked away feeling like Edmonton was starting to find their strides and that some goals were about to go down in the second.
in a related thought as I watch this
#Canucks defence, what's Evan Oberg doing these days? Would be interested in a few games?
— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff)
January 18, 2026
Fun fact: Evan Oberg last played professional hockey in 2016, for the Augsburg Panthers of the German hockey league (DEL).
Fun fact 2: Evan Oberg was teammates with former Vancouver Canucks player Mark Mancari on that 2015-16 Panthers team.
Fun fact 3: Mark Mancari would later play on a team with former Canucks player Jozef Balej, thus completing my “Three degrees of Jozef Balej” journey.
Interference all day.
#Canucks
— Suffering Canucks Fan (@CanucksWontWin)
January 18, 2026
Jack Roslovic would open the scoring after doing a little wiggle waggle to open up the legs of both Fil Hronek and Mr. T, a sentence none of us thought would ever be put into existence before tonight:
Part of the chaos of Tolopilo is that yeah, sometimes he gets some Roman Chechmanek movement to his game, and scoring chances open up where you didn’t think there would be. It also doesn’t help that Max Sasson was riding Curtis Lazar hard enough for the former Canuck to accidentally on purpose run into the Canucks goalie.
Adam Foote would challenge for goaltender interference because honestly, why not at this point, but the league sided with Edmonton. 1-0 bad guys plus they got a powerplay out of it for Adam Foote wasting everyone’s time.
And on that powerplay, Evan Bouchard would utilize Vancouver’s strategy of throwing the puck on net and seeing what happens, forcing Nikita to scramble a bit in his crease to keep the puck out:
Jake Walman, who once
laughed his way into losing a Stanley Cup last season, also got an absolute ripper off a shot off on Mr. T off of a one T, only to be told he needed to sip tea, and listen about how he was guilty, of not scoring:
After Vancouver took another penalty in the period, Evan Bouchard would lean into a heavy heavy shot on a nice pass from behind the net from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the ensuing powerplay, but Nikita was in position to stop it:
But you can only dance with the devil for so long before they steal your identity and move in with your family, as Zach Hyman would make it 2-0 with the man advantage a moment later:
“Marcus Pettersson didn’t look so hot on that goal” has become a common refrain around these parts, but most of his teammates have fallen under that category under Adam Foote, leaving you once again to wonder just what exactly is the defensive plan here?
Clearly there is some luck at play on this goal, as the puck ultimately goes in off of Fil Hronek, but it’s another play where the Canucks give up position in front of their goalie and leave a guy all alone. Hyman is able to boot that puck in off of Hronek because he has time and space to wave at that puck after Marcus Pettersson jumps up and gets aggressive in the slot.
Challenging that first goal really secured the L in this game
#Canucks
— Riley McLaughlin (@ZeusRJM)
January 18, 2026
Whatever momentum Vancouver had in the first ten minutes of the game had vanished by this point, as even our beautiful boy Liam Ohgren was running into turnover issues, losing puck battles and giving up an odd-man rush, forcing Mr. T into making a big save:
Conor Garland was the next player to give up the puck along the board, as this time it led to a Darnell Nurse shot that Zach Hyman and Trent Frederic both took turns just missing on cashing it in for a goal:
There’s just a lot of instability to Vancouver’s game, and you can see other teams just skate with the puck and start cycling, waiting for the Canucks to break down in their own zone and surrender a good scoring chance when they get caught scrambling. It’s like the team has no reset button and when things go off the rails, they don’t know how to get things settled again.
And when you’re a team struggling in your own end, an offensive team like the Oilers makes you pay. Kasperi Kapanen would make it 3-0 halfway through the second period after sneaking in behind Vancouver’s defense for a breakaway goal:
You’ll also notice that Elias Pettersson looked like he had a good chance to get a dangerous shot on net off the Brock Boeser shot to start the clip, but the puck bounced over his stick at the last second. Which yeah, if you want to say the Canucks didn’t get some bounces this night, you’d be correct. But their entire offense currently is based on “sure hope a bounce goes our way tonight!” which doesn’t exactly lead to many offensive outbursts, either.
You’ll also notice it wasn’t exactly a grand plan of offensive creativity to generate this goal, it was literally Kapanen skating hard down the middle of the ice while Tom Willander and a covering Elias Pettersson failed to get back, combined with a pinching Vittorio Mancini not covering Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the breakout.
Which again, this is how goals against the Canucks seem to happen the most. A breakdown in coverage leading to a breakdown in coverage, leading to a high danger chance and/or goal.
Best fighting the good fight
The funny thing is the Canucks haven't even committed to the tank yet, this is still them trying their best but just losing 10 games in a row
#Canucks
— -Travis• (@travizz007)
January 18, 2026
The Canucks equivalent of JT Miller dragging them back into the fight was a couple of shots on net in the second period in which they had traffic in front of the net:
I do think it’s fair to say that had it been a lucky night for Vancouver, maybe they lose this game 6-2 instead of 6-0? I do think they deserved a goal or two, but alas, the hockey gods are a fickle bunch.
Roslovic would quickly get back on the scoresheet after that, netting his second goal of the game after all three Canucks forwards got caught high in the zone, leaving Buium and Mancini to deal with a four on two situation:
Mancini gets beaten five hole on the pass, which isn’t ideal, but I also feel like Buium is better served trying to take on the immediate threat of Roslovic instead of staying high and blocking a passing lane. I would assume Zeev thought Mancini had the passing lane to the front of the net cut off, so he tried to take out a high slot pass option, but I still feel like you take the guy down low there and hope Evander Kane derails the high slot option.
Either way it’s not a great situation to have two young defenseman in an odd man rush like that, but we can label it a “learning moment” and it makes it feel slightly better.
Yes, Mr. Aquilini, this is the final humiliation after 12 years of futility. Please remember this next time you get an urge to take a shortcut during this very long and painful
#canucks rebuild.
— Michael Paweska (@mrpaweska)
January 18, 2026
Perhaps enraged by the fact Roslovic got two goals on the night and was attempting to outshine him, Kapanen would then get HIS second goal of the night before thirty seconds had even passed. Tyler Myers loses a puck battle behind the net and then Buium is slow to react in front of the net, allowing Kapanen to skate by him and tap in a relatively easy goal:
Even with three Canucks skaters standing around in the same general area, the Oilers manage to get a guy open right in front of their goalie, which has been a problem all season long.
Best we’re almost done I promise
John Shorthouse probably asking for a trade
#Canucks
— Brock Jackson (@BrockTalk)
January 18, 2026
To finish the night, who else but a player the Canucks were extremely quick to give up on as former Canucks first rounder Vasili Podkolzin would collect his 11th goal of the season after Connor McDavid scared every single Canucks player on the ice into trying to cover him:
Which on one hand, I don’t blame them? If I saw McDavid skating at me I’d be phoning every friend I had to come join me as we attempted to take on McDavid like a World of Warcraft raid boss.
But while the Canucks were focusing on the Oilers captain, Podkolzin was able to skate onto the loose puck and snipe home the final goal of the game.
Canucks fighting to make a breakout pass
— Jim Lahey HNIC (@LaheyHNIC)
January 18, 2026
The only clip I took of the third period? This lack of pushback after the Oilers, who were already up 6-0 at this point, the game well in hand, took a swipe at the glove of Mr. T:
Do I need Drew O’Connor to drop gloves there? Of course not. But I would like to, at one point in the near future, see a team who is losing 6-0 in a game like this go full Bieksa and headlock anyone to the ice who tries to stunt on the team in a blowout like this. Up 6-0 and you’re poking at a rebound? Get the absolute eff out of here with that garbage.
Look, I know the vibes around this team aren’t good, we all get that. The players saw their best player get traded and they are mired in a losing streak that many in the fan base are supporting, if not vocally, at least mentally. It’s a hard environment to care in, and I understand that. A lot of older players might be eyeing the exit sign and wondering if Jim Rutherford will be sending them a written letter via carrier pigeon informing them they’ve been traded any day now. Which is why it’s so important to make those deals. Finish out the season however you want, but lock in a new direction and culture for next season. Don’t let this losing mentality seep into the floorboards and poison the well.
Tank out the season, but start building the next core up and instill the fight into the team. Not an easy task, mind you, but I do think it’s vital that what we saw against the Oilers on Saturday night, doesn’t happen again next season. Build up your roster, put your pieces in place, and start finding those glimmers of hope where the team starts showing some life again. Commit to the process and give the fanbase a lifeline.
Otherwise all we’re going to be doing is looking for people wearing throwback jerseys instead of caring about what happened on the ice.
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Head Coach Adam Foote meets with the media ahead of today's game against the Senators.
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