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What is the goaltending market heading into the offseason, and do the Canucks want to access it?

Stephan Roget — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 15:45:49 GMT

The Vancouver Canucks do not have a goaltending crisis on their hands, at least not by their usual standards. But they do have three goaltenders on hand at the NHL level heading into the 2026-27 season, and that’s going to, at the very least, force them into a decision of some sort sooner rather than later.

The Canucks have options when it comes to their crease, but they’re going to have to go with one of those options eventually.

Thatcher Demko returns from a couple of injury-plagued campaigns and an offseason surgery that seems to have him more confident about his health than ever. He’s also about to begin a three-year, $8.5 million AAV extension. At that price, until he can show an ability to stay healthy, Demko’s trade value is well into the negatives, and he’s got a full no-movement clause attached to all three years anyway as of July 1. He’ll be staying in Vancouver for the time being, and the question is more one of how much he’ll manage to play in 2026-27.

Speaking of contracts, the Canucks also have Kevin Lankinen signed at a rate of $4.5 million for the next four seasons running. That contract also includes a full NMC of his own for the duration of the 2026-27 season, which means that Lankinen isn’t going anywhere, either, unless he chooses to.

Then there’s the 26-year-old Nikita Tolopilo. He showed some real signs of NHL life in 2025-26, but has run out of waiver exemption, and now must either play at the NHL level, or risk being passed through waivers.

The Canucks could attempt to roll with all three goaltenders into the 2026-27 season. They could, instead, attempt to trade Demko, but that seems incredibly unlikely. They could opt to trade Lankinen, but that requires his assent. They could try to flip Tolopilo for the same sort of middling return they got back for Arturs Silovs last offseason. Or they could attempt to put him through waivers come Training Camp, and just hope for the best.

None of those options are ideal, and we’re not sure which the Canucks are currently leaning toward. But about half of those options involve a goaltending trade of some sort, and so it’s probably time to explore the offseason goalie market to at least see what’s waiting for the Canucks there.

What’s the NHL goaltending market look like?

We can break the other 31 teams down into some broad categories on this topic. There are those teams who have at least two strong goaltending options signed into the 2026-27, and thus have no interest in any goaltending market. We would place Boston (Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo), Calgary (Dustin Wolf and Devin Cooley), Colorado (Scott Wedgewood, MacKenzie Blackwood), Dallas (Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith), Los Angeles (Darcy Kuemper and Anton Forsberg), Minnesota (Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt), Montreal (Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler), Nashville (Juuse Saros and Justus Annunen), New Jersey (Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen), San Jose (Yaroslav Askarov and Alex Nedeljkovic), Seattle (Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer), St. Louis (Joel Hofer and Jordan Binnington), Vegas (Carter Hart and Adin Hill), and Washington (Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren) in this enormous category, representing nearly half of the league’s teams.

There may be some movement within this group over the course of the offseason. We’ve heard that the Blues might be shopping Binnington around, for example, the Wild might be dangling one of their goalies for a centre, and we’d bet the Golden Knights are eager to dump Hill. But suffice it to say that none of these teams are going to be calling for anything the Canucks might have to offer, goalie-wise.

There’s a second, similar category of teams that have at least two goaltending options in place and signed for 2026-27, but who could theoretically use an upgrade at either the starting or backup position, but for whom it is not a pressing need. We’d place Anaheim (Lukas Dostal and Ville Husso), Buffalo (Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon, and Colten Ellis), Columbus (Jet Greaves and Elvis Merzlikins), Tampa Bay (Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jonas Johansson), and Toronto (Anthony Stolarz, Joseph Woll, and Dennis Hildeby) in this category.

Most of those teams are simply looking for a more solid backup. Under the right circumstances, we could see one of those teams being interested in a Lankinen or maybe even a Tolopilo option, but they’ll all almost certainly explore the goalie UFA market first, which includes names like Sergei Bobrovsky, Petr Mrazek, Freddie Andersen, Stuart Skinner, Cam Talbot, and David Rittich, among others, before they go looking to make trades.

The real goalie trade market opens up next, with those teams who really, truly have needs at the goaltending position. In this category, we’ll find Carolina, who have the aforementioned Andersen expiring and two relatively inexperienced goalies remaining in Brandon Bussi and Pyotr Kochetkov. Deep inside their Cup window, they’ll presumably want more. The Chicago Blackhawks absolutely need a better backup behind Spencer Knight than Arvid Soderblom. Both New York teams, the Islanders and Rangers, will need new backups behind Ilya Sorokin and Igor Shesterkin (though the Rangers have the young Dylan Garand on the way up, and the Islanders still have Semyon Varlamov on LTIR). Ottawa will need a new backup behind Linus Ullmark, as will Utah behind Karel Vejmelka and Winnipeg behind Connor Hellebuyck. The Pittsburgh Penguins still have Arturs Silovs, but need to supplement him with either a strong backup or a 1B type if none of their younger goaltenders prove ready by next season.

Those teams are all free to peruse the UFA list themselves, too. But the needs are stronger in this category, and that should mean that each of these teams at least explore the goalie trade market. That could feasibly include a call or two to the Vancouver Canucks.

Our final goalie trade market category is the category of desperate need. Those teams that absolutely, no-doubt-about-it, need to do something about the state of their goaltending in this offseason. It’s a short list, and it contains just the Edmonton Oilers (who have the overpriced Tristan Jarry in place, and two outgoing UFAs), the Florida Panthers (who have no one in place with Bobrovsky and Daniil Tarasov both expiring), and the Philadelphia Flyers (who have one year of the surprising Dan Vladar left, then little after that). Those three teams definitely represent the Canucks very best chance of finding a goaltending suitor this offseason, but as should be evidenced by the rest of this article, they’ll have other options to explore, too.

The only real conclusion that should be drawn from this is that the goaltending market is a limited one in the 2026 offseason, and thus probably not something that the Canucks are going to have too much luck with. It tells us that their hopes of dealing either Demko or Lankinen are slim – but, then, we probably knew that already, what with their diminished values and NMCs. It tells us that there probably will be another opportunity to trade Tolopilo for a small package, as was done with Silovs, but that will probably be the Canucks’ only trade option. Beyond that, it’s either risking Tolopilo to waivers or attempting to roll into 2026-27 with a three-headed goaltending monster.

It’s just not looking to be a particularly good summer for dealing goalies.

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Should the Canucks move Thatcher Demko before his trade protection kicks in?

Jeffrey Kennett — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 14:00:16 GMT

Thatcher Demko’s future is one of the more interesting questions of the Vancouver Canucks’ offseason.

If the Canucks wanted to make a move, there is still a window. Demko’s three-year, $25.5 million extension begins in 2026-27, carrying an $8.5 million cap hit through 2028-29. According to PuckPedia, the deal also comes with full no-movement protection once it begins.

That does not mean a trade is at all likely. But once July 1 passes, the Canucks’ leverage changes dramatically, and Demko gains more control over his future.

This is a conversation Vancouver has been through before. Elias Pettersson’s name hovered around the trade block during the organization’s downfall. Still, the Canucks opted not to move him before his contract became a difficult piece of their cap picture. Pettersson is signed through 2031-32 at an $11.6 million cap hit, and his full no-movement protection could make an already complicated situation even harder to navigate.

That could loom large in how the new Canucks brass approaches the future here. The old regime did not need to extend Demko when they did. He still had a full season left on his previous deal, and after years of injuries, there was a reasonable argument for waiting to see whether his body could hold up before committing another three years at premium starter money. Instead, Vancouver gave him the extension and watched him start only 20 games.

That makes a lesser return easier to justify than it would have been two years ago. If the Canucks trade Demko before July 1 and receive less than his peak on-ice value suggests, it may look underwhelming in isolation. But clearing the full contract, avoiding three years of injury risk and preserving flexibility through the early stages of a rebuild could still be the better long-term outcome. The alternative is to bet on a healthy Demko, let his protection kick in, and accept that the organization may have a much harder time pivoting if the same health concerns return.

The argument for moving him is relatively straightforward. Demko is 30, expensive, and coming off another injury-shortened season. Vancouver announced in January that he would undergo hip surgery and miss the rest of the 2025-26 campaign, with the expectation that he would be ready for training camp. The San Diego-born goaltender finished the year with a record of 8-10-1, 2.90 goals-against average and .895 save percentage in 20 starts.

Plus, Vancouver already has Kevin Lankinen signed for four more years, giving the Canucks another veteran goalie on the books through 2029-30. Although, maybe spending $13 million between the pipes is part of the team’s plans to reach the cap floor.

There is also a recent internal precedent for acting before an extension begins, albeit under Jim Rutherford. The Canucks traded Conor Garland to the Columbus Blue Jackets before his six-year, $36 million extension kicked in, receiving a 2028 second-round pick and a 2026 third-round pick. That move showed the organization is willing to move off a player before new money and term fully take hold if the fit no longer makes sense.

Demko’s market would be far more diluted than Garland’s. A healthy Demko might still be one of the most talented goaltenders available if a contender misses on its first choice. But interested teams would be taking on three years at $8.5 million for a goalie with repeated injury setbacks. That likely lowers the return unless Vancouver retains salary or attaches a sweetener.

That may be the real question for Ryan Johnson and Co.: is clearing the contract more valuable than winning the trade?

Demko has publicly suggested his surgery should address his recurring injury, and if he arrives at training camp healthy, his value could rebound quickly. The risk is that by then all leverage will be gone.

The more realistic read is that Vancouver would likely be open to listening, but not actively shopping him. If a team calls with a serious offer before July 1, the Canucks would be foolish not to consider it. That is part of responsible asset management. But if the Canucks are required to retain salary for the next three seasons, or attach a significant sweetener, that would realistically dampen the club’s appetite to move on.

This could be a shrewd spot for the new Canucks brass to evaluate. A healthy Demko could be one of the few pieces Vancouver has capable of recouping significant draft capital or prospects, but his presence in the room may also be deemed him too important to move on from right now. Either way, betting on a fully healthy Demko comes with a heavy amount of risk.

The Canucks do not have to force a trade. But after Pettersson, Garland and now their longtime goaltender, they should understand the danger of waiting too long. Sometimes the best move is not the one that wins a trade on paper. Sometimes it is the one that prevents a risky contract from becoming a bigger problem down the line.

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Inside Manny Malhotra’s systems: How the Abbotsford Canucks’ tactics may adapt to Vancouver

Elijah Ford — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 21:15:10 GMT

When Ryan Johnson was named the 13th general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, it seemed almost inevitable he would bring in his Calder Cup-winning head coach, Manny Malhotra, as the new bench boss.

As a former player himself, Malhotra has earned a reputation as a player’s coach. Most notably, many have praised him for his commitment to developing young players and his strong track record of getting the most out of players’ talent. With the Canucks in the middle of a self-described rebuild, player development and patience with younger athletes are key traits for any coach stepping into this situation.

But how does Malhotra build a team’s systems to support that philosophy, and how do they compare with those of previous Canucks head coaches? Let’s break it down, starting in the defensive zone and working our way up the ice.

Before we begin, it’s worth noting Malhotra could adjust his systems as he makes the leap to the NHL, depending on personnel and other factors. The breakdowns below are based on footage from his Abbotsford Canucks teams.

For a reminder of Adam Foote’s systems for the Canucks last season, click here!

Defensive Zone

When the puck is in the defensive zone, the primary goal for Abbotsford is to protect the middle of the ice. They play a box-and-one style defence designed to force plays up the wall and isolate players in one-on-one or two-on-one situations.

When the puck is dumped into the zone, the defenceman’s first goal is to reverse the puck to the weak side as soon as possible. If he is unsuccessful, the centreman is the first one in to support the puck in the corner. The general rule of thumb is for him to support as low as the second opposing forward goes. The weak-side defenceman covers the front of the net, while the weak-side winger drops down to cover the high-slot area. The strong-side winger prevents passes to the strong-side defenceman, hovering around the ringette line.

If the first defenceman on the puck is within a stick length of the opponent, or “in his pocket,” he continues to force the opposing forward to the outside all the way up the half wall. If he does this well, the centreman can be aggressive in his support, taking away the middle of the ice while also potentially creating loose pucks.

If the first player with the puck is able to create space for himself along the half wall, the defenceman comes back to the net, and the centreman takes over that assignment. If this happens, the same principle applies, only this time it’s the centreman and winger creating the two-on-one pressure. The goal in both situations is to create a “swarming” effect while maintaining plenty of support in the middle of the ice.

If the puck gets to the strong-side defenceman, Abbotsford’s defencemen and centreman look for players to tie up around the net, while the two wingers work to prevent point shots from getting through for goals, rebounds, or tip-ins. If the puck is passed D-to-D, the weak-side winger is already in that shooting lane.

If a play is made and the puck is moved quickly to the weak side, the weak-side defenceman steps up and challenges that skater. The centreman has to make the difficult defensive play of skating quickly from the strong-side high-slot area to the weak-side half wall.

Breakouts

When a defenceman goes to retrieve the puck in the corner, his first job is to get the puck to the weak-side defenceman. This creates additional space from the incoming forechecker.

The main way Abbotsford moves the puck out of its zone is through quick “bump” passes to the middle of the ice. This may sound like a dangerous premise, but at the highest level of hockey, it is expected that both the passer and the player in the middle have the hockey IQ to create space and move the puck to open ice. The middle of the ice is a good place to have the puck in the defensive zone because of the control it creates and the options it opens.

When the puck is moved to the middle of the ice, a passing triangle is formed and there are four legitimate passing options available. He can move the puck up to one of the streaking wingers, move it to the centreman cutting up ice, or skate it up himself.

When Abbotsford’s goaltender handles the puck, the two defencemen move into the corners. The player who receives the pass immediately reverses the puck to the weak-side defenceman, starting the breakout process again.

When breaking out from behind their own net, one of Abbotsford’s most common plays is to send a centreman up the strong-side wall with speed, with the strong-side winger trailing behind.

Once the centreman reaches the neutral zone, he cuts quickly to the middle of the ice. This either creates room for him to receive the puck with speed through the middle or forces the opposing strong-side forward to follow him inside, leaving the strong-side winger open along the wall.

The weak-side winger positions himself at the far blue line, ready to chip in any pucks coming his way, while the weak-side defenceman gives his partner a simple cross-ice option.

Neutral-Zone Forecheck

Abbotsford plays a 1-1-3 neutral-zone forecheck, which is an uncommon approach. The bench-side winger drops back and plays a defenceman’s role in this part of the system.

The first man on the puck’s responsibility is to force the play up the boards. The second man’s job is to play a proverbial wall so the puck carrier can’t cut back or cut into the middle. When the puck comes up the boards, the strong-side defenceman steps up and forces a dump-in.

If the puck is retrieved in the strong-side corner, Abbotsford moves the puck back up the strong side as soon as possible. They do this by having the weak-side defenceman slip to the middle while a forward drops to the half wall, just like their normal own-zone breakout. If the puck is rimmed to the weak side, the same breakout occurs, only in reverse.

Forecheck

Abbotsford runs a basic 1-2-2 offensive-zone forecheck. The goal of the first forward in this system is to attack the puck and force the carrier into the boards. The third forward on the play stays in the high-slot area, not overcommitting to the boards so he can defend if the opposing team reverses the ice.

The second attacker has the most cerebral responsibility in this attack. How aggressively this forward checks depends on factors such as the score and the time remaining. In an offence-leaning situation, the player comes down low to suffocate the carrier before he has time to move the puck. This option, however, can create offence the other way if the puck carrier is able to slip the puck to a supporting forward. If the team is playing more conservatively, the second forward hovers around the middle of the faceoff circle, supporting the play while still being in position to get back in transition.

Aggressive

Conservative

If the goaltender touches the puck behind the net, Abbotsford shifts into a 2-1-2 forecheck. In this formation, the first two forwards attack a defender each, with the third forward hovering in the middle of the zone. This prevents the goalie from making an easy breakout pass, instead forcing him, in most cases, to shoot the puck around the glass, which can create loose pucks.

Conclusion

The system Malhotra ran in Abbotsford was influenced by his time with Sheldon Keefe in Toronto. The main principles behind it are puck possession, taking away primary scoring areas, and applying consistent pressure on the puck through double teams and forecheckers. On the bench, Malhotra constantly conveys energy and intensity to his teams. His style is most comparable to coaches such as Rod Brind’Amour, Martin St. Louis, and Spencer Carbery. Canucks fans hope he can bring Vancouver similar success to what those coaches have enjoyed.

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Memorabilia Monday: Canucks items from events that never actually happened

David Quadrelli — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 20:30:00 GMT

If you’d like to get some cards or memorabilia of your own, be sure to check out local shop Zephyr Epic for all your needs! Use promo code HOCKEYSE at checkout online to get $5 off your order of any sports cards or autographed memorabilia on their website. Check them out by clicking here!

Welcome to the first written edition of Memorabilia Monday, a new segment here at CanucksArmy where, every Monday during the Canucks’ offseason, we will highlight a piece or multiple pieces of Vancouver Canucks memorabilia, as submitted by our readers and listeners of Canucks Conversation.

The inspiration for this series came from a post I made on Twitter/X last week, where I asked people to send me their most prized pieces of memorabilia. The response was tremendous, and gave me the idea for this series. We highlighted most of these on last week’s episode of Canucks Conversation, but this week, we’re focusing on a specific genre of Canucks memorabilia: Canucks memorabilia items from events that never happened.

Here’s what people submitted:

From Cory McQuhae:

Remember these games? Yeah, me neither.

On a side note: We really need to decide, as a society, to bring back physical tickets. And on that note…

From Matt McAuley:

“Family member won tickets and gifted to my wife and I, and then the season was cancelled for COVID. When I called the Canucks office, they said since they were not our season seats, that they couldn’t/wouldn’t do anything so we lost out.”

As a collector myself, I wonder if COVID-related memorabilia will ever have a market. This ticket stub would certainly fall into that category.

One can dream

Hasn’t happened, yet pic.twitter.com/x843FGTLko

— Jim Lahey HNIC (@LaheyHNIC) June 5, 2026

If you go to the trouble of having it made, you have to wear it. But on the Sprite can jersey? Really?

From Chester Ming:

Call that manifestation, baby!

The “other” Stanley Cup merchandise

Look, both teams need to have championship merch ready to go. Leagues do their very best to make sure that the losing team’s championship merchandise never see the light of day, but sometimes, you still find gems like these:

pic.twitter.com/FciIRgMtnH

— ryan (@schaaptop) June 5, 2026

pic.twitter.com/Glm6dgLwYm

— Justin in East Van (@EastVanJustin) June 5, 2026

And how about this one, which comes with a story from Dave M:

“I actually grew up in a small town outside of Calgary. My parents would have purchased it at a Jersey City in Calgary. About 10 years ago, my Mom gave it to me. I didn’t know she still had it. I don’t imagine many exist. It’s over 30 years old!”

If you’d like to get some cards or memorabilia of your own, check out Zephyr Epic! Use promo code HOCKEYSE at checkout online for $5 off your order of any sports cards or autographed memorabilia available on their website. Check them out by clicking here!

Be sure to send in your own submissions for Memorabilia Mondays by filling out our Contact Form here. We also opened some hockey cards recently, and you can watch that video below!

NHL Notebook: Larkin gives Red Wings 3-team trade list, Kings hire Laviolette as head coach

Tyson Cole — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 19:22:53 GMT

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

Is this not one of the best Stanley Cup finals of recent memory? Many hockey observers expected a boring, tight-checking final between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Carolina Hurricanes, but that has been far from the product we’ve seen on the ice.

While we have to wait one more night before Game 4, there is other NHL news around the league to hit the headlines on Monday.

Larkin’s list

According to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, Dylan Larkin has given the Detroit Red Wings a list of three teams he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to go to. Those three teams are the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, and Vegas Golden Knights.

Per @HeleneStJames, Dylan Larkin would be willing to waive his Full NMC for these 3 teams. 👀 pic.twitter.com/by63HgmL7c

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 8, 2026

After being drafted 15th overall at the 2014 NHL Draft, Larkin has spent his entire 11-year NHL career with the Red Wings. The Waterford, Michigan native has just one playoff appearance in his career, coming all the way back in his 2015-16 rookie season.

So, after suffering this long without much playoff hockey, it’s not a shock he wants to chase a new opportunity where he can win. And it makes even more sense after his comments following the 2025 season, when he called out the team’s higher-ups for not adding at the trade deadline to help boost their playoff chances.

However, Larkin isn’t making it easy for General Manager Steve Yzerman, giving him just these three teams as his next destinations. All three teams initially have the cap space to fit Larkin’s $8.7 million AAV over the next five seasons, but also have players they’d like to re-sign.

The Panthers have $15.3 million heading into the offseason, but have restricted free agent Mackie Samoskevich to re-up. Although, the more glaring need for the Panthers is in goal, as Sergei Bobrovsky and Daniil Tarasov are both looking for a new contract. They could re-sign all of those guys and move out others from their roster to make the money work for Larkin, but it appears to be too tall a task for the Panthers to pull this off.

Minnesota is the team most in need of Larkin’s services, as they had Ryan Hartman skating as their top-line centre in the playoffs. However, they have even less cap space than the Panthers heading into this summer, at $12.8 million, and more depth players to re-sign. Not all of these guys are likely to come back, but Mats Zuccarello needs a new contract, recently acquired restricted free agent Bobby Brink is up for a new deal, and Michael McCarron is a hot free-agent target around the league. They also have Nick Foligno and Vladimir Tarasenko as pending unrestricted free agents.

The Golden Knights seem like the least likely destination for Larkin; however, Vegas always seems to have a trick up its sleeve in order to make these big deals. Heading into next season, the Golden Knights have just $4.6 million in cap space. But if Pietrangelo is expected to land another year on LTIR, the $8.8 million he frees up will bring the total to $13.4 million in cap space. However, they still have a plethora of players to re-sign, starting with 25-year-old RFA Pavel Dorofeyev, who just put up back-to-back 35+ goal seasons. Along with him are Cole Smith, Brandon Saad, Colton Sissons, Jeremy Lauzon, Ben Hutton, Dylan Coghlan, and the most notable name on the list, Rasmus Andersson. It just seems like too much to try and work around for Vegas to make it work, but you can never truly count them out.

Yzerman may need to play hardball with his captain to expand his list if these are the only three teams he would be willing to waive for.

Kings hire Laviolette

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Los Angeles Kings have hired Peter Laviolette as their next head coach.

Peter Laviolette will be the next head coach of the Los Angeles Kings

Edmonton and Toronto were also interested

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 8, 2026

Laviolette, 61, has coached all around the league throughout his 23-year NHL coaching career. He started with the New York Islanders for two seasons, then went to the Carolina Hurricanes, where he won the Stanley Cup in his second season in 2005-06. After five years in Carolina, he moved on to the Philadelphia Flyers, where he advanced to the Stanley Cup final against the Chicago Blackhawks in 2009-10. Laviolette then moved on again after five years to the Nashville Predators, where he took them to the Stanley Cup final in 2016-17, but lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He then coached the Washington Capitals for three years before taking the New York Rangers to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost in six games to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers.

The Kings’ search was down to Laviolette, interim head coach DJ Smith, who took over in-season after they let go of Jim Hiller, and former Edmonton Oilers head coach and current Anaheim Ducks assistant Jay Woodcroft. Los Angeles ultimately lands on Laviolette, whose reputation around the league is that he can turn a franchise around quickly but can’t quite get over the top, having done so only once despite three Stanley Cup appearances.

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Gallagher’s agent says Canucks ‘expressed interest’ in acquiring Canadiens forward

Tyson Cole — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:52:48 GMT

According to his agent, the Vancouver Canucks have inquired on Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher, in what may be this new regime’s first trade.

Gallagher’s agent, Gerry Johansson, appeared on Monday’s episode of Donnie & Dhali and discussed the Canucks’ interest in his client:

“I think initially they expressed interest. But they have moving parts, too, right? We’re pretty close to what the teams are doing, but you really don’t know what’s going on inside their operations. And they do have a lot of things happening, right? The draft and free agency; there’s a lot coming up here. So I do think it’s on their desk, and I do think they have interest. It’s just a matter of whether it can work or not. I think that’s always the case. Until it’s done, it’s never done.”

"I do think it's on their desk and they do have interest.."

President & CEO for The Sports Corporation, Gerry Johansson talked about whether the #Canucks have interest in his client, Brendan Gallagher.

Full interview coming up at 10:15am on @CHEK_News & YouTube channel.… pic.twitter.com/wMRIKuqjQZ

— Donnie & Dhali (@DonnieandDhali) June 8, 2026

The Gallagher trade discussion picked up last week, after he gave an emotional exit meeting in which he said, “It’s pretty clear I’ll be moving on here, but, incredibly, incredibly …” before he started tearing up.

Gallagher has played his entire 14-year NHL career in a Canadiens sweater, scoring 246 goals and 241 assists for 487 points in 911 games. The 5’9″ winger is known for his agitating style of play, often finding himself causing chaos at the net front after the whistle. While he isn’t a favourite to his opponents on the ice, Gallagher brings a leadership role in the locker room, as he has worn an ‘A’ on his jersey for 11 of his years in Montreal.

As the Canadiens emerged from their rebuild and went on their run to the Eastern Conference Finals this season, Gallagher was on the outside looking in. He started the playoffs as a healthy scratch before finally cracking the lineup for Games 5, 6, and 7 in the opening round against the Tampa Bay Lightning. While he scored early in his first appearance, Gallagher never played more than seven minutes in any of his three games and did not play in the Canadiens’ seven-game series against the Buffalo Sabres or their five-game series against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Later on in the exit meeting, Gallagher was asked about the possibility of coming to Vancouver, where he played junior hockey and captained the Vancouver Giants. He responded, “That’s an opportunity that’s there… I’ll sit down with my wife and figure out what’s best for our family and you go forward, but certainly Vancouver would be a great place.”

What the recent history of the Canucks’ slate of draft picks means for their future

Stephan Roget — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 16:47:42 GMT

In the long term, and in the grand scheme of things, the 2026 NHL Entry Draft might not prove to be the most important draft in the ongoing rebuild of the Vancouver Canucks. But it is, at the very least, the first draft since said rebuild was declared, and it is undoubtedly an occasion of high importance, one way or another.

The Canucks are currently slated to select four times in the first 50 picks of the 2026 Draft. Barring any trades, that will be at third overall and 24^th overall in the first round, and then at 33^rd overall and 41^st overall in the second round.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve done a set of “Recent history of…” articles for all four of those draft slots, looking at the players selected there from 2010 to the present day. And now that we’ve completed those, it seems necessary to draw some conclusions about what those recent histories might mean for the future of the Canucks and their rebuild.

When looking at the history of the third overall pick, we obviously found plenty of premium players having been selected there. A slam-dunk Hall of Famer in Leon Draisaitl, a few other genuine NHL stars like Tim Stutzle and Miro Heiskanen, and plenty of players a tier or two down from that. Outright busts have been almost non-existent that high in the draft, but folks like Alex Galchenyuk and Jesperi Kotkaniemi stand out as, at the very least, extremely disappointing selections.

Getting a good player at third overall is close to guaranteed, but getting a great player takes some luck.

At 24^th overall, we found a much greater variety of talent. A couple of top-line players have been selected there since 2010, most notably Travis Konecny and the Canucks’ own pick, Jared McCann. Most 24^th overalls fall well short of that, and the bust factor is significantly higher this much later in the first round. Of the 13 players picked there who have had time to establish themselves in the NHL, about six can reasonably be called busts. That’s a rate of almost 50%.

And that bust factor only increases as we enter the second round. The recent history of the 33^rd overall pick yielded basically two players of truly significant quality – Ivan Barbashev in 2014 and Igor Chernyshov 10 years later in 2024 – and not a whole lot in between. In this case, the majority of the players picked at 33^rd overall have been busts, and those with any sort of long-term NHL career are the exception.

That is, of course, even truer a few picks later at 41^st overall. There, the best pick we’ve got to write home about is 2010’s Patrik Nemeth, with the rest being bottom-of-the-lineup players at best or, more likely, outright busts. Trey Augustine, a goaltender picked there in 2023, also stands out as a top prospect, but it’s a scant list all the same.

Now, what can we conclude from all that?

The sheer likelihood of picking a player who doesn’t work out at any of these given draft slots, and the apparent difficulty of landing a true difference-maker, even as high as third overall, underscores the importance of the picks themselves. The Vancouver rebuild is talent-starved at the moment, and they need a lot in the way of difference-makers. They don’t just have to make these picks; they need to nail as many of them as possible, and that will take a combination of luck and scouting skill.

It’s a matter of quality of pick, sure, but it’s also a matter of quantity. Because one thing these pick histories tell us is that some disappointing picks are almost inevitable. Put differently, if the Canucks were to somehow land good-to-great NHLers with all four of the picks we’ve mentioned here, it would have to be considered a historically excellent draft.

It’s far more realistic to prepare for some disappointment than to set expectations that high. But part of the lesson has to be that bad picks are, at the very least, survivable. We can find a team like the Montreal Canadiens having made two awful choices at third overall in the span of six years between Galchenyuk and Kotkaniemi, and they still wound up in a great place by the modern age. Selecting a bust is not the end of any given rebuild.

The flip side of that, though, is that a high volume of picks is almost necessary to ensure a positive outcome from a draft-centric approach to team-building in the long run. The number-one lesson we’re walking away from this exercise with is that the Canucks should focus on actually using all four of their top-50 draft selections in 2026. If misses are inevitable, and if the Canucks are in need of multiple home runs, then they need as many at-bats as they can get their hands on.

This also highlights the reality that, barring that aforementioned truly historical draft, a rebuild cannot be accomplished in a single year. Everything we’ve said about these four picks is as true for any picks the Canucks might come into possession of for the next couple of draft classes. And acquiring said picks should be among the Canucks’ highest priorities in any of their next set of transactions.

If the Canucks pretty much know that at least a couple of their 2026 picks aren’t going to work out, they need to focus on getting just as many picks for the 2027 draft and the 2028 draft, at the very least, and probably some picks for some drafts beyond that, too.

As it stands, the Canucks have one first and two seconds in both the 2027 and 2028 drafts. That’s a good start, but they’ll want to pump those numbers up via trade over the next few seasons and offseasons.

If there’s anything that these recent histories of the Canucks’ draft picks have really shown, it’s that drafting is both difficult and near-impossible to rely on with any certainty. It’s a careful game, and it’s a patient game, but it’s also a game of volume.

The Canucks having four picks in the top-50 of 2026 is a wonderful start, but it won’t be near enough to base a rebuild upon. When it comes to draft picks, the Canucks simply need to make as many as possible as soon as possible.

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JPat’s Monday Mailbag: Which young Canucks player has best chance to rebound or develop under Manny Malhotra?

Jeff Paterson — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 14:00:19 GMT

The Vancouver Canucks continue to chip away at their lengthy offseason ‘to do’ list.

Over the past week, they’ve hired a head coach and added a director of player personnel. They interviewed a number of prospects at the NHL Combine. And who knows, perhaps this week they’ll add another assistant general manager or start to round out Manny Malhotra’s bench staff. As we wait for the next shoe(s) to drop, we will do what we do every Monday – answer some of the questions sent our way by curious Canucks fans. This is the Monday Mailbag. Let’s get to work.

Which young Canuck do you think has the best chance to rebound or develop better under Malhotra?

— Strongbelly (@strongbelly.bsky.social) 2026-06-06T23:08:16.157Z

The easy answer here is Aatu Räty. He’s played for Manny Malhotra in Abbotsford, and his game style closely resembles the way Malhotra played in the NHL. Räty needs to show there is more to his game than being a faceoff savant. It’ll be fascinating to see what Malhotra can do to help Räty grow as a three-zone player. Of course, it’s a two-way street, and Räty needs to put in work this offseason so that he hits the ground running at training camp. How does Räty unlock more offence than the four goals and 14 points he produced in 66 games last season? Can he carve out a role as a regular penalty killer? This feels like a big year for Aatu Räty to take a significant step in his career. It will also be interesting to see what Malhotra can do to help Braeden Cootes, depending on where the 2025 first-rounder plays next season. And also, can Malhotra have a positive impact to help defenceman Elias Pettersson get past his sophomore struggles? The new coach has his work cut out for him, getting a number of young players to level up. But those are certainly three that jump to mind.

Is there any concerns that the Canucks are being cheap by not hiring additional analytics staff (as of yet)?

— Gary Kuhn (@gxk161) June 6, 2026

I’m going to answer no to this one. The new hockey calendar begins on July 1st, which means many people in the business are approaching the end of their current contracts. It’s not unusual to see people shake free in the summer months. Between hiring a head coach, a new director of player personnel and conducting business at the combine, the new Canucks front office has had its hands full since taking over three weeks ago. There are months still before the puck drops and the team starts playing games. So beefing up the staff remains a work in progress, and they’ve got time on their side in that regard. I know this can be an impatient market, and that the organization doesn’t necessarily deserve the benefit of the doubt on many files, but I think you have to give them a little time here to get their house in order. Ask the question in August, and perhaps you’ll get a different answer, but for now, I don’t think there is enough evidence to suggest there is reason to be worried.

Who do you feel the players would promote to Captain if given a choice

— Guts of The Ice (@RayBansal3) June 6, 2026

My hunch is that Filip Hronek would get the nod. He was the team’s MVP and its second leading scorer last season, so we know what he means to the group on the ice. But beyond that, we heard nothing but glowing reviews from players and coaches alike about his leadership behind the closed locker room doors. While he chooses to maintain a low profile (or as low a profile as a hockey player can keep in Vancouver), he is said to be the consummate professional, teammate and mentor to the young players that have been added to the roster. So if you passed around ballots and asked the Canucks players to vote, I think Hronek would finish first, likely followed closely by Brock Boeser, with Marcus Pettersson not far behind. It would be interesting to see whether there was any voting bloc based on age. Would the young players want to see a fresh voice take over? Would someone like Zeev Buium garner some support?

Any news on Demko? Does he want to stay through a re-build? Any idea on Ryan Johnson's position on his goalies?

— Maureen (@mbbrennan) June 6, 2026

No news to report. We last heard from the Canucks netminder at the season-ending media availability when he discussed his recovery from hip surgery. He sounded optimistic that he would be fully healthy for training camp after a summer of training. Then again, it’s important to note that Demko will turn 31 in December, so he no longer has youth on his side to overcome the compounding injuries. He is weeks away from a significant pay raise as his new three-year $25.5M extension kicks in on July 1st. And with that new deal comes a full no-movement clause for the duration of the contract. We don’t truly know his willingness to stick it out for the rebuild, but after July 1st, he will have full control over his situation. After the past few seasons and a litany of injuries, Demko first and foremost needs to prove he is 100% recovered and good to go. Of course, getting healthy is one thing. Staying healthy is another. And then there is the workload question. Like every coach that has come before him, Manny Malhotra is going to have to fight the urge to lean on Demko as his best chance for early success. The Canucks need to come up with a plan for their goalies (whether it’s two or three on the NHL roster) and stick to it when all goalies are healthy and available.

Why, when you look at the low odds of success for drafted players, do you think draft picks tend to have higher value in trades than established players?

— Kevin Tulak (@KevinTulak) June 6, 2026

I think it boils down to developmental runway and the belief that acquiring teams will be able to turn those draft picks into National Hockey League players. Most teams would prefer to take their chances on a lottery ticket and believe that their organization will be able to draft and develop 17 and 18-year-olds rather than acquire a player that has perhaps stalled out further along his development pathway in another system. There is just something about a clean slate. There is also the flexibility that comes with draft picks. Teams can use them to stock their own pipeline, but they can also be used as assets to facilitate other moves, either on their own or as add-ons in another deal.

It is strange how some draft years seem strong and others seem weak. You’d think it would be more random. What is the weakest draft year and the strongest draft year in your memory and what is this year’s in comparison?

— Dogface Riley (@dogfaceriley.bsky.social) 2026-06-06T19:11:00.399Z

We’re going back a few years here, but the 2003 first round stands as arguably the greatest first round in NHL history. Every player selected in that first round played NHL games, and 13 of the players went on to log more than 1,000 NHL games. Brent Burns and Corey Perry are still playing 23 years later. The 2015 first round ranks pretty highly too: Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, Noah Hanifin, Zach Werenski and Mikko Rantanen all went in the top 10. The first round also included Mat Barzal, Kyle Connor, Thomas Chabot, Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser.

The 2012 Draft stands out for the wrong reasons, with Nail Yakupov, Ryan Murray, Alex Galchenyuk and Griffin Reinhart going with the first four picks. The 2021 Draft has produced a lot of decent players, but it is short on absolute star power (Owen Power, Matty Beniers, and Mason McTavish were the top three picks that year). Dallas centre Wyatt Johnston leads the 2021 draft class in scoring and was taken 23rd overall.

Without a crystal ball, it’s impossible to know how the 2026 class will turn out. But certainly with Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg and all the high-end defencemen projected to go early, it feels like the cream of this year’s crop has plenty of potential to make an impact in the NHL.

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GM Ryan Johnson hints at player types Canucks may target in free agency

Tyson Cole — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 21:55:16 GMT

As a team that is just entering its rebuild, it’s going to be difficult for the Vancouver Canucks to attract free agents. It was already becoming difficult for Canadian markets to lure in free agents due to high taxes. Now, pitching a vision to free agents to come to Vancouver and do a lot of losing isn’t going to be very attractive to players looking for a new home.

However, teams at the bottom of the barrel of the NHL standings can still pique players’ interest who are looking for more opportunity, ones who want to rebuild their value in hopes of a long-term contract with a contender the following year, or players at the end of their career looking to ride off into the sunset and help lead the next wave of youth during the rebuild.

Canucks GM Ryan Johnson joined John Shannon and Landon Ferraro on the 100% Canucks podcast on Friday. He discussed a variety of topics but gave us a little hint into what type of player the organization may want to target in free agency:

“Obviously, we’re being very strategic in the sense of knowing where we are and what the vision is,” Johnson said. “We’re not going to try to jump the line and spend without a purpose. We’ve got areas out of the gates that I think we need to improve on; some team identity and maybe role definition.

“I’ll look at opportunities of doing that maybe via other routes, but you’re not going to see us – unless our picture changes – July 1 sitting there spending a ton of money. We’re going to try to build this through the draft and do it slowly, do it right. And if there’s opportunities to add and it stays to the vision, sure, we will do it, but be very strategic with it.”

Johnson’s specific mention of team identity and role definition as areas the team needs to improve on was eye-opening. It also aligns with this regime’s messaging about changing the team’s culture. It appears Johnson will be looking for some veteran, character players who can be good leaders to help out the locker room.

The crop of free agents this summer is as weak as we’ve seen in some time. Alex Tuch and Darren Raddysh headline the class; however, there is a significant drop-off to Anthony Mantha and John Carlson after that. However, the market the Canucks will be dipping their toes into – the veteran leadership route – is quite rich.

Now, who knows if any of these players will want to go to a rebuilding team so late in their careers, but the list of veteran leadership-type players is: Claude Giroux, Anders Lee, Jamie Benn, Jacob Trouba, Ian Cole, Nick Foligno, Lars Eller, Jamie Oleksiak, Troy Stecher, and Kevin Hayes – to name a few.

However, if the free-agent pool doesn’t land them what they’re looking for, as Johnson mentioned, they can always explore other avenues, such as the trade market. There has already been significant buzz about potentially bringing Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher to Vancouver, who fits that veteran, leadership presence.

We’ll see what route Johnson leads the Canucks toward. Regardless of who they bring in, Johnson appears to be set on bringing in players who can play a role in helping find that culture and team identity again.

Which veteran Canucks stand to increase their trade value in 2026-27?

Stephan Roget — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 20:05:52 GMT

A famous philosopher and chicken entrepreneur once mused that “You got to know when to hold them, [and] know when to fold them.” That rings true about any form of gambling, and what is hockey management but one of the most expensive forms of gambling out there?

The Vancouver Canucks have a lot of decisions to make over the coming weeks, months, and years of this rebuild. Almost all of these decisions will involve some risk-reward trade-off and thus be gambles. And there’s a very direct element of holding and folding at play as the newest Canucks front office attempts to reshape the roster toward a more youth-oriented plan.

It’s no secret that the Canucks are going to be dealing away some more veterans, both in the immediate future and into the more medium term. But the exact timing of those transactions is tricky.

The Vancouver Canucks bottomed out as a franchise in 2025-26, and the respective values of many of their veteran players similarly tanked as a result. But bottoming out doesn’t always equate to staying bottomed out. The balance that GM Ryan Johnson and Co. have to strike is figuring out which veterans have truly reached the basement of their tradeable value – those would be the ones to ‘fold’ on, or trade, right now – and those who have a real chance of rebounding to a higher value. Those would be the ones to ‘hold,’ so to speak, at least for a portion of the 2026-27.

It’s a little tempting to say that any veteran could regain some trade value with a good enough 2026-27 season, because that’s technically true. But we’re looking at more likelihoods and practicalities here, and those swings in trade value that might actually matter.

Jake DeBrusk, for example, is a veteran who many expect to be traded this offseason. He actually had a pretty solid 2025-26, scoring 23 goals. But in DeBrusk’s nine-year NHL career to date, he’s scored at least 19 goals seven times. He’s a very established, if streaky, quantity at this level. Another 20+-goal campaign isn’t going to move DeBrusk’s trade value up much, if any. A bad season, conversely, could drop his value, and so it makes sense for the Canucks to trade him sooner, rather than later – so long as DeBrusk is as willing to waive his no-movement clause as he sounds to be.

Filip Hronek also probably falls into this category. At this point, he’s fairly established as a top-pairing right-shot defender, and that gives him an inherent and immense trade value. Another year of leading the Vancouver blueline isn’t going to do much to change that. Hronek’s value should remain fairly steady, though we’re not so sure that means the Canucks should trade him quite yet.

On the other end of the spectrum might lie Brock Boeser. He and his contract are firmly into ‘it is what it is’ territory. Boeser can be expected to produce as he has throughout his career, but he is at the age where the returns will continue to diminish, especially in other areas of the game. Even if Boeser has a good 2026-27 and pops in, say, 30 goals again, it won’t do too much to add value.

Today, we’re looking for those with more potential to swing, and a real chance to increase their trade values and the returns the Canucks should expect back for them, so long as the Canucks ‘hold’ onto them for at least the first few months of the 2026-27 season.

Marcus Pettersson

You knew a Pettersson was going to be first on this list; it was just a matter of which one. We went with Marcus because of his 10 years of fairly consistent top-four-quality play prior to the 2025-26 season. Having hit the age of 30, it’s possible that Pettersson is just getting older, but given that the entire Vancouver blueline appeared to suffer under Adam Foote this past year, it’s easy enough to lay the majority of the blame on coaching.

Pettersson doesn’t need to rebound that much under Manny Malhotra to start looking like a sharp, reliable LD addition for a contending team looking to add experience. In short, 2026-27 was by far the worst season of his career, and a considerable rebound seems incredibly likely. A few extra points, and some better defensive analytics, and Pettersson might not be back in “first round pick” territory, but he will have regained positive trade value.

Elias Pettersson

The numbers might not be back, but Pettersson did look a little less lost out there at times in 2025-26. The new regime seems like it will be more patient with him than the last one. If that translates into even a slight uptick in production while still maintaining his usual level of defensive play, then Pettersson will start to look more and more like an intriguing acquisition from another team.

There is a risk factor here. Any further deterioration in his play would take whatever value he has now and put it through a wood chipper. But there won’t be many other centres stealing ice-time away from Pettersson in 2026-27, and so he should get his opportunities. Getting up from his current 0.75 PPG rate to something closer to 0.90 would go a long way. And it’s worth mentioning that a lot of big contracts are going to be signed this offseason, and as they do, Pettersson’s $11.6 million cap hit is going to start looking more swallowable. It’ll still be too big, but less standout-ishly so, and that will have to help his comparative value.

We’d go so far as to say that even if Pettersson doesn’t increase his play quality much at all, but merely maintains it, in 2026-27, that probably helps his trade value. The more the memory fades and the less we’re all able to compare Pettersson to his past self, the better other teams will be able to judge his remaining positive qualities for themselves.

Thatcher Demko

Right now, we’d argue that Demko’s trade value is well into the negatives. An $8 million cap hit is already a pretty sizeable one for a starting goaltender, and it’s not clear whether or not Demko will ever be healthy enough to be a regular NHL goaltender again, never mind a starting one. Nobody, and we mean nobody, is going to take a gamble so large on an asset so expensive for a position so important.

But Demko is going to make a run at a return all the same, and the Canucks should let him and hope for the best. In a worst-case scenario, Demko gets injured again, and the Canucks are right back where they started, just with one year burned off that three-year extension. No big deal.

If Demko manages to maintain any real level of healthiness throughout 2026-27, then the phones should start ringing again. There is a dearth of goaltending talent in the league right now. Demko might not need to show all that many signs of a comeback before somebody becomes willing to roll the dice on him, and it could even happen within the next season itself if he stays off the LTIR until then.

Linus Karlsson

Right off the bat, we’ll admit that Karlsson isn’t a “veteran,” exactly, but he is 26 and does fit this article’s premise. Karlsson led the Canucks in even-strength production this year. But how many times have we seen a player peak with their rookie campaign, and then fade back into obscurity?

Doing it again would go a long way toward solidifying Karlsson as someone with a longer-term NHL future, and would make his two-year, $2.25 million extension look like a potential bargain worth trading for.

We wouldn’t go as far as to say that Karlsson needs to lead the Canucks in any statistical categories next year for this to be the case. So long as he continues to get regular minutes in the top nine, and so long as he manages a second consecutive 30ish-point season, he’ll turn that contract into something with surplus value, and thus turn himself into someone with genuine market value around the rest of the NHL.

Marco Rossi

Rossi has shown well throughout his NHL career, with career highs of 24 goals and 60 points at age 24. But he’s also been beset by illness and injury, and that’s led to some question marks about the kind of player he’ll be at the end of it all.

A foot injury hampered Rossi’s time in Vancouver, and he still managed 22 points in 33 games. He’ll go into 2026-27 pencilled in as at least the 2C, and probably on the PP1, too. If he just manages to stay healthy throughout, he’ll rapidly gain value in an absolutely centre-starved market, and he could quickly become one of the Canucks’ most valuable trade chips – unless they decide he’s worth keeping for themselves at that point.

Nils Höglander

Our recent piece suggesting that the Canucks were best off moving on from Höglander was met with some controversy, most of it related to this notion. After all, Höglander scored just five points last year. That’s got to be a case of ‘nowhere to go but up,’ right?

We’re still a little skeptical about Höglander turning it around in Vancouver ourselves. But many prefer to see if he can regain a little of that 2023-24 magic under a new coaching staff, and to then decide on whether he’s still young and talented enough to be part of the rebuild, or whether it’s time to cash in on him for as high a draft pick as is available.

Heck, with as low as his numbers got last year, all it would really take is a good week from Höglander to surpass them and start building his way back toward a positive trade value.

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