The Vancouver Canucks and Goldeneyes have had challenging seasons so far, but the fans continue to show up. Here's what the future could hold for both clubs.
At no point before now in the three-year history of the NHL and PWHL co-existing have two teams in the same market sat last overall in both leagues simultaneously.
For hockey fans in Vancouver, however, it's been a frustrating 2025-26 campaign on the men's and women's sides, as the Canucks and Goldeneyes find themselves in last place simultaneously.
It's an unexpected circumstance given the PWHL's Vancouver Goldeneyes were close to a unanimous pre-season pick to finish first overall after highly favorable expansion processes allowed the team to sign and draft a star-studded group.
The Goldeneyes' roster includes two of three finalists for the PWHL's Defender of the Year award from last season – Sophie Jaques and Claire Thompson – who were named to Team Canada for the upcoming Olympics. In net, they feature Olympian Emerance Maschmeyer, and former Olympic gold medallist and 2024 PWHL Goaltender of the Year Kristen Campbell.
Up front, Vancouver features Tereza Vanisova, who finished tied for second in the PWHL last season in goals, Hannah Miller, who finished tied for fifth in league scoring, and two other top 20 scorers from last season.
Their roster also includes Canadian Olympians Sarah Nurse and Jenn Gardiner, future Hall of Fame candidate Michelle Karvinen, who is a member of Finland's national team, and captain Ashton Bell, another former Canadian Olympic gold medallist.
After only one game this season, however, the Goldeneyes suffered a significant loss with Sarah Nurse moving to LTIR with a wrist injury.
No one predicted the Goldeneyes to be sitting with four wins, seven losses and an overtime loss through 12 games. In fact, it looked more likely that they would win the PWHL's Walter Cup before the Canucks would win the Stanley Cup. They still might, but the start to their inaugural season has not played out as expected on the ice.
On the NHL side, the Canucks sit with an NHL-worst 37 points through 46 games.
Not only has their season been marred by losing, but it also marked the end of an era in the city as the Canucks traded captain Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild.
Hughes, who will be at the Olympics in Milano Cortina representing Team USA, had spent his entire NHL career with Vancouver. He left the Canucks with 432 points in 459 games with the team, which was a franchise record for defenders.
On the ice, the Canucks have the second-worst goal differential in the NHL, at minus-41, and they've lost five straight.
In the PWHL, the Goldeneyes have the league's worst goal differential at minus-11, and they've lost five out of their last six. Scoring remains a struggle for the Goldeneyes, which are averaging only 1.75 goals per game.
While it sometimes happens that a defender leads a team in scoring, something Quinn Hughes did last season with the Canucks, it's almost unheard of for a team to have its top two scorers come from the blueline, as is the case with Thompson and Jaques of the Goldeneyes.
In Vancouver, it's not just that both teams have, or had, elite defenders in their organizations – it's as much a sign of offensive futility.
What Does The Future Hold For The Canucks And Goldeneyes?
Don't expect a quick turnaround for the Canucks.
"I believe that we've been in a rebuild here for a little bit, and we've been able to acquire some good young players, but this move today gives us some really good young players," Jim Rutherford, the Canucks' president of hockey operations, said after the Hughes trade.
"It may not change our team in the next few months or even this season, but this doesn't have to be a full blown rebuild where it's going to take five or seven years. We keep going the direction we're going to go on. We're going to get a really good player in June, and this thing can turn for the Canucks, certainly within the next couple of years."
Still, the prediction is not to pull out of a slump this season, or next, but to struggle for years as they rebuild.
The Goldeneyes have a more favorable timeline.
In the PWHL, where three points are awarded for a regulation win, there's still time for the team to rebound and fight its way back into a playoff spot.
After spending the opening weeks of the season at the bottom of the PWHL standings, other teams, including the New York Sirens and Ottawa Charge, have used hot streaks to climb back into the playoff picture.
Roughly a month into the season, following a loss to the Montreal Victoire, Goldeneyes coach Brian Idalski spoke on his team's ability to be their own worst enemy and its inability to find an identity.
"We're still finding ourselves a little bit with what we do, who we are and being consistent with some of our decision making," Idalski said at the time. "When we get loose, and we're not exiting clearly…we create a lot of problems for ourselves that we really don't need to. Montreal played a very structured, simple game, getting pucks off the glass and out and to the next level. For whatever reason, that's something we've been struggling a little bit with."
Almost a month later, Vancouver's most recent loss was a 1-0 decision against Montreal at a PWHL Takeover Tour stop in Quebec City. The team has yet to find its offense and its identity.
Fan Support Remains
While the on-ice product hasn't brought championships or even many wins to Vancouver of late, the off-ice support remains strong for Vancouver's NHL and PWHL franchises.
To date, the NHL's Vancouver Canucks remain fifth in league attendance, averaging 18,785 fans at Rogers Arena. In the PWHL, the Vancouver Goldeyes lead the league in attendance, averaging 11,459 fans at the Pacific Coliseum.
Win or lose, fans in Vancouver love their teams. This season, however, it's been less winning and far more losing for the fan bases. An eye toward the future – in the long or short term – could be the golden approach for both clubs.
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