NHL Off-Season Rankings: No. 13, Vancouver Canucks

For the past two seasons, the Vancouver Canucks have been one of the NHL’s biggest disappointments, finishing fifth in the weak Pacific Division in 2024-25, then completely cratering this past season, falling to 32nd in the NHL.

This summer, the Canucks sit in 13th place in TheHockeyNews.com’s series ranking each team’s off-season. Criteria for these rankings include roster arrivals and departures, GM and/or coach changes, promotions, and contract extensions. 

Don’t get it twisted by their place in these rankings – the Canucks will still be a subpar team in 2026-27, likely to finish around the bottom. By the time new Vancouver GM Ryan Johnson puts his mark on the roster, the Canucks could be suffering for next season and a couple of seasons beyond that. Vancouver has a new architect in Johnson and a new coach in the hotly pursued Manny Malhotra. 

But when it comes to franchise talent, the Canucks need to suffer some more and start stacking high-end skill. By the looks and sounds of things, Johnson knows he has a long runway to try and stick the landing in B.C.

Ryan Johnson (GM), Manny Malhotra (coach), Brendan Gallagher (RW), Jamie Oleksiak (D), Luke Schenn (D), Paul Cotter (LW) 

Few teams made the wide-ranging changes the Canucks made this summer – and those changes began at the top with the hiring of Johnson and Malhotra. The Canucks also landed Malhotra’s son, Caleb Malhotra, with the third-overall pick in the 2026 NHL draft. The Malhotras will be crucial to Vancouver’s long-term results, but the other additions to the Canucks’ lineup are either leadership additions or players they can flip for long-term assets.

Gallagher arrives from the Montreal Canadiens, but the 34-year-old’s offensive production fell off a cliff last season, as Gallagher produced only seven goals and 23 points in 77 games. He’s signed through next season, but Gallagher’s value on an expiring contract could make him an intriguing addition to a playoff team by next year’s trade deadline. Oleksiak and Schenn could also be traded before their current contracts expire.

All in all, the Canucks’ current roster additions are all about the fringes. Johnson and Manny Malhotra come into their roles with a mandate to increase internal production, which means Vancouver has to be patient as management turns the page on a disappointing era and builds a new foundation to eventually become a powerhouse organization once again. So the most important additions here are the coach and the GM.

Patrik Allvin (GM), Adam Foote (coach), Evander Kane (LW), Marcus Pettersson (D), Teddy Blueger (C), Nils Hoglander (LW), Pierre-Oliver Joseph (D)

Ideally by now, the Canucks would’ve traded star center Elias Pettersson, wingers Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser, and goalie Thatcher Demko. All of those players would get Vancouver some solid assets, whether they’re draft picks or prospects. So long as those veterans are converted into long-term assets, Johnson & Co. will be doing their job building this team for a new generation.

Trading Marcus Pettersson to the New York Rangers hurts Vancouver’s defense corps. But Johnson acquired a top-10-protected first-round draft pick in 2030 for Marcus Pettersson, and that’s exactly the kind of deal Johnson must make more of. Veterans will only push the Canucks into a ‘Mushy Middle’ team at best. This team needs to bottom out.

The Canucks now understand they’re not going to succeed in the next couple of seasons. Still, the players they’ve moved on from this summer weren’t going to be key players by the time Vancouver intends to be a legitimate championship front-runner. While Vancouver will miss that group of players in the aggregate, the truth is the Canucks’ new blueprint for success didn’t include any of those players individually.

The recent saga of the Canucks has been mostly a sad one, with dressing-room chaos and on-ice letdowns happening on the regular. Vancouver thought it had a longer window in which to win a Cup, but those aspirations rapidly disintegrated – and now, it’s about Johnson picking up the pieces and crafting a young, talented and determined roster to be in place for the next decade-and-a-half or longer.

That process accelerated with the selection of Caleb Malhotra. But it’s still going to take a good deal of time before the Canucks are in a position where they can consistently contend for a Cup. And though Vancouver still has a long way to go before they get to that point, the moves Johnson has made this summer mark a solid start to the long-term rebuild.

The Canucks no longer have the weight of expectation on them, and that may allow Vancouver’s youngsters to develop into difference-making NHLers. But who’s kidding who – there’s always going to be a spotlight on Canucks players, because their passionate fan base demands it.

Piling up draft picks and prospects is the right road for this Vancouver franchise. The status quo – or worse, an attempt to push into the bottom of the playoff picture – doesn’t make sense for the Canucks.

They’ve been given the gift of time, and Johnson and Manny Malhotra now must do the hard work of identifying and grooming young talent into core pieces in Vancouver. They’ve made some good initial steps ahead this summer, but there’ll be more pain ahead for the foreseeable future.

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