Basically every pre-season prediction will have the Vancouver Canucks in 32nd place, so what would success actually look like in what feels like a lost season?
Everyone, from the fans to the media to the team itself, seems to acknowledge one universal truth heading into the 2026-27 NHL season: The Vancouver Canucks are going to struggle to win games.
After years of it not being the case, that's actually by design this year. If even the Canucks' ownership group is willing to acknowledge that they needed a few years of taking a step back to build up their cache of picks and prospects, the stars really aligned here.
But instead of resigning themselves, if the people of Vancouver are settling in for what could feel like an 84-game slog, there are still benchmarks they should be looking for when it comes to what constitutes a successful season.
Here are a few:
1. A Really High Draft Pick
If you finish 32nd, the lowest you can pick in the draft is third. The Canucks have never won the draft lottery, but they need to put themselves in the best possible position to do so. They certainly have the roster to achieve that, especially if they can…
2. Move On From The Veterans
There have been a lot of rumors out there this summer about the Canucks wanting to trade guys like Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk, Elias Pettersson, and maybe more.
Getting out from under those long-term contracts won't be easy — almost every veteran on the team has some form of trade protection — but it gets a lot easier when teams aren't good, and aren't likely to be anytime soon.
Offload them for picks, prospects, and young roster players (not unlike the Quinn Hughes trade last season) and you're taking steps in the right direction. You don't have to trade all of them, but some is a must.
3. Put The Kids In Good Positions
The Canucks have the third-youngest roster in the league (average age of 26.8 years old) and many of their most important players are 27 or under.
With brand new coach Manny Malhotra coming in from the AHL, he knows how to put those younger players in a position to maximize both their maturation and current value to the team.
Previous coach Adam Foote was not using guys like Zeev Buium, Tom Willander, or Marco Rossi properly, in terms of what the club's goals should have been, so Malhotra can now focus on getting them plenty of reps in the right situations.
4. Figure Out What's Going On In Goal
Everyone can probably agree that the Canucks' best long-term solution in goal is no longer Thatcher Demko.
At age 30, he hasn't been able to get into more than 23 games in either of the last two seasons, and can't seem to go more than seven or eight games without missing time. While he might be signed through 2028-29 (at an $8.5 million AAV), it's time for Vancouver to seriously consider other options.
Kevin Lankinen, signed through 2030, is a decent stop-gap, and the team just signed ex-NHLer Chris Driedger to a PTO, though he hasn't played in the NHL since 2023-24 (to appearances with Seattle). Backup Nikita Tolopilo got into 21 games last year but wasn't very good and does not seem like a long-term option.
One possible future solution is Alexei Medvedev, who's had an up-and-down couple of seasons with the London Knights in the OHL, and returns there for another season at age 19. Minor-league options u as Ty Young and Aku Koskenvuo might present themselves as well.
But if the Canucks want to secure their future in goal, they might want to think about signing some UFAs out of college or juniors as the season winds down. Buy some lottery tickets and see what shakes out, because there aren't many plausible solutions in the system right now.
5. Growth Away From The Big Club
Like Medvedev, some of the Canucks' biggest prospects aren't even playing pro hockey yet.
The more they can dominate this season — and beyond — the better the Canucks can feel about their futures.
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