There are lots of things to take away from the Vancouver Canucks’ 2025–26 pre-season, but nothing more-so than the fact that Vancouver’s future is bright. The young stars brought their A-game to the team’s training camp and exhibition games as well as thrived under the spotlight during the prospects showcase in the middle of September.

Could some of these players land a full-time roster spot come opening night of the 2026–27 season? 

Potential Spots Available

Before figuring out who could potentially make the team out of training camp next year, first, let’s take a look at the potential spots up for grabs. 

Vancouver has four forwards set to become UFAs by the end of the 2025–26 season — Evander Kane, Teddy Blueger, Kiefer Sherwood, and Linus Karlsson (group six). If none of these players return for the following season, this will give the Canucks four forward roster spots and almost $10M per year in cap space. Vancouver also has plenty of RFA-eligible forwards whose contracts expire at the end of this year, one of which includes Max Sasson. The 25-year-old center made a great push for an opening-night roster spot this year, but was ultimately sent down to Abbotsford. 

Say that at least two of these players — maybe Kane and Blueger — price themselves out of Vancouver. Sherwood is the most likely to see the largest increase from his current salary, though the Canucks should try to keep him in the organization if they’re able to. Kane could also command a higher AAV if he can get back to the offensive productivity he has demonstrated in the past. Blueger, an excellent penalty killer, may want to lock down a long-term deal with a team after multiple shorter-term contracts. Karlsson, who was skating as the 13th forward during Sunday’s practice, will want to lock down a permanent spot before thinking about free agency. 

On defence, only two players are approaching the off-season without a deal in place for the season after. These two defenders are veteran and ace penalty-killer Derek Forbort, and offensively-minded seventh-defenceman Pierre-Olivier Joseph. Forbort will be 34 by the time his deal expires, which may deter the Canucks from re-upping him for any longer than a year or two. While Forbort may want some security with his next deal, the defender has also not shied away from one-year contracts throughout his career. Joseph, on the other hand, had a bit of a rough pre-season, but was not able to properly showcase himself due to sustaining a minor injury. He is expected to serve as Vancouver’s seventh defenceman this season. 

It’s unlikely that the Canucks bring back both Forbort and Joseph, though the former is more likely to return rather than the latter despite his age. Another thing that will impact whether these players are re-signed or not is the development of young defenders in the system like Victor Mancini and Tom Willander. Good seasons from both of these two could make Forbort — or maybe even defencemen with more seasons left on their current deals — more expendable. 

Who Gets A Spot In 2026–27? 

If Blueger and Kane depart from the team in free-agency, one prime candidate to make the team is Braeden Cootes. The forward already showcased himself this pre-season, demonstrating that he has what it takes to play at the NHL level, and has even remained on the team’s final roster heading into opening night on October 9. Cootes can help his case at a full-time roster spot with another great season in 2025–26, whether that’s with Vancouver or the Seattle Thunderbirds in the WHL. He skated in Blueger’s spot on the third line during Sunday’s practice, though many project him to be a prime second-line center once he cements himself within the NHL. In the case that he makes that push, Cootes could force Filip Chytil to slide down to the third line. 

Replacing Kane could be a trickier task. Of all hypothetically open spots on the roster, Kane’s would likely be the one to get replaced by a free-agency addition. One name that stands out in free agency is Martin Nečas, who Vancouver has had a history of being interested in acquiring in the past. Adding Nečas would probably force the Canucks to make more roster moves, though fitting a player of his calibre alongside Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and Quinn Hughes would undoubtedly make the Canucks a lethal offensive force. 

If Vancouver wanted to promote a player to replace Kane rather than go down the free-agency route, then a good replacement for this role could be none other than Jonathan Lekkerimäki. The forward looks to have a solid spot in the middle-six to start this season with the injury to Nils Höglander, though once the latter is back, who knows where Lekkerimäki could end up in the lineup? If Kane’s spot is empty come the off-season, and Vancouver seeks internal promotion, Lekkerimäki should be their guy. 

On defence, the obvious answer to claim a spot is Mancini. The defenceman took strides during the pre-season and will greatly benefit from playing top-line minutes in Abbotsford rather than spending less time playing in the NHL. Whether he’s ready for a full-time role come the start of the 2026–27 season is unknown, though the fact that he came so close this year is a good sign in that regard. 

In the event that both Forbort and Joseph depart in free agency, Vancouver will likely look to replace both with players already in the organization. It’s clear that the team has placed a lot of trust in their up-and-coming defencemen, as many of Abbotsford’s defencemen from last season were let go of as a means of giving their younger players a better chance at development. Willander is a name to keep an eye on for this position, though he’d likely slide up and play on the second pairing. However, a dark horse to consider is Kirill Kudryavtsev, an earlier cut this year but a strong defender during the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs. He impressed in his first pro season but became slightly overshadowed by the play of defencemen such as Elias Pettersson (D). Kudryavtsev still has room to grow, but showed good development in 2024–25 and could impress once the next season starts. 

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