Welcome back to another Vancouver Canucks 2025–26 season series preview. In this article series, The Hockey News - Canucks site previews Vancouver’s team series matchups for the season in chronological order. Last time, we looked at what the Canucks will face in the Dallas Stars. Today, let’s preview their season matchups against the Chicago Blackhawks.
2024–25 Season Stats
Team Stats:
Record: 25–46–11
Points: 61
Standings placement: 8th in Central
PP%: 24.9% (7th)
PK%: 79.3% (T-14th)
Goals:
Ryan Donato (31)
Tyler Bertuzzi / Connor Bedard (23)
Ilya Mikheyev (20)
Nick Foligno / Teuvo Teräväinen (15)
Frank Nazar (12)
Assists:
Connor Bedard (44)
Teuvo Teräväinen (43)
Ryan Donato (31)
Andre Burakovsky (27)
Alex Vlasic (26)
Points:
Connor Bedard (67)
Ryan Donato (62)
Teuvo Teräväinen (58)
Tyler Bertuzzi (46)
Andre Burakovsky (37)
Goaltenders:
Spencer Knight
Record: 17–16–3
GAA: 2.72
SV%: .902
SO: 2
Points: 2A
Arvid Söderblom
Record: 10–18–7
GAA: 3.18
SV%: .898
SO: N/A
Points: N/A
2025 Free Agency Rundown
Chicago had an understandably quiet free agency period, which makes sense given the fact that they’re unlikely to contend in 2025–26. Only the San Jose Sharks placed lower than them in the standings with 52 points on the year. While it’s not impossible, the likelihood is that Chicago continues their stretch of less than subpar play throughout 2025–26. Their only major off-season moves were trading Joe Veleno for Andre Burakovsky, extending Ryan Donato by four years, and signing Anton Frondell to a three-year deal. Donato’s extension will be a big move for the future — keeping a consistent scorer who is familiar with the youth in the dressing room will pay off in terms of culture development in a few years.
2025–26 Season Series Preview
As mentioned, Chicago is one of a few teams who will be bottom-feeders throughout the 2025–26 season. However, on an individual level, some of their players could impress given the circumstances of their team. Vancouver local Connor Bedard is coming off back-to-back 60-point seasons and somehow still looks primed for a breakout season come 2025–26. As well, rookie forward Frank Nazar had a solid 12-goal, 14-assist season in 53 games while showing dynamic offensive firepower with six goals and six assists in Team USA’s 10-game Gold medal win at the 2025 IIHF World Championship.
Even with their individual talent, Vancouver can easily collect eight points from the Blackhawks in 2025–26. The Canucks swept last season’s three-game series by a landslide, posting 16 goals in three games compared to Chicago’s six. With the Blackhawks’ stock currently low and Vancouver’s potentially on the rise, the Canucks will need to use these in-Conference point opportunities to widen the gap between themselves and their competitors within the standings. With their first game against the Blackhawks coming in the second-half of a back-to-back on October 17, Vancouver will want to capitalize on this and get their season off to a hot start.
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2025–26 Games Against Vancouver
Game 1: October 17, 4:30 pm PT @ United Center
Game 2: November 5, 7:00 pm PT @ Rogers Arena
Game 3: March 6, 5:30 pm PT @ United Center
Season Series Preview Articles
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