As the Canucks are just past the quarter mark of the 2025-2026 NHL season, little has gone right for them as an organization. First and foremost they have dealt with a significant amount of injuries to multiple key players including Quinn Hughes, Conor Garland, Filip Chytil, and goaltender Thatcher Demko.
Lately Canucks management has been tied to reports saying that the team is listening to offers on some veteran players, and management is beginning to not only be questioned about the direction the team is going in, but also if they can retain Captain Quinn Hughes long term.
Players:
Grade: B
Least to blame for where the Canucks currently are in the standings is ironically the players. Going into the season I think it would have been unfair to expect the Canucks to improve upon their 90 point season from last year, especially given the departure of Head Coach Rick Tocchet to Philadelphia, the uncertainty surrounding goaltender Thatcher Demko’s health, and the unfilled void left in the lineup by the J.T. Miller trade last season.
All things being equal, the Canucks are actually seeing quality and improved performances from the likes of Elias Pettersson (22 points), Kiefer Sherwood (12 goals), Filip Hronek (16 points), Conor Garland (15 points) and Drew O’Connor (14 points) who have all stepped up, but that being said, they are still lacking some top-tier talent in important parts of their lineup in order to go toe-to-toe with the best the Western Conference has to offer.
Many of the teams that were an afterthought last season have significantly stepped up their performances this season, as the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks are all being lead by young stars that the Canucks cannot match up with.
I do not think it is a secret that the Canucks are lacking the top-tier talent they need to make a deep run in the playoffs, but I think given the injuries they have dealt with, the goalie carousel they are on, the new young faces in their lineup, and a new coach, that they have gotten about as much as you could expect from the team as it is currently assembled.
Coaching:
Grade: C+
I am going to give new Canucks Head Coach Adam Foote the benefit of the doubt for the situation he inherited and is currently in. The current identity of the Canucks is totally in the air, as their leader is stoic in nature, the team’s highest paid player has been previously questioned on his effort and determination, and the team is flush with young and inexperienced players.
One year ago right now, J.T. Miller, who for better or worse was arguably the face of the team's leadership, was on a leave of absence for his reported feud with former Head Coach Rick Tocchet and an ongoing locker room rift between himself and Elias Pettersson, and since then it seems like the Canucks have been in a nonstop limbo of who will will take on the responsibility of being the key leaders on the team.
As head coach of the Canucks, Rick Tocchet was an accomplished, respected and vocal leader who helped the team achieve a Division title with a 109 point season just two seasons ago. Tocchet was a former player with a direct and blunt approach, and I believe the idea behind promoting a personality like Adam Foote is founded along the same guidelines.
Foote was a very effective hard-nosed player who experienced a lot of success in his NHL playing career winning 2 Stanley Cups and an Olympic gold medal, and was surrounded by hall of fame players who went on to work in team management, including Rob Blake and Joe Sakic, so he has been around the best in his career.
As a former player he understands the grind, media pressure and how to be around and manage personalities in the NHL, but despite preaching a fast team style of play with consistent effort and aggressiveness in all zones, the team lacks the horses in order to execute at a consistently competitive level.
There is an old saying in hockey, “show me a good coach and I will show you a good goaltender,” and Foote has not only been provided a lineup that lacks top-tier talent in key places, but is also dealing with a game of goaltending roulette. There are certainly areas where coaching could help improve some of the team’s game, such as on the penalty kill or instilling a disciplined approach, but past a point there is only so much a coach can do.
Management:
Grade: D-
Undoubtedly to blame for the Canucks current predicament, as a string of poor moves by the front office has finally put the Canucks in the basement of the NHL. Lately they have been delivering sermons on a patient approach that revolves around getting younger while also clearly identifying what needs they must address, but little is actually done and the team continues to be in a slow decline since the end of the 2023-2024 season.
Since the end of the 2023-2024 NHL season, the Canucks have lost all of the following players:
J.T. Miller
Elias Lindholm
Nikita Zadorov
Pius Suter
Dakota Joshua
Vasili Podkolzin
Ian Cole
Casey DeSmith
Arturs Silovs
It is understood that we live in a salary cap world, but to replace that talent with Kiefer Sherwood, Evander Kane, Jake DeBrusk, Filip Chytil, Marcus Pettersson and Kevin Lankinen, who are by no means bad players, simply isint enough.
The team’s biggest acquisitions this season have been Lukas Reichel and David Kämpf which shows how tenuous the front office has been with respect to addressing their most pressing needs which are skill, the centre position, and stability in net.
There are currently plenty more questions than answers in Canuck land, and with Captain Quinn Hughes’ days potentially numbered, the Canucks need to figure it out fast.