Heading into the 2026-27 season, the Vancouver Canucks have five players who will become unrestricted free agents (UFAs) and five who will become restricted free agents (RFAs). For general manager Ryan Johnson, that is a fair number of players to consider extending past this upcoming season.
One of those players? Forward Drew O'Connor. O'Connor is entering the final season of his two-year, $5 million deal that he signed back in Feb. 2025. The 28-year-old is one of the UFAs who is hoping to stay with the Canucks after this season. That said, what does O'Connor need to prove to earn the extension?
Make-or-break season for O'Connor
During the 2024-25 season, O'Connor was traded to the Canucks from the Pittsburgh Penguins after tallying six goals and 16 points in 53 games. In the 31 games following the trade, he had four goals and nine points. In his first full season with the Canucks in 2025-26, O'Connor finished with 17 goals and 29 points in 82 games.
Last season saw him have a career high in goals and games played. Now, with him heading into a contract year, O'Connor needs to have another career year if he is looking to stay with the Canucks. Currently, he is slotted to play on the third line with Filip Chytil and Jonathan Lekkerimaki. If he can manage a 20-goal, 40-point season under new head coach Manny Malhotra, O'Connor would make a solid case for an extension.
According to AFP Analytics, they projected O'Connor to sign a two-year, $4.923 million extension, which would pay him $2.461 million annually. While it's only a projection, if O'Connor has a career year, he could garner a deal that might pay him $3 million annually. However, that comes down to his ice time and production with top-nine minutes under Malhotra.
Just like Chytil, O'Connor is in a prove-it contract year. While his best point season was in 2023-24, when he had 33 points, he showed last season that he could be a possible 20-goal scorer. On a team that finished minus-100 in goal differential, having a 20-goal scorer on their third line could be huge for the Canucks.
While it'll be interesting to see how O'Connor does under Malhotra, he will be another motivated player to show why he deserves an extension to stay in Vancouver. This upcoming season has 10 total players who will be looking for extensions; could O'Connor be one of them to earn one after 2026-27?
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