The Vancouver Canucks will enter the 2025-26 season teetering on the edge of destruction. Last season’s dysfunctional team led to various casualties. First, J.T. Miller was shipped off to the New York Rangers amid the public feud with Elias Pettersson.
Then, Rick Tocchet decided to skip town and head for greener pastures in Philadelphia. Pius Suter was another member who chose to get a fresh start elsewhere.
While the Canucks were able to somehow retain Brock Boeser, the outlook for disaster in Vancouver is there. In a July 19 piece published in RG Media, Marco D’Amico cited an anonymous league source, stating:
"It’s such a delicate situation in Vancouver that it feels they could go either way with this, depending on how they start the season. Ever since Rutherford said what he said, everyone is just waiting to see what happens with them."
If this source is to be believed, and their comments seem reasonable, the direction the Canucks head this upcoming season essentially depends on how they start the season. If the Canucks get off to a roaring start under new coach Adam Foote, disaster could be averted.
But if the Canucks clunker out of the gate and see themselves out of playoff contention by American Thanksgiving, it could be the signal that it’s time to blow things up.
This situation will become especially magnified if captain Quinn Hughes shows signs of frustration, as D’Amico noted. That’s a major key as Hughes’ discontent in Vancouver could stall a contract extension.
If the former Norris Trophy winner chooses to skip town as well, it could mark the beginning of a painful rebuild in Vancouver.
Vancouver Canucks could join the race to the bottom
This upcoming season is a particularly special one for teams at the bottom of the barrel. The race to land Gavin McKenna seems to be heating up. Teams like the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks have added around the fringes, but don’t seem compelled to make major upgrades. At least not this season.
Other clubs like the Nashville Predators, Buffalo Sabres, and Boston Bruins are all in a holding pattern. They have talented cores, but just not enough of a supporting cast to get them over the top.
That leaves the Anaheim Ducks as the only rebuilding team, apparently pushing to get back into playoff contention.
But for the Canucks, it could be that a tough start to the season could prompt management to raise the white flag and play for an NHL Draft Lottery pick instead. The thought of potentially landing a franchise player like McKenna is too good to pass up.
McKenna is believed to be the best prospect to enter the NHL Draft since Connor McDavid in 2015 and Auston Matthews in 2016.
That’s hefty praise and unbelievable temptation for a team like the Canucks that is closer to the bottom than the top.
Considering how stacked the top of the Pacific Division will be this season, the best the Canucks can hope for is to hang around a wild card spot for most of the season. But it seems like the Canucks aren’t too far away from utter collapse.