It’s clear that the 2025-26 season was hardly one to remember for the Vancouver Canucks. Although the way we view the 25-win and 58-point season may be viewed differently if the lottery balls fall the team’s way next week.

While many fans have likely moved on from the wreckage of the recently completed season, we here at CanucksArmy wanted to revisit a few moments that may have you questioning whether they actually occurred. This is a list of 10 things you may have forgotten about from the Canucks season:

Canucks clobbered Calgary in the season opener

On the strength of a two-goal effort from Filip Chytil, the Canucks jumped out to a 4-0 lead and rolled to a 5-1 win in their October 9th season opener. The Canucks held the Flames to just 18 shots on goal. Derek Forbort was in the Canucks line-up that night — one of two games he played all season. Linus Karlsson, who went on to score 15 goals this season, was a healthy scratch. In addition to Chytil with a pair, the Canucks got their other goals from Kiefer Sherwood, Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Brock Boeser. The win streak lasted one game as the team fell 3-1 in Edmonton in its first road outing of the season. However, for a team that struggled to just nine home ice wins all season, the Canucks may not have looked better all season in front of their home fans than they did in the first game out of the gates.

Braeden Cootes made opening night roster while Max Sasson did not

After a strong showing in training camp and the preseason, last year’s first-round draft pick Braeden Cootes did enough as an 18-year-old to earn a spot in the Canucks ‘ opening-night lineup. The rookie logged 11:14 of ice time in his NHL debut. Lost in the shuffle of the Cootes story was the fact that Max Sasson was assigned to AHL Abbotsford to start the season because he did not require waivers. It wasn’t until Cootes was returned to WHL Seattle after three games that Sasson was recalled and remained on the roster for the rest of the season. He ended up scoring 13 goals in 66 games.

Filip Chytil played more than 20 minutes in an early season game in Chicago

It’s hard to believe now, given the way his season went, but on October 17th in Chicago, Filip Chtyil was one of five Canucks forwards to crest the 20-minute mark in ice time. He ended up playing a season-high 20:40 and led all Canucks forwards that night with 18:33 at even strength. In the following game in Washington, he suffered a concussion that kept him out of the lineup for three months. But a quick check of the game sheet from mid-October confirms there was a short-lived time when Filip Chytil was among the team’s ice time leaders.

We want the Cup

Vibes were high coming out of training camp in Penticton and through a preseason that saw the team win four of its six games. And then, after rattling off three straight wins in Dallas, Chicago and Washington, the Canucks improved their early-season record to 4-2. Conor Garland was a point-per-game player, Evander Kane had chipped in with three assists through his first six games, and Thatcher Demko had won three of his first four starts while posting a 2.28 GAA and a .928 save percentage. Of course, it was that game in Washington when Filip Chytil, Teddy Blueger and Jonathan Lekkerimaki all suffered long-term injuries. And at that point, the Canucks simply didn’t have the depth needed to overcome the holes in their lineup. That would quickly become apparent.

Kiefer Sherwood shared league-lead in goals at end of first month

On October 31st, Kiefer Sherwood found himself in a seven-way tie for the NHL’s goal-scoring lead with nine goals in his first 12 games. In those first dozen outings, Sherwood had a hat-trick and a pair of two-goal games. Looking back now, it’s remarkable to see the names he was tied with at the end of the first month of the season: Nathan MacKinnon, Cole Caufield, Morgan Geekie, Mark Scheifele, Jack Hughes and Pavel Dorofeyev. Sherwood ended up scoring 17 goals as a Canuck and six more in San Jose.

The Canucks were a .500 hockey team at the 20-game mark

With a 6-2 win in Tampa Bay on November 16th, the Canucks reached the 20-game mark with a 9-9-2 record. In today’s NHL, that’s 20 points through 20 games. At that juncture, they were just two points behind both Edmonton and Vegas in the Pacific Division and trailed division-leading Los Angeles by only four points. If there were any thoughts in the moment that the Canucks would keep up with the playoff pack, those were dashed quickly as the team lost seven of its next eight games, leading to the decision to part with captain Quinn Hughes.

Don’t believe everything you see and hear

With his team reeling with six losses in a seven-game stretch in late November and Quinn Hughes trade rumours swirling, Adam Foote offered up the quote of the year following a practice at Rogers Arena. Imploring the hockey world to tread lightly when referencing publicly available data, Foote suggested that the analytics many were using to skewer his players were harvested by Russians eating cashews and smoking cigarettes. It was an incredible sound bite and certainly took the focus off the Hughes trade chatter and struggles of the hockey club in general. At least for a few days.

Zeev Buium made an immediate impact

It took Zeev Buium just 61 seconds to find the scoresheet in his Canucks debut. While Canucks fans were still processing the Quinn Hughes trade to Minnesota days earlier, one of the cornerstone pieces coming back in the deal assisted on a Jake DeBrusk power play goal early in his first game with the team in New Jersey. Five and a half minutes later, Buium scored what turned out to be the game-winner in a 2-1 victory. The goal was flukey, but it counted, and Buium had a hand in both Canucks scoring plays that afternoon in Newark. As it turned out, that goal remains his lone power play goal and his only game-winner in a Canucks uniform so far.

Was Mackenzie MacEachern the missing piece?

Some have likely forgotten that MacEachern even suited up for the Canucks this season. Many more will likely be surprised to learn that the 32-year-old journeyman scored a goal in Tampa Bay and had four points in his first five games in a Canuck uniform. MacEachern was recalled for an October 30th game in St. Louis and played three games before being sent back to Abbotsford. He then rejoined the big league club a few weeks later and appeared in five more games before being returned to the minors. His goal against the Bolts was his first in the NHL in nearly five years since he scored for St. Louis in February of 2021.

Arshdeep Bains spent more than a third of the season in the NHL

Not only was he in the opening night lineup, but Arshdeep Bains saw time on the power play and as a penalty killer for the Canucks. In total, Bains played 28 NHL games this season, including the team’s first 18 games to start the season. He remained on the roster until the Quinn Hughes trade, and with the additions of forwards Liam Öhgren and Marco Rossi, was dispatched to Abbotsford. The 25-year-old was recalled for a pair of games in mid-January, and that was the last he was seen in the NHL for this season. In 28 games, he managed one goal and four assists.

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