The Vancouver Canucks’ 4-0 shutout loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday was another in a long string of embarrassing home defeats in the 2025-26 season. But the franchise and its burgeoning rebuild received at least a little spark of light toward the end of the game, in the form of 20-year-old Zeev Buium dropping the gloves to defend fellow rookie Tom Willander. Buium’s opponent was Brandt Clarke, three years his senior and at least 20 pounds heavier, and Buium more than held his own despite the linesman’s interference.

But it probably didn’t really matter how Buium did in the scrap. What mattered was that he showed up, made the attempt, and showed that he cared about this team and the players on it. That’s something that will matter in the long run as this newfangled Canucks core attempts to build a core identity.

All that being said, the Canucks would almost certainly prefer that Buium himself only has to step up in this way on the rarest of occasions, no matter how much he practices. It’s the type of business that really should be handled by others more suited for that type of work.

There have been calls for the Canucks to increase their team toughness all season long, with two basic motivations at play behind that desire. For one, a team that is increasingly filled with young players needs some protecting out on the ice. For another, if a team is planning to lose most of their games, they can at least try not to get bullied on the way to those losing. If you can’t beat ‘em, at least beat ‘em up, is the thinking, and it’s hard to argue with.

The 2025-26 Canucks were not constructed for pugilism. They’ve had just eight fighting majors total this season, with two each going to Evander Kane, Marcus Pettersson, and the departed Conor Garland, and one each going to Buium and Victor Mancini. That leaves a lot to be desired for those who desire more truculence, and that may be something the Canucks need to address this offseason.

While the 2026 Free Agent Frenzy is going to be one for the Canucks to largely avoid, there are a number of tough guys set to hit the market that could give them more of what they – and their fans – are looking for.

Might as well discuss the in-house option first, and he’s just one off of being the first alphabetically, anyway. Douglas will become a Group VI UFA if the Canucks do not extend him first, but they’ll have exclusive negotiating rights until then.

While we haven’t seen much of Douglas’ fistic abilities in Vancouver as of yet, it is apparent that they exist. One hopes he gets at least a little bit more of an opportunity to show them off in the last dozen or so games of the season.

Might as well go for the best. If Deslauriers isn’t the heavyweight champ of the NHL, he’s well in the running, even at his advanced age. The relatively low number of majors comes down to a number of healthy scratches and a tough time finding willing opponents. That said, if Deslauriers has at least a little more fight left in him, the Canucks won’t find anyone tougher on the market.

Duhaime is a bit of a hybrid, somewhere between a light-heavy pugilist and an agitator. He scored a career-high 21 points last year, but his offence is way down this season, which should lower his price on the free agent market. Duhaime is willing to go with virtually anyone, and probably offers a bit more skill than the average player on this list. He definitely offers the most speed of the bunch.

Greer is probably the player on this list who lands the largest contract, and we almost didn’t include him for that reason. A 24-point season, combined with Cup-winning experience, combined with Greer’s trademark physicality, adds up to an oversized UFA deal in most circumstances. If he were to end up available at a reasonable rate, Greer brings both fighting ability and that extra edge of dirtiness that some appreciate. Someone is going to hand him $4 million and try to make a power forward out of him, most likely.

Probably the most recognizable name on our list, and not just because he’s been in the headlines lately. Gudas is the Ducks’ captain, but the early word is that his on-ice play has deteriorated a fair bit, and that they’ll be looking to cut ties this summer and move in a younger direction. That leaves Gudas to be a mercenary on the free agent market, and doesn’t he fit the profile? At this stage in his career, Gudas does more of his punishing via (sometimes questionable) hits and fights rarely, but can still do it when called upon. His addition would be more about being tougher to play against than just strictly tougher.

Johnston is one of the last true heavy heavyweights in the NHL, and he’s slowly but surely learning to make a more consistent physical impact on the game outside of his pugilism. He can fight and beat just about anyone, he can land game-changing hits, and he has a genuine mean-streak that a lot of enforcers are lacking. Johnston’s slight offensive uptick this season might add some salary to his demands, but it won’t be excessive.

By rights, a man Lomberg’s size should not be anywhere near this list. But he’s so pugnacious and scrappy and willing to fight anyone that he qualifies, even if he really is more of an agitator than an enforcer. Lomberg is due for a pay decrease after parlaying his time with the Florida Panthers into a big UFA contract, and should now be available at a more reasonable fourth line rate. In terms of adding toughness, however, he’d have to be considered a supplementary option at best.

We are also not sure if Malenstyn really qualifies here. We’ve included him because, as a Delta product, there has already been a good amount of chatter about him joining the Canucks. And he did drop Corey Perry recently, and everyone can enjoy that. In reality, however, Malenstyn is more of a physical forechecking presence than he is a fighter, and only drops the mitts on the rarest of occasions. Still, if the Canucks want to be harder to play against, Malenstyn still suits their purposes.

Sabourin is a bit of a wild man who isn’t afraid to go outside the bounds of the moral code to do his enforcing, as evidenced by his brutal sucker-punch on Aaron Ekblad at the start of the year. There’s some value in a loose cannon, and that’s what Sabourin can bring to the table. He’s also an enormously entertaining fighter, even if he doesn’t win them all, which has plenty of value to the fans in the seats.

One more tour for Schenn and the Canucks? Probably not, but it’s worth mentioning that Schenn hasn’t really shied away from the rough stuff as he’s aged. If anything, he’s embraced the enforcer role more than ever before. He could be seen as a cost-effective Tyler Myers replacement on the right side, if only for the mentorship and scraps he can provide from there. 

Are the Anaheim Ducks the toughest team in hockey, or what? They’ve got three UFAs on this list, and Viel might be the most intriguing of them all. Folks were shocked when the Ducks gave up a fourth round pick to acquire a player who hadn’t scored an NHL point in three years, but Viel has been a shockingly good fit for the Ducks, and hasn’t stopped fighting with enthusiasm. Viel is a tough guy with a minor league mentality, a bit like Sabourin, and that always makes for more fun when the gloves come off.