We don’t know every matchup for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs just yet, but we do know which teams will be competing for Lord Stanley’s mug beginning this weekend.

In the East:
Carolina
Buffalo
Tampa Bay
Montreal
Boston
Pittsburgh
Philadelphia
Ottawa

In the West:
Colorado
Dallas
Minnesota
Vegas
Utah
Edmonton
Anaheim
Los Angeles Kings

This being CanucksArmy.com, and with no current Vancouver Canucks in the running to win a Cup this spring, we thought it’d be fitting do a quick check-up on which ex-Canucks will be part of the battle for hockey’s greatest prize.

Note* We will dive into specific matchups once the playoff bracket is finalized in the next couple of days.

TRIGGER WARNING: Talking about Quinn Hughes.

Hughes asked out of Vancouver earlier this year, and it’s been made abundantly clear that Canucks fans aren’t exactly wishing the best for their team’s former captain. Not yet, at least. Hughes and the Wild have their first round matchup set, and it’s expected to be a bloodbath as the 104-point Wild take on the 110-point Dallas Stars in the first round.

Hughes will meet up with his former D partner and teammate from Vancouver Tyler Myers in round one. The Canucks flipped Myers to the Stars ahead of the Trade Deadline for a second and fourth round pick. Through 15 games with Dallas, Myers has notched three assists and 12 penalty minutes while being a +2.

We don’t really blame you if you forgot that Nic Dowd was ever a Canuck. We’re not even sure if he remembers, to be honest with you. But yes, the Canucks acquired Dowd from the LA Kings in exchange for Jordan Subban back in 2017. Dowd played out the rest of the season with the Canucks before signing with the Washington Capitals in free agency (the Canucks needed the space to sign their big fish bottom six forwards Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel, and Tim Schaller) and made a name for himself in DC. The Caps flipped Dowd to Vegas at this year’s deadline for Jesper Vikman, a 2027 3rd round pick, and a 2029 2nd round pick.

Put me down as someone who thought Ben Hutton was going to be the answer for the Canucks’ blue line. Those 25 points in his rookie season were a hell of a drug. Hutton has long departed Vancouver, and actually already won a cup with Vegas back in 2023. Through 55 games with the Golden Knights this season, Hutton has put up 15 points.

Signed by the Canucks as an undrafted free agent after his Major Junior career came to a close, Michael Carcone never actually suited up in an NHL game for Vancouver. He did play two and a half seasons with the Utica Comets before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Josh Leivo (who was absolutely electric in a Canucks uniform, by the way) back in 2018. After brief stops in Toronto and Ottawa’s organizations, Carcone has found a home with the Arizona/Utah Coyotes/Mammoth. He’s put up a career-high 30 points this season with Utah.

Ian Cole was a pleasure to watch and to cover during his one year in Vancouver. Cole brought a level of stability to the Canucks’ back end during their Pacific Division-winning 2023-24 campaign that the organization seems to have taken for granted, as after letting Cole — and Nikita Zadorov — walk in free agency, the Canucks’ back end became an unstable mess in 2024-25.

Nate Schmidt spent one season in Vancouver, and it wasn’t a very memorable one. 2021 was the COVID-shortened season without fans in the stands. And while COVID sucked, the thing that sucked the most that season — aside from their play on the ice — was hands down the Canucks’ Sprite can-looking reverse retro jerseys. Terrible. Anyways, Schmidt is back in the playoffs.

Maybe we’ll rehash the Vasily Podkolzin trade another day. Earlier this week, we wrote about how awful the swap the Canucks and Oilers made of Podkolzin for Evander Kane has worked out for Vancouver. Podkolzin has flourished in Edmonton, and is a big part of the Oilers’ forward group. Hey, does anyone know what Danton Heinen and Daniel Sprong are up to?

Also in the Oilers’ forward group is Curtis Lazar, who is well-known as one of the “good guys” in hockey. Lazar signed with the Canucks in free agency back in 2022, but was dealt to the New Jersey Devils for a fourth-round pick at the 2023 Trade Deadline. He signed with Edmonton this past offseason and has six points through 44 games for the Oilers this season.

Nobody should ever forget the 39 goals Andrei Kuzmenko scored in Vancouver back in 2022-23 after signing with the Canucks as a KHL free agent. But they also shouldn’t forget how mid he’s been since then. With stops in Calgary, Philadelphia, and now Los Angeles, Kuzmenko is proving to be a pretty one-dimensional player, and after putting up 74 points in his first season with the Canucks, has struggled to even reach the 30-point mark since.

You all laughed at Jim Benning when he said he thought Jalen Chatfield had real top four potential. Well, who’s laughing now?

Honestly, this is the only player on this list who I was taken aback by. It felt like Tanner Pearson’s career was already on its last legs before the hand injury-related debacle towards the end of his Canucks tenure, but he’s managed to stick around in the NHL. After stops in Montreal and Vegas, Pearson signed with the Winnipeg Jets this past offseason, and was traded to Buffalo at this year’s deadline. He’s appeared in just three games for the Sabres, however, so we’ll see how many playoff games he actually gets into.

Shoutout to Luke Schenn. Not a coincidence that things really took off for the Sabres after they brought Schenn in. Another great dude to add to any room, even if he’s more of a depth defenceman at this stage of his career. Wait- are we rooting for the Sabres?

We’re putting these two together since they were apparently already plotting about singing with Boston together while they were still members of the Canucks back in 2023-24. They got their wish, and man, do I miss Zadorov, in particular. This is the only “jealous ex” entry I intend to put into this article.

As the OG Arturs Silovs truther — check out “Why you should be higher on Arturs Silovs”, written back in 2021 by yours truly here — I must say I’m happy to see Silovs back in the playoffs. Mostly because that also means Sidney Crosby is back in the playoffs, but also because Silovs had some spectacular playoff moments both at the NHL and AHL level for the Canucks. Silovs has made 39 starts for the Penguins this season en route to an .888 save percentage, and it will be interesting to see how the Penguins decide to utilize Silovs and Stuart Skinner in their crease this spring.

Peanut butter and jelly. Noah Juulsen and Rick Tocchet. Some things just go together. It’s both Tocchet and Juulsen’s first seasons in Philly, and with a strong push down the stretch, they’ve officially locked themselves into a playoff spot, with a first-round Battle of Pennsylvania matchup against the Penguins.

Honourable mentions: Travis Green (Ottawa) and John Tortorealla (Vegas)

Which obscure black ace/AHL depth player did we miss? Let us know in the comments section below!

The Nation Network is your all-access pass to the playoffs. Shows, stats, fantasy insights, live social updates—if it’s happening, we’ve got it. Every goal, every hit, every moment—we break it down for you. One Network. Every moment. Tune in on the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel!