With the New Year comes new opportunities for people to set yearly goals for themselves to further their lives in any way they see fit. Whether it be a new workout goal, a promotional goal at their job, or how they can save money for a trip, it provides people with something they can work toward during the year.

And, believe it or not, the same goes for hockey players. Today, we’ll be covering 25 New Year’s resolutions for the Vancouver Canucks in 2025. We will cover one for each of the main 23 roster players, one for Head Coach Rick Tocchet and one for upper management, Patrik Allvin and Jim Rutherford.

We’ll go in alphabetical order by surname:

Blueger’s New Year’s Resolution is to regain his spot centring a line between Dakota Joshua and Conor Garland. 

The trio was dynamic last season but have yet to play together at all this season. Blueger has played well with Danton Heinen and Kiefer Sherwood. However, when it comes crunch time, Tocchet does like to put Pius Suter up on JT Miller and Brock Boeser’s left wing. So, if there’s a deadline deal for a depth centre, and Blueger continues to play well, he could earn his way back into centring Joshu and Garland.

Boeser’s New Year’s Resolution is to continue his goal-scoring pace to earn him a new contract.

The upcoming free agent is on an 82-game pace of 38 goals. However, since he missed games this season, he is on pace to score 30 goals in 66 games. This would be a substantial drop from last season’s 40 he posted. Regardless, he’s fighting for a raise, and he’ll likely get one if he continues his pace. But will that extension be in Vancouver?

Brännström’s New Year’s Resolution is to clean up his defensive game to be a mainstay in the Canucks lineup.

It’s no surprise that outside of Hughes and Hronek, Brännström is the next best puck-moving defenceman that the Canucks have. So, during these next few weeks with them both out of the lineup, he’s going to need to continue producing points to prove his worth once they come back. But if he doesn’t clean up his defensive game, as he’s a minus-six over his previous 12 games.

DeBrusk’s New Year’s Resolution is to score 40 goals this season.

At the start of the season, many Canucks fans had DeBrusk score 30 goals as their bold prediction. Well, just 35 games into the season, DeBrusk is over halfway there, as he has 16. He’s currently on pace for 37 goals in an 82-game season. So if he just ups his pace a little bit, this is an attainable feat for DeBrusk to get to.

Demko’s New Year’s Resolution is to remain healthy for the rest of the season.

This might be every Canucks fan’s New Year’s Resolution for the team. Demko has made his return but doesn’t have the saviour record or numbers fans were expecting in his return. Now, the games haven’t all been his fault, and it’s likely some growing pains as he fights back from such a lengthy injury. He’s had a steady workload, but maybe it’s time to manage his starts before he could potentially overwork himself and find himself on the injury report yet again.

Desharnais’ New Year’s Resolution is to score his first goal in an NHL arena.

In his three seasons, Desharnais does have one goal. However, that came in the Heritage Classic in 2023 as a member of the Edmonton Oilers. Through his three seasons and 137 games of NHL experience, Desharnais has one goal and 18 assists. He’s not known as a goal scorer, but his improved defensive play and blue line injuries should give him time to play his way into a goal at some point, right?

Di Giuseppe’s New Year’s Resolution is to earn that left wing spot beside Miller and Boeser.

After starting in the AHL and seeing the solid play from Max Sasson, Di Giuseppe is likely the one to come out of the lineup once Elias Pettersson returns. But that trio is something that Tocchet has often gone to due to Di Giuseppe’s grit and forechecking ability to get the puck to Miller and Boeser in the offensive zone. Now, this isn’t an encouraging line to throw out come playoff time, but one that could suffice in the meantime.

Forbort’s New Year’s Resolution is to just continue to be steady eddy to earn a new deal in Vancouver.

The defenceman has only suited up in nine games this season due to injuries and personal matters, but it’s been noticeable when he’s out of the lineup. Forbort’s ability to clear the front of the net is really unmatched among other Canucks defencemen. If he just continues to be the reliable defensive defenceman he has been, he should earn himself another deal here.

Garland’s New Year’s Resolution is to earn the right wing spot on Elias Pettersson’s line.

By this point, it’s safe to say that Garland’s skill set is more than just a third liner. Is the focal point on a first line? Probably not. However, his work ethic, board play, and playmaking ability certainly make him a valuable complimentary piece. Garland has done more than enough to earn that spot, as he is tied with Pettersson for the lead in points for Canucks forward with 28. The right winger has already played in that spot at times this season, and it’s not like anybody else has run away with that spot with DeBrusk and Pettersson.

Heinen’s New Year’s Resolution is to make more of his mark on this team.

Sure, his point totals are surprisingly good for a bottom-six forward with five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in 34 games. But has there really been any sort of flash from him in a Canucks uniform? Now, he’s never really been that type of player. He’s more known for the defensive side of his game. But a little more spark from Heinen and for him to find his identity on this team would be nice to see at this point.

Höglander’s New Year’s Resolution is to score a damn goal.

It’s a short-term goal for Höglander, but it’s small steps at this point. Höglander has followed up his 24-goal campaign with just two through 33 games this season. That’s just not good enough. And you can’t even say it’s from deployment, as Höglander had 17 goals on the fourth line last season. He’s had his chances, but he’s just so snake-bitten that he can’t even beat himself, let alone an NHL goaltender. If he finds his scoring touch, maybe he’ll find himself back in Tocchet’s good graces.

Hronek’s New Year’s Resolution is to return healthy without any setbacks.

The Canucks top pair right shot defenceman has been out since November 27th, and boy, has his presence been missed. It’s encouraging to hear that he’s back skating, but he can’t rush back because this team is going to need him down the stretch. Now, Canucks management can ensure Hronek has the time he needs to heal if they make a trade for a top-four defenceman. We’ll see if/when that is. However, his timeline projects him to be back on January 28th. The Canucks would have six more games until the 4 Nations Faceoff break. Do they play it extra safe and give Hronek nearly an extra month off to fully heal?

Hughes’ New Year’s Resolution is to Captain this team back into playoff contenders.

It was kind of hard to come up with anything Hughes personally wants to accomplish this season because, honestly, what hasn’t he done already? He’s having another Norris-calibre season with eight goals and 34 assists for 42 points in 34 games, trailing only Cale Makar by three points in three fewer games for the league lead points for a defenceman. However, as the Captain, this team is not in a good place right now, and he’s had to do all of the heavy lifting to get to the team where they’re at right now. But it’s clear he’s going to have to continue to do that in order for the team to become playoff contenders.

Joshua’s New Year’s Resolution is to find his offensive game again.

It’s so tough for a player to come back both mentally and physically from what he had to endure this offseason. But at some point, he’s got to figure out his offensive woes. He has just two goals and two assists for four points through 21 games this season. Lately, he’s been on the fourth line as he tries to work his way back, but he did play most of his games with Garland, who shares the lead in points for Canucks forwards. Joshua scored 18 goals and 14 assists for 32 points last season. With this current pace, he’ll hit just 10 points. Hopefully for Joshua, he can find his offensive game in 2025.

Juulsen’s New Year’s Resolution is to prove he can be this team’s sixth defenceman for the rest of the season.

Considering he started the season as the Canucks’ extra defenceman, seeing him get slotted into the shutdown pairing with Soucy once Hronek went down was surprising. Is that more of a result of Desharnais’ play this season? Perhaps. But regardless, he’s in that role now and could get shifted down one pairing once Hronek returns – that is if the team doesn’t trade for another right-shot defenceman.

Lankinen’s New Year’s Resolution is to earn himself a massive payday on July 1.

Let’s be honest; he’s well on his way to doing that. Lankinen has saved the Canucks on multiple occasions and holds a 14-5-4 record with a 2.61 goals against average (GAA) and a .907% save percentage (S%). Now, unfortunately for Canucks fans, he’s likely not returning to the Canucks. He took a massive discount to come to Vancouver, he’ll want to heavily cash in on what projects to be the biggest contract he’ll sign in his career.

Miller’s New Year’s Resolution is to take charge of this team offensively.

Just last season, that’s what Miller did. He led the Canucks with 103 points. Now, he’s still got 23 points through 25 games, but he’s only on pace for 14 goals and 54 points this season. This season, we’ve seen Pettersson get hot when Miller took his absence but go cold once Miller returned. Miller is a leader on this team and has to lead them now that both Hughes and Pettersson are out; hopefully, he can turn that into a dominant second half of the season and lead the club offensively.

Myers’ New Year’s Resolution is to get back on a pair with Carson Soucy.

What happened to this pairing that was so good last season? This was a pairing that successfully shut down Connor McDavid in the playoffs last season. But this season, they have a minus-seven rating in only 227 minutes of 5v5 ice time together. Their play was so bad they were split up at points of the season. Now, once Hronek comes back, they will likely be put back together as the shutdown role, but they’re going to need to improve if they have any hope of having the same success as last season.

Pettersson’s New Year’s Resolution is to find his goal-scoring touch again.

It’s just so unfortunate that in a game where Pettersson gets his first multi-goal game since March, he later leaves the game with an injury. Now, reports are he’s out for roughly a week, so hopefully, he can build off that goal-scoring success because that second goal was a vintage Pettersson goal. You know, the one where he snipes the top corner in limited space? Pettersson has just 10 goals on the season, and is on pace for just 23 goals. That would be the lowest of his career outside of his 10-goal Canadian Division season.

Sasson’s New Year’s Resolution is to become an NHL regular.

After a full season in Abbotsford, the 24-year-old rookie finally got his shot in the NHL and has made the most of it. He has one goal and four assists for five points with a plus-three rating while averaging just over 10 minutes of ice time per game. Sasson has earned the trust to play fourth line centre at times, as well as playing right wing on Pettersson’s line. His work ethic has clearly caught the eye of Tocchet, and this is a legitimate possibility.

Sherwood’s New Year’s Resolution is to break the NHL hits record.

With 205 hits through 35 games, Sherwood is well on his way to not only lead the NHL this season but break the league record for hits in a season that was set last year by Jeremy Lauzon, who had 383. He currently has a 62-hit lead on another Nashville Predators defenceman, Luke Schenn, with 143. In an 82-game pace, Sherwood is on pace for 480 on the season.

Soucy’s New Year’s Resolution is to play better defensively.

That’s it. That’s all he should be concerned about for the remainder of the season. Soucy was the best defensive defenceman the Canucks had last season. But this year, that has gone massively downhill. Whether it be defensive blunders in his own end or his slower foot speed, something just looks different from last year’s version of Carson Soucy. He played 40 games last season and finished with a plus-10 rating while playing on the shutdown pair. He’s now played 35 games this season and sits at a minus-eight rating. Vancouver isn’t going to get very far if Soucy can’t turn it around.

Suter’s New Year’s Resolution is to continue to be a Swiss army knife as he fights for his next contract.

There isn’t a position on this team that Suter hasn’t played: Winger on Miller or Pettersson’s line, centring Joshua and Garland on the third line, or centring the fourth line. He has the ability to play up and down your lineup, and his game never changes. These players are valuable to any NHL team, but that’s likely why we don’t see him in a Canucks uniform next season. He is making $1.6 million annually and will indeed receive a raise if he continues this scoring pace (11 goals in 34 games). He’s likely priced himself out of Vancouver with the current team needs of a top-four defenceman, Boeser’s extension and Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s buyout increasing next season.

Tocchet’s New Year’s Resolution is to go back to last season’s systems that worked.

The Canucks head coach wanted to bring in these new systems that would help them create more off the rush. In doing so, all that’s done is caused them to allow more off the rush as defencemen are now pinching more in hopes of quickly turning to play the other way. That clearly is burning the Canucks the other way more than helping them offensively. It’s time to go back to what worked last year and led this team to a Pacific Division title and within one game of the Western Conference Finals.

Allvin and Rutherford’s New Year’s Resolution is to get this team a top-four defenceman, and before it’s too late.

It’s about time this happens. This has been an ongoing discussion since pretty much the first month of the season. And it makes sense that Allvin and Rutherford want to see this team at full health before making any drastic moves. Well, the injuries are just starting to pile up at this point, and that likely isn’t going to happen. The Canucks are hanging onto their playoff spot by a thread, so the sooner they make a deal to help the team, the better. It’s clear they don’t want to trade one of their top assets, and they certainly shouldn’t for a rental player. But it has to be something you consider if they can acquire someone who has some term that can help them now.

What do you think, Canucks fans? Which one of these New Year’s Resolutions do you think are attainable? And which ones aren’t? Let us know in the comments below!