Congratulations to both the Vancouver Canucks and to you, kind reader, for making it past the NHL trade deadline.

A moment to commemorate the members of the Canucks organization who did not, in fact, escape the trade deadline unscathed: Conor Garland, Tyler Myers, David Kämpf, Jett Woo, Lukas Reichel.

A moment to commemorate the members of the Canucks organization who are somehow still there: Evander Kane (self-explanatory), and Teddy Blueger (what return could Vancouver have possibly asked for to make a Blueger deal unfeasible?).

After the flurry of activity at the deadline, the Canucks visibly played like they had the weight of the world lifted from their shoulders to an almost comical degree. After they began the week with a demoralizing 6-1 loss to the Dallas Stars, they bounced back with a truly commendable 6-4 comeback effort against the Carolina Hurricanes after allowing four unanswered initial goals, and then earned their first win since January against the Chicago Blackhawks. They ended the week with an overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets which was a moderate redemption game for Kevin Lankinen after he was pulled against Carolina earlier in the week. The Canucks will be on the right track if they keep up this pace: still losing against far better teams, but putting up a fight rather than accepting their fate before they even take the ice for warmups. The Canucks will not be a good team for quite some time, but they can still be a team with some fight left in them.

Games played this week(s): 4
Games won this week(s): 1
Goals scored this week(s): 13
Goals against this week(s): 18
Total points gained this week(s): 3
Games since last win: 1
Games won in 2026: 3
Goals scored in 2026: 52
Goals against in 2026: 100
Players traded in 2026: 6…and now that we are past the trade deadline, we won’t hear that Hunger Games tribute sacrifice cannon again until the summer.

Max Sasson is the secret to this team’s success. This is clearly something expected and universally agreed upon…right?

After Vancouver traded away noted star centre David Kämpf, Max Sasson drew back into the Canucks line-up for the first time since before the Olympic break, slotting into the fourth line. In terms of the scoresheet, Sasson had a three-point week, and, statistically speaking, Sasson was the highest even-strength offence driver on the ice for two straight games.

It’s a good thing Sasson earned first star of the week accolades, because he might need the clout to leverage in the local real estate market. Sasson was apparently living rent-free with Conor Garland.

With Garland now sent to Columbus, Sasson has been tasked with the role of professional UHauler. Being forced to confront Vancouver rent prices is maybe the worst outcome for any player at the deadline. I send my thoughts to him at this time.

It was a relief to see Brock Boeser find the back of the net multiple times in one week – a reminder of times gone by, yes, but also a reminder that #6 has still got a finishing touch.

Things in Vancouver have been far from ideal since Boeser unexpectedly extended with the Canucks on July 1st to a seven-year contract. Perhaps it was underestimated just how quickly things would fall apart, but there is no way that Boeser and his camp did not foresee choppy waters ahead for the team.

Boeser put up three goals this week – yes, even his empty-net goal that sealed the game against Chicago counts. Boeser had previously not had points in consecutive games since January, and even before, multi-point games have been few and far between for the winger this season.

Here is Boeser looking the happiest he has looked all season while holding an axe, which seems fitting for this season. Given that the Canucks have only won three games in 2026, so the introduction of the locker room winning axe earlier this season has been almost forgotten. If they’re trying to build up room chemistry from the ground up, I think a post-season visit to an axe-throwing rage room might be on the menu.

It is hard to understate how important Hronek is to the Canucks at the moment. He has been driving play from the back end and topping ice time not just for defencemen, but for all skaters. Hronek’s best showing was certainly against Carolina, where he had himself a three-point night and played over three minutes more than the runner-up skater, Marcus Pettersson.

While it is fruitless to be adding anything to the conversation surrounding Hronek and the captaincy – a conversation that should not even be happening until the team has stopped having an identity crisis – it is important to note that leadership is not a “one-size fits all” trait. Hronek has stepped into being the backbone of the blue line and a key pillar of the entire team with as much grace as he could muster in this situation. Please note his following comments which truly just get to the point of a rebuild:

He is not the most talkative in front of a camera, that much is true, but he is clearly well-respected and sets an example for others in a primarily internal-facing role, which is fine. Even necessary, actually. Maybe Hronek is not the captaincy type, or maybe he is; he brings consistency right now, and that’s what matters.

There has not been much reason to have honourable mentions in 3 Stars this season, for obvious reasons, but there were a good handful of players this week that showed signs of life. It should go without saying, but the current state of the team as a collective does not represent the potential or the ceiling of any individual player. Tom Willander, for example, is one of the most exciting young players on the roster at the moment, but he has been routinely forced to play a role that makes him look like Sisyphus with his boulder.

Höglander played his way out of the bottom six, Rossi announced his arrival as a Canuck with a solid stretch of games, and Tolopilo continued to hold strong while being put into an unexpected role. Those are moral wins; we count those.