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31 days, 31 questions: Who is the Canucks’ third line centre?
Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Aug 11, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 10, 2026, 19:41 EDT
Welcome to a new series here at CanucksArmy, where over the month of August, we’ll ask a new question each day about the Vancouver Canucks. We’re calling it “31 days, 31 questions”. Today, on August 11th, a look at the best fit for the third line centre role.
Manny Malhotra has many decisions to make in his first year as the Vancouver Canucks new head coach. One of the most interesting will be how Malhotra rolls out his collection of centres on the NHL roster.
In some order, Elias Pettersson and Marco Rossi are locks to be the top two men in the middle on the Canucks’ depth chart. But after that, things are clear as mud with a little more than a month out from training camp.
Some likely have Filip Chytil pencilled in to fill the third line centre spot. But that assumes Chytil is fully healthy and that the hockey club still views him as a centre rather than a winger. When healthy, Chytil has brought an undeniable and much-needed boost of speed to the Canucks lineup. But the 26-year-old has a lengthy and frightening history of head injuries and was limited to a grand total of 12 games last season. When Chytil returned from a three-month absence, the Canucks toyed with the notion of moving him to the wing in an attempt to protect him from absorbing open ice contact. It’s unclear at this point whether Malhotra views Chytil as a centre or a winger.
That leaves Aatu Räty as the next best candidate to slot in as the team’s third line centre. But that also comes with a long list of questions about the 23-year-old Finn’s ability to hold down the position. Räty produced four goals and 14 points in 66 games last season. And down the stretch, he had trouble keeping his spot in the lineup on a last-place hockey club. That was under Adam Foote. Things should be different for Räty under Manny Malhotra. In a full rebuild, the Canucks need to let Räty play and allow Malhotra to work with him to bring his game along.
Beyond Räty, Braeden Cootes will come to camp hoping to make a bid for the third line centre role, but it seems a full season in Abbotsford is probably the best place for the 19-year-old to develop.
Ty Mueller has had a pair of productive seasons in Abbotsford under Malhotra and has earned late-season NHL looks in his first two years in the organization. He may be in the mix for NHL ice time this season, but slotting him in as a third-line centre option feels like a stretch.
And Ilya Safonov is the ultimate wild card. At 6’5” and 222 pounds, Safonov looks like he could be a physical force. He scored 16 times and produced 33 points in the KHL last season, but he arrives in North America as an unproven commodity and seems like a long shot to push for anything more than a fourth-line role at this stage.
As the Canucks move closer to their mid-September training camp, the third line centre spot may be the most intriguing battle to watch. To say it’s wide open is an understatement.
What do you think, Canucks fans? Who do you have pencilled in to be the Canucks’ third line centre next season? Let us know in the comments below!
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