It’s going to be a big offseason for the Vancouver Canucks, as the new front office and coaching staff attempt to make their first long-term marks on the team. But one Canuck is already having a pretty decent start to the summer.

After not being selected for the Finnish Olympic Team, Aatu Räty was named to their World Championship entry and has been making the most of his time in Switzerland. Räty and the Finns are on to the Semi-Finals this weekend, and through eight games, Räty has become tied for the team lead in goals (3) and has displayed a more complete game, in general, than was seen on NHL ice in 2025-26.

Now, the World Championship is an interesting tournament that’s nowhere near best-on-best, and success there doesn’t always translate to anything. Conor Garland went point-per-game on the way to a tournament win with Team USA at last year’s event, and look what happened after that. But Räty’s success here makes such a sharp contrast to his performance with the Canucks this past season that it can’t help but raise some thoughts about his immediate NHL future.

It’s no secret that Räty did not fit well within Adam Foote’s system, or that he seemed to struggle to gain any trust with this particular coaching staff. Räty didn’t have a bad 2025-26 campaign by any standard, and at some points, he was having a downright good year. He got five points in the first three games of December, only to become a regular healthy scratch a few days thereafter.

But now, with a new coach on the way, it may be an opportunity to see Räty in a different light. And the new Canucks regime might reasonably like what they see.

Räty obviously has some untapped scoring potential. That’s evidenced by his spurts of production last year, despite limited ice time. It’s evidenced by his performance at the WHC right now. And it’s evidenced by his history as a highly-hyped pre-draft prospect who just so happened to fall off in his actual draft year.

Räty is also an absolute asset when it comes to faceoffs. He didn’t just lead the Canucks in faceoff percentage with 60.7%. After David Kampf was traded at the deadline, Räty finished the year as the only Canuck centre with a percentage over 50%. That he can do it ambidextrously is just the icing on an already stacked cake.

That wasn’t the only category Räty led in. It didn’t get a lot of press during the season, but after Kiefer Sherwood was dealt, Räty was the team’s runaway hit leader, despite limited ice time. He made 165 hits in 66 games, and averaged 12.47 hits per 60 minutes.

This was clearly something that Foote and Co. were asking of Räty. But at the same time, their stinginess with his minutes seemed to lead to Räty getting away from the agitatorial style he’s often employed at the NHL level. It often seemed as though Räty was afraid of getting a penalty and then getting sat because of it.

But if his wrestling match with Nico Hischier at the WHC is any evidence, Aatu has not forgotten how to be a Rat-y.

So, what’s stopping the Canucks from employing Räty as, say, a 3C next year, with increased minutes, increased expectations for productivity, and increased encouragement to play that well-rounded, tough-to-play-against style?

The primary issue, previously anyway, was the Canucks’ apparent plans to re-sign the expiring veteran centre Teddy Blueger. That was the word on the street when the Trade Deadline came and went without Blueger being traded. And given how good Blueger’s own 2025-26 campaign was, there is indeed plenty of reason to want him to continue with the Canucks.

The general thinking was that if Blueger was going to be retained and continue to be handed decent minutes, it was probably best to sell off Räty for whatever the Canucks could get. Another season on the periphery of the lineup wasn’t going to do anything positive for his value or future with the team.

But those rumours surfaced under the outgoing Jim Rutherford-centric regime, and the front office has since been firmly refurbished. There’s no telling whether GM Ryan Johnson or co-POHOs Henrik and Daniel Sedin feel about Blueger. Or how they feel about Räty. Daniel, for his part, has been in Switzerland scouting the WHC, so he’s been on hand for what Räty has done.

The advantages of prioritizing Räty over Blueger for next season – and perhaps beyond – are fairly numerous, from where we’re sitting. Blueger had a great offensive season last year, probably the best of his career, but the odds of that continuing into 2026-27 seem low. Chances are better he’ll return to his career average. Räty, on the other hand, still has a chance to break out and finally cash in on all that potential. He’ll still be 23 when the season begins, and that’s well within the range to say he hasn’t quite hit his prime years yet.

Räty still has enough upside that he could reasonably be a part of the rebuild, not just a stepping stone on the way there, as Blueger has been.

Giving Räty an expanded role next year, in a season where winning isn’t a priority, might be the way to unlock that potential.

But even if Räty doesn’t break out offensively, there’s still some value in keeping him around. Just having him out there to win faceoffs takes pressure off the Canucks’ young core, and especially their young centres, like Braeden Cootes. It’s also a handy-dandy way to increase possession anytime Räty hits the ice, and that’s got to have a positive impact on player development – more time with the puck should equal getting better with the puck.

Speaking of value, there’s little doubt that Räty should continue to come cheaper than Blueger. The latter only made a $1.8 million AAV on his latest two-year contract, but is almost guaranteed a pay raise. Some have said they’d be comfortable going as much as double on both salary and term in order to retain Blueger, and that’s got to be about the minimum it will cost. Coming off a better-than-decent season into a bone-dry UFA market, Blueger will have an opportunity to chase a sizeable contract, and he won’t stay with the Canucks for free.

Räty, meanwhile, still has a year left in the $850,000 AAV two-year extension he signed last summer. That’ll be darn near the minimum salary next year. Räty is also eligible for another extension as of July 1, and that’s perhaps something the Canucks should consider. Getting Räty under contract for a few more seasons at a reasonable rate before increasing his role with the team is a nice way to get some surplus on-ice value.

As far as potential trade return goes, we’d also argue there’s little, if any, drop-off from Blueger to Räty. According to outgoing GM Patrik Allvin, the offers for Blueger weren’t good enough at the last Trade Deadline. We don’t know what those offers were, but it’s safe to say they never approached anywhere near even a second-round pick.

Can Blueger really be expected to be any more valuable on the next team he’s on?

Räty, meanwhile, should carry some real trade value for the next while based entirely on his faceoffs alone. What playoff-bound team wouldn’t want to add an additional centre who can win 60% of his draws, no matter what side of the ice they’re on? That is and will remain a marketable asset.

Whether Räty is part of the short-term plan or the long-term plan, he seems like a much stronger (and cheaper) investment for the Canucks.

Now, one compelling argument that has been made for keeping Blueger is that he can be a “culture carrier” for the rebuilding Canucks. And there’s some merit to that, as Blueger has proven to be both a leader and someone who leads by example.

But the Canucks still have plenty of veterans on hand, even if Blueger is left to go to market. And who’s to say Räty can’t be part of that culture shift himself? He was on hand for the positive vibes at the end of the 2025-26. And it’s worth mentioning that a lot of that shift came from a spate of fights and other roughhousing that really seemed to bring the young Canucks together as a team.

If Räty can continue to develop his sandpaper style by increasing his minutes in 2026-27, maybe he can become a very direct part of the Canucks, being harder to play against. Maybe he can help to be a culture developer, instead of a carrier.

If the Canucks keep both Elias Pettersson and Marco Rossi past this summer, and if they want to keep room open for the likes of Cootes or whoever they might draft at third overall, they’ve really only got room for one of Räty and Blueger.

The previous regime definitely favoured Blueger. But if the new regime can see Räty in a new light, he should be the one they’re betting on instead.