There’s no denying it. Last season was a disappointment for the Vancouver Canucks.

After winning the Pacific Division and going on an exciting playoff run in 2023-24, expectations were high for the 2024-25 Canucks. Unfortunately, the follow-up act was a dysfunctional nightmare, and the Canucks were right back to being a painfully mediocre team on the ice with perhaps more drama than ever before off of it.

We’re going to take a page out of the players’ book and choose not to talk too much about what went wrong last season. That story has been told before. Instead, we’re going to compare the Canucks’ 2025-26 opening night roster to what they were rolling with at this time last year.

While there’s been plenty of ink spilled about the Canucks’ revamped defence group, it seems that the forward group has gotten less attention. But make no mistake about it. This is a younger and faster forward group than the one the Canucks rolled out last year.

DeBrusk-Pettersson-Sprong
Heinen-Miller-Boeser
Höglander-Räty-Garland
Aman-Blueger-Sherwood
IR: Suter

DeBrusk-Pettersson-Boeser
Kane-Chytil-Garland
O’Connor-Blueger-Sherwood
Bains-Cootes/Räty-Lekkerimäki
Karlsson
IR: Höglander

Obviously, the most glaring difference between these two lineups is the absence of JT Miller in the 2025-26 lineup. That being said, the version of JT Miller the Canucks got last season was a far cry from the player who potted 30 goals with the Canucks in the three seasons prior. That’s at least worth mentioning when looking at the Canucks’ “hole” at 2C.

Slow and inefficient players such as Danton Heinen and Daniel Sprong began the season with top-six roles. Nils Aman was a shoo-in for a job on the fourth line. Now, the Canucks have added a proven scorer in Evander Kane, have sharpshooter Jonathan Lekkerimäki knocking on the door for a consistent top-six shot, and on top of all that, have improved their overall team speed with the additions of Filip Chytil and Drew O’Connor. That speed should help the Canucks play the type of up-tempo game with more offence created off of the rush that they struggled to implement last year. But it won’t be the biggest help. No, that will come from the new-look defence.

The most significant difference between this year’s edition of the Canucks compared to last year no doubt comes on defence. Without a doubt, the biggest reason the Canucks struggled out of the gate last season was their lack of mobility on the back end.

Hughes-Hronek
Soucy-Myers
Forbort-Desharnais
Extras: Friedman, Juulsen

Hughes-Hronek
M. Pettersson-Myers
Forbort-Pettersson
Extras: PO Joseph

Losing Nikita Zadorov, Ian Cole, and the version of Carson Soucy the Canucks got in 2023-24 proved detrimental, and there’s a reason that two of the four defencemen not named Quinn Hughes or Filip Hronek were shipped out mid-season. Marcus Pettersson looked great for the Canucks down the stretch following his trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins and is locked up long-term. He should continue to be a stabilizing force that can help bring out the best in Tyler Myers. Elias Pettersson, the defenceman, established himself as a reliable stay-at-home D-Man last season with a good amount of snarl in his game. He played well with Derek Forbort, which is where he’ll open the season.

Of course, the most significant difference is arguably in the type of depth the Canucks now have on defence. Instead of Noah Juulsen or Mark Friedman stepping into the lineup in case of injury. The Canucks have a young and promising defenceman in Victor Mancini just itching for his chance to prove himself at the NHL level. And of course, 2023 first round pick Tom Willander will start the year in Abbotsford and could be a call-up option down the line as well.

While the Canucks’ lack of offseason moves may be disappointing to some, it’s essential to remember that, given the poor performance last year, management needed to make some of their moves in-season to address some of their issues.

The result is a lineup and a roster that look quite different from what they did at this time last year.