It was a busier July 1st than most expected it would be for the Vancouver Canucks.

As expected, they made their depth signings, added some veteran leadership, but the real savvy move and what ultimately has everyone looking favourably on Ryan Johnson’s work on July 1st, 2026 is the Marcus Pettersson trade, and the layers of thought that went into it. We’ll start there as we grade each of the Canucks’ moves on day one of NHL free agency.

Any time the fanbase of the team you’re trading with is largely upset by a trade, it usually means that you did pretty well in that trade.

The Canucks did more than pretty well when they flipped Marcus Pettersson to the New York Rangers in exchange for a top-10 protected 2030 first round pick, which obviously has a good chance of turning into a 2031 unprotected first given the age of the Rangers’ current core group of players.

Despite the negative reaction from Rangers fans, Marcus Pettersson is still a serviceable defenceman, and like every Canucks defenceman under Adam Foote — except for Filip Hronek, of course — he had a bad season. There is absolutely a good chance Pettersson bounces back and returns to being a solid top four defenceman, but the Canucks are more than happy to wish him all the best and take their 2030 first round pick back in return.

Jamie Oleksiak’s two year deal that carries an annual average value of $5 million might not earn an “A” grade on its own, but with the context of how crucial Oleksiak’s contract was to the Canucks being able to move out Marcus Pettersson, it’s firmly in “A” territory.

Oleksiak is big, physical, can fight, and most importantly, can eat those second-pair and penalty killing minutes that Pettersson was slated for on this young Canucks team. The Canucks moved off of Pettersson and gained a first round pick in the process, while replacing the veteran defenceman in their lineup for less of a salary commitment by signing Oleksiak. Not to mention, there is always the chance the Canucks can gain another asset at this trade deadline or (more likely) the 2028 deadline by flipping Oleksiak to a playoff team at 50% retained. The Pettersson trade and subsequent Oleksiak signing was a sharp string of moves for Johnson and his staff.

Short-term, low-risk fliers on player types that contending teams like to acquire at the trade deadline are the exact types of contracts that teams like the Canucks should be signing. And that’s exactly what the Canucks did when they signed Paul Cotter to a one-year deal worth $2.15 million. Cotter is going to get plenty of opportunity in the middle six of the Canucks’ lineup, which could help him put up numbers similar to the 16 goals and 22 total points that he put up in 2024-25 with the New Jersey Devils.

Cotter, who is listed at 6’2″ and 213 pounds, threw 200 hits last season. He might not necessarily be the next Kiefer Sherwood and return the Canucks two second-round picks in a trade like Sherwood did, but Cotter no-doubt has the chance to be a great trade chip for the Canucks at the 2027 trade deadline at 50% retained. For signing a near-perfect flip candidate who will bring grit to a lineup filled with young players, the Canucks get an A here.

Look, the vibes are always better around the Canucks when Luke Schenn is here. He’s a pro’s pro, and cares deeply about this organization and wants to do whatever he can to help the Canucks’ rebuild go smoothly. He’s big, physical, and as we’ve seen in two separate stints in Vancouver before, he’s not going to let any of his teammates get pushed around. At this stage of his career, Schenn isn’t going to help the Canucks’ top four, and is more of a 6/7 defenceman. For a rebuilding team with plenty of youngsters on the blueline, though, that means he won’t take minutes away from deserving young D, but will be a great resource in the locker room regardless of how many minutes he’s playing.

For all that, we would love to give his signing an A grade — we’re big Schenn enthusiasts here at CA, after all — but the only reason we have it as a B+ is because Schenn’s $2.25 million contract carries a full no-move clause, meaning the chances of the Canucks gaining an asset from his signing are low, even if Schenn exceeds expectations. Still, though, adding Schenn into the fold is a nice move for this new management group.

It’s hard to grade AHL signings, but adding promising profiles in Trey Fix-Wolansky and Akil Thomas should push the competitive pace in Abbotsford next season on top of providing the Canucks with organizational depth. Fix-Wolansky scored 31 goals last season. Abbotsford’s leading goal-scorer last season was Ben Berard, who potted 20. Thomas put up 46 points through 64 AHL games in 2023-24, which would have led Abbotsford in scoring last season. These signings should help Abbotsford improve on their dead-last finish in the AHL standings last season.

All in all, the Canucks signed veterans who won’t move the needle much on the ice (good for a team that needs to finish as close to the bottom of the NHL standings as possible), but should be great resources for the Canucks’ young players who are just getting their first taste of the league. In other words, the Canucks signed players who will make them worse on the ice, but better off the ice. With the Pettersson trade and their signings, the Canucks have a clear eye on the future of this team. For once, it’s nice to see a Canucks management group clearly communicate a vision and have their actions leave zero doubt that they are serious about executing on that vision.

Overall, we give the Sedins and Ryan Johnson an A- for their early moves of free agency 2026. Should they sell high on Filip Hronek and manage to get another first round pick for Jake DeBrusk? That’s when we’re getting into A+ territory. If their approach with Marcus Pettersson is any indication, though, all it takes is one great offer from an opposing team for this management group to ask one of these veteran players to waive their trade protection to facilitate a deal. So stay patient, but be ready for anything!