logo
CanucksArmy has no direct affiliation to the Vancouver Canucks, Canucks Sports & Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
JPat’s Monday Mailbag: Is DeBrusk-Pettersson-Boeser the Canucks’ best first line option?
Jeff Paterson's weekly Vancouver Canucks mailbag.
Jeff Paterson
Oct 13, 2025, 11:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 13, 2025, 10:57 EDT
Comments
Sure, the positive vibes took a bit of a hit on Saturday night in Edmonton, but the Vancouver Canucks are still 1-1 through their first two games of the new season. No one should have thought that this would be easy. The Canucks looked good for much of Thursday’s season-opening win over Calgary. Just 48 hours, it was a struggle against a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. So it’s been a little bit of column A and a little from column B so far. The bottom line is it’s far too soon to draw any sweeping conclusions about the Canucks. So everybody take a deep breath, sit back and while you’re at it – enjoy another edition of the Monday Mailbag. 
By saying, let’s talk about the top line, what I’m hearing is ‘let’s talk about the guy in the middle.’ Brock Boeser has scored at 5-on-5 in both games so far. So hard to throw darts at that kind of production. Jake DeBrusk has picked up assists on both of those goals, so he’s a point a game guy in a remarkably small sample. But the knives are already out again in many corners for Elias Pettersson. And through two games, he’s been merely okay and needs to be considerably better. As for the line as a whole, I’m giving it more than two games.
That trio was outplayed against Edmonton, but actually outscored the Oilers 1-0 in seven and a half minutes at 5-on-5, controlled 62% of expected goals and the shots only favoured the Oilers mildly (5-4). Line combinations will change throughout the season whether it’s due to injury or ineffectiveness. So you’ll likely get your wish with Evander Kane and/or Conor Garland spending time higher up the line-up. But through two games, the top line has had a few solid shifts, but for the Canucks to succeed it’s evident that DeBrusk-Pettersson-Boeser will need to find another level than they’ve shown through the first two contests.
I think it was always assumed Braeden Cootes’ ice time would be limited in his first NHL road game especially given the quality of opponent. Between match-ups and the fact the Canucks trailed over the final half of the game, the rookie only played 9:53 on the night and had just one shift over the final 13 minutes of the hockey game. He took just two face-offs all night which tells you the Canucks were trying to work him in on the fly to avoid getting caught out against McDavid and Draisaitl. In 4:22 of ice against fellow rookie Isaac Howard, Cootes and the Canucks held a 7-1 shot attempt edge. So I’m not sure I agree with the assessment that the kid looked overwhelmed. But if the Canucks can’t get him more than 10 minutes of ice on the regular, then he simply has to go back to WHL Seattle to continue his development. When Teddy Blueger is healthy, the team will have options and at that point we’ll see how they handle Cootes. My hunch is that he will return to junior before he appears in a 10th NHL game.
Yeah, that caught my attention, too. It may have been as simple as the fact the Oilers had their big guns out while shorthanded and Adam Foote and his coaching staff elected to go with a defensive layer despite being on the power play. Hronek can – and did – shoot the puck. But Lekkerimäki scored with the goalie pulled in Edmonton in the preseason and represents the idea of offence when set up in his one-timer slot. I get that he’s still young and learning, but in a one-goal game for much of the third period, Lekkerimäki saw just three third period shifts and only one over the final 13:28. That didn’t make sense on Saturday night and two days later still doesn’t feel right.
Was there? Was his play that much better on Thursday than it was on Saturday? He returned to the game shortly after absorbing the Weegar hit. He practiced with the team Friday, took part in the morning skate Saturday and played later that night in Edmonton. If there were injury concerns, the team wouldn’t be taking unnecessary risks early in the season. So I am not buying into the injury theory. Although I will say that if the shoulder was bothering him in any way, it might begin to explain Pettersson winning just three of 18 face-offs against the Oilers.

We saw it many times last season where effort, hustle and urgency were lacking in games…is that more of a personnel problem with this team specifically or just the sign of an off night?

— James McDonough (@bnoreznik.bsky.social) 2025-10-12T16:24:58.587Z

I think you have to give the Oilers their due. They were looking to respond to a brutal opening night letdown against the Flames. They meant business from the drop of the puck and the Canucks didn’t/couldn’t keep up. I know he had just a second assist on the empty net goal, but I thought Connor McDavid was dominant on Saturday. He played nearly 25 minutes, he had 11 shot attempts and was creating, as he does, on almost every shift. My concern wasn’t so much how the Canucks did or did not contain McDavid – every team struggles with that.
It was their inability to get the puck from the other Oilers skaters. And the few times they did, they didn’t do much with it. So I don’t think it was a lack of effort from the Canucks. I think it was the Canucks seeing a legitimate Stanley Cup contender up close and not measuring up. And is anyone truly surprised at that? One team has designs on getting to its third straight Cup Final and finally getting it right while the other is simply hoping to make the playoffs. There is a gap between the teams and that was apparent on Saturday night.
I think two games is a little too soon to be identifying trends. But, in saying that, the Canucks have just Kiefer Sherwood’s goal to show for their first and second periods so far. The flip side is that they have been outscored just 2-1 through the first two periods of their opening games, so perceived sluggish starts haven’t really plagued them on the scoreboard. There just hasn’t been a whole lot going on in the way of goal scoring early in either of their games. But it’s not all about putting pucks in the net. We always hear coaches talk about process and there is certainly room for improvement for the Canucks to assert themselves earlier in hockey games. Maybe it’s a big Kiefer Sherwood hit to get him and his teammates (and the crowd at home) into a game.
Perhaps it’s someone drawing an early penalty so that the power play has a chance to make a statement. Or maybe it’s as simple as stacking some heavy shifts to get everyone involved early on. A too many men penalty just three minutes after the opening face-off on opening night wasn’t ideal. And on Saturday in Edmonton, the Canucks needed Thatcher Demko to come up big a few too many times in the early going. So it’s impossible to suggest the Canucks have come out firing in either game so far. But again, it’s just two games. I’m going to put better starts on the watch list as the team continues to work its way deeper into the schedule. But I probably won’t be ready to render a verdict on the topic until the Canucks have played a dozen games.

PRESENTED BY WHISTLER GOLF CLUB

This article is a presentation of the Arnold Palmer designed Whistler Golf Club.  Spring preparations are underway with opening day on May 9th.  Whistler Golf Club is now accepting online bookings for the entire 2025 season, so no need to wait to get those times locked in.  If you have a group of 12 or more, get those times on hold now as prime times are filling up fast.  For more information, head to https://www.whistlergolf.com/

Editorials

Breaking News