How successful would you rate the rebuild to this point?
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JPat’s Monday Mailbag: How do you rate the Canucks rebuild so far?
Aug 31, 2026, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 31, 2026, 01:09 EDT
This is always one of the best mailbags to write each year because it’s the final one for the month of August. After this, it’s all gas, no brakes to the start of hockey season. Alexei Medvedev’s London Knights are playing in Victoria on Friday and Saturday. A week later, the Canucks prospects face Seattle’s youngsters out in Abbotsford. And before you know it, the Canucks will open main camp in Penticton. So we’re almost there. And there are all sorts of questions facing the Canucks ahead of the new hockey season. So let’s jump in and answer some of them in our weekly feature:
This is sort of like looking at an empty lot and asking how the new home is coming along. It’s early. Very early. But the Canucks have selected an architect and a construction company, and they have assembled some of the building materials. And now it’s time to put the hard hats and work boots on. In all honesty, the rebuild gets a passing grade to this point. First of all, the Canucks have publicly committed to a rebuild and pretty much every move since peddling Quinn Hughes last December has fallen in line with a legitimate rebuild. The Canucks moved a handful of veterans for draft picks over the second half of last season. They dealt Marcus Pettersson to the Rangers for a 2030 first-rounder. They were prudent in their dealings on July 1st, keeping terms short for free agents. And by all early accounts, they had a successful draft, landing quality prospects with four of the first 41 picks. But now they have to keep at it. They have to look to shop a few more veterans as this season unfolds. They need to develop their young players. They need to add picks and turn those into prospects. They need to leverage their waiver priority and see if they can add a player that perhaps has fallen out of favour or doesn’t fit in somewhere else. So stating that they’re in a rebuild was an important first step. But simply saying it’s a rebuild doesn’t make it so. The Canucks need to keep acting like a fully committed rebuilding team for a few more seasons. I look forward to answering this same question 12 and 24 months from now. Let’s make it a late summer tradition, shall we?
What are some things that Canucks fans can look forward to this season in the early parts of this rebuild?
Just over a week ago, colleague Jeffrey Kennett wrote about what the Canucks should feel good about heading into the 2026-27 season. This isn’t quite the same question, but it shares many of the same elements. Simply put, there are all kinds of things to look forward to – Connor McDavid’s visit on October 1st, BC boy Logan Stankhoven coming back to town as a Stanley Cup champ on October 20th and how about the return of Quinn Hughes on October 25th? Okay, all kidding aside, the deployment of young players has to be at the top of any list of this kind. How is Zeev Buium used in terms of ice time and quality of competition? Same for Tom Willander. Growth in their games won’t be linear. Absolutely, there will be some slip-ups and tough nights. But there should also be progress that’s easy to chart.
How do those young defencemen look in December compared to where they were to start the season? The same applies to Aatu Räty, Liam Ohgren, and hopefully a fully healthy Jonathan Lekkerimäki. Has Räty’s skating improved? Is Ohgren using his size and speed to challenge defenders? Is Lekkerimäki’s shot volume where it should be for a young goal-scorer? Who is getting power play looks? But I think this also goes beyond the individual players and extends to a young and inexperienced coaching staff. It should be fun to monitor the style and systems Manny Malhotra is trying to put in place at the NHL level. Results aside, can he get his team to be competitive on a nightly basis? How much better will the Canucks look to the eye test in their own zone? Will the underlying numbers back that up? What about improvement from a league-worst penalty killing unit last season? That’s going to be something to pay close attention to. While no one is expecting miracles from this hockey club, there will still be all sorts of things to digest and discuss as this season moves along.
Absolutely, I’ll be there along with a handful of my DFO Vancouver colleagues. And once again, we will provide comprehensive training camp coverage from the South Okanagan: live blogs, feature articles, instant reaction, video clips, full shows. Our name may have changed, but our commitment to Canucks fans remains the same. As for my individual list, it’s a long one. I’m looking forward to getting a status update from Thatcher Demko with so much uncertainty around his recovery from hip surgery. I’m looking forward to seeing Brendan Gallagher in Canucks colours. I’m always excited to interact with Luke Schenn. I want to hear where Jake DeBrusk is after all the trade rumblings all summer. I want to see what Elias Pettersson can offer in terms of any kind of reassurance that he put in the necessary work this off-season. I want to get into a groove with Manny Malhotra and his daily media briefings. I want to meet the new coaching staff at both the NHL and AHL levels. I want to reconnect with the terrific hockey fans in Penticton who are always kind and gracious and usually quick to stop and tell us how much they love the website or Rink Wide. And, honestly, I am really looking forward to seeing my many media colleagues that I haven’t seen over the off-season. And especially with the upheaval in the local media market, I’m really curious to see how many will be on hand for the four days at the South Okanagan Events Centre – and who some of them will be working for.
What would be the biggest, realistic surprise out of Camp (cut, player making the jump, trade)?
I think at this stage, the biggest surprise would be a trade of one of the veterans with term. We just don’t see significant trades in September (or even October for that matter). Teams are generally prepared to go through training camp and the early part of the new season to assess what they have before looking to move pieces. Now, there are always exceptions to the rule, and players like Dylan Larkin or Connor Hellebuyck who have asked for trades may get their wish before the new season starts. But when it comes to the Canucks, I think it’s likely they move forward with the group they have assembled for the foreseeable future. I’d still like to see them move out a veteran player or two, but there needs to be a market for those players. And I don’t get the sense that there is a lot of offseason interest in what the Canucks have to offer; otherwise I think we would have seen them make at least one other move of significance. But a training camp injury elsewhere can change the landscape on these kinds of things in a hurry, so who knows. Stay tuned. At this stage though, I think a big-time trade would be the biggest surprise. Otherwise, I’m expecting a competitive camp, but one that lacks a lot of sizzle.
Better or worse than last season?
Better. In a number of areas. Not only do I fully expect an improvement on the 58 points the Canucks collected last season, but I anticipate a more structured group that understands what is expected of it on a nightly basis. I think that should allow the Canucks to offer up far more quality performances, particularly on home ice. There are massive concerns about this club’s ability to generate offence, and so goal scoring will likely be an issue. But I expect Manny Malhotra teams to show up, play hard, and still fall a goal or two short on many nights. I also think there will be tangible benefits to the organization’s efforts to bring in high-character veterans like Brendan Gallagher, Luke Schenn and Jamie Oleksiak. I’m tired of hearing about practice habits over the past couple of seasons. So between the new coach and the veteran additions, I expect the Canucks to, in GM Ryan Johnson’s words, ‘worry about the 7am so that the 7pm takes care of itself.’ And really, in a rebuild, it’s things like practice habits and a willingness to compete that matter far more than the final score of a given game. This season is going to be another struggle for the Canucks. The end result may look much like last season on paper, but on the ice and around the rink it has to feel much different than it did a year ago.
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Cap Summary
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