Are we okay with their aggressive work rate? Will they fizzle out and play slower as the season progresses?
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JPat’s Monday Mailbag: Can the Canucks push this pace of play for 84 games?
Oct 5, 2026, 13:15 EDTUpdated: Oct 5, 2026, 13:09 EDT
After a wild first week of the new season, the Vancouver Canucks get a team day off to rest and recover. And the fans can probably use a breather, too. Not only was it a busy week with four games in six nights to start, it was hectic. The Canucks lead the National Hockey League in both goals scored (19) and goals allowed (18). The first week of action has produced several questions about what to expect from the hockey club this season. Once again, you have answered the call with submissions to our Monday mailbag. Let’s get down to business.
Aside from the first period of the home opener against Edmonton, I think the Canucks effort level has been universally applauded. So, an overwhelming yes, when it comes to fans appreciating the work ethic we’ve seen from the hockey club through four games. Sure, they were outplayed by Vegas on Sunday, but they didn’t go quietly, their third period was easily their best period and for a rebuilding team, I think that’s what fans want to see – keep it close, make the opposition sweat a little and push to the final buzzer.
As for whether the pace will fall over the course of an 84-game schedule, that has to be expected to some degree. But it’s also going to be one of Manny Malhotra’s greatest challenges with a group that is overmatched on many nights. Excitement is high in the first week of the season and the Canucks deserve to be saluted for the entertainment they provided. But we’ll all be keeping tabs as the season unfolds and let’s see where things stand after the first three game losing streak or a stretch with two wins in 10 games. Those stretches will provide a much better read on the state of the rebuild than the first four games of the season.
What realistic/early season benchmarks look like for Elias Pettersson given last year’s scoring drought and the rebuild priorities? His engagement early has been very promising, 8 hits last game. Got into scrums after the whistle. It’s been a breathe of fresh air.
I think most fans want to see effort and engagement and hopefully some of his scoring punch from years gone by will follow. And on all of those fronts, Pettersson deserves full credit for the way he has played through four games. As of Monday morning, Pettersson is tied for third in the league in scoring, leads the NHL in hits by three and is the runaway leader in face-offs taken (80) and face-offs won (41). Now those statistics will normalize as the season rolls on. But as first weeks go, Pettersson’s was a resounding success. He has already scored on an absolute laser of a one-timer, he had back to back eight hit games and maybe most importantly he seems to be having fun – something that hasn’t always been apparent over the last couple of seasons.
Does Vancouver need a proper goon?
— CrankyCanucksFan 🇨🇦🏒 (@crankycanucksfan.bsky.social) 2026-10-04T03:04:10.360Z
No. But could this team use more size and muscle – particularly up front? Absolutely. It’s been encouraging to see the Canucks offer up some early season pushback. But ultimately, it can’t always be soon to be 37-year-old Luke Schenn that does the heavy lifting. Schenn knows his role and he’s clearly willing to play it. But he needs some help. As constructed, the Canucks forward group isn’t particularly intimidating and I think that’s something to keep an eye on as the rebuild continues.
I’d like to see the Canucks find a heat-seeking missile type forward that rattles the glass with hits on every shift. Elias Pettersson is playing that role at the moment, but look down the line-up. Through four games, Arshdeep Bains and Liam Öhgren each have two hits while Linus Karlsson, Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Max Sasson have been credited with one each. Let’s just say there is room for improvement on the physical side of the game. Employing a proper goon as you suggest is a foolish notion in today’s NHL. But beefing up the forward ranks and initiating rather than responding are two things I’d like to see from this hockey club.
Why was Raty such a trusted and effective player under Malhotra in Abbotsford but has not been able to maintain that out of training camp?
The simple answer is that this is the NHL and that was the AHL. Beyond that, I think it’s important to remember that Manny Malhotra won a Calder Cup without Aatu Räty for the most part. Due to injury (and then a re-aggravation of the same injury) Räty appeared in just six of the team’s 24 games in the 2025 playoffs. So he really wasn’t a factor in the highest-leverage games that Malhotra coached in the minors. And overall, Räty spent just half a season under Malhotra in Abbotsford playing 40 AHL games in 2024-25. So perhaps too much is made of their brief time together. Räty’s usage in the preseason was certainly odd, burning his first two games right out of the gates with essentially a minor league line-up.
We all know his face-off prowess is elite, but it’s also clear that there are areas of his game that have not yet measured up. Adam Foote was reluctant to use him late last season and now Manny Malhotra has shown some reservation about turning Räty loose. Hopefully the Canucks will continue to work with Räty on the areas of his game that need improving to stick at the NHL level and be an every night contributor. But the surest indicator of what a coach thinks of a player is how he is deployed. Räty was a healthy scratch the first two games of the season and failed to reach the 10 minute mark of ice time in either game over the weekend. It seems he still has a fair bit of work ahead of him to earn the trust of the new head coach despite their time together in Abbotsford.
why aren’t we seeing more youth on PP’s or at least more of pp2
It’s early. I wouldn’t get too worked up about power play assignments, but it’s certainly something to monitor as the season rolls on. The Canucks had one of the best power plays in the league over the final third of the schedule last season. I’m not the least bit surprised a new coaching staff rolled with what was clearly working. I would have done the same. However, it was curious at the very least to see Drew O’Connor slide into Jake DeBrusk’s spot on the first unit on Saturday. I thought Linus Karlsson would be the one to get that opportunity. And then on Sunday, Paul Cotter scored a DeBrusk style power play goal at the net front with the first unit, so maybe he’ll remain there even when DeBrusk returns from his two-game absence.
As for young guys getting their chance, if Jonathan Lekkerimäki keeps shooting – and scoring – perhaps he can force his way onto the first unit. And I’m sure there is a succession play for Zeev Buium to wrestle the point spot away from Filip Hronek. But Buium hasn’t come firing out of the gates through four games and needs to show that he’s ready for that role. I don’t think we’ve seen that from him yet. As for more of the second unit as a whole, give it some time. The top unit has produced all three power play goals the team has scored so far and the power play is running at an acceptable 23.1% in the early going. No, it didn’t look great giving up a pair of shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill to the Oilers Thursday. Nor did it look great going 0 for five on Saturday against Calgary. But it’s still early and I think you’ll see some tinkering as the season rolls on.
I’m going to offer a qualified ‘yes’ as my answer. But it’s important to remember it’s only the first week of a long season and Thursday’s game was one for the ages. Despite the Canucks losing, everyone left the building feeling they got their money’s worth from that one. The team has taken necessary steps to embrace the fanbase. The fanfest to conclude the preseason was a step in the right direction with an open practice and a charity game (now bring back the skills competition). People want to believe in the Sedins, Ryan Johnson and Manny Malhotra. So there was an air of renewed optimism in the building through the first three home dates.
But it’s also worth noting that not one of those three games was considered a sellout and the crowd for the Calgary game – the first Saturday night of the season – was listed at 16,591 which is more than 2,000 shy of capacity. So it’s very much a work in progress. But with lots of goals, some rough stuff, and a push to the final buzzer in all three games, it felt like people were having fun. And that’s just not something that was said often last year when the Canucks struggled to a ghastly 9-27-5 home ice record.
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