It’s two months to the day since the Abbotsford Canucks began <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/despite-tough-ot-loss-game-5-abbotsford-canucks-earned-benefit-doubt-claim-calder-cup">their road to the Calder Cup</a>. It’s been slightly longer than that since the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations">Vancouver Canucks</a> played a game. 
The minor league Canucks&#8217; season will end this week while the big league team <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-offseason-trade-target-alex-tuch">should be active on the trade front</a> and at the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/unfortunately-vancouver-canucks-lot-buyers-not-many-sellers-canucks-conversation">National Hockey League Draft</a>. So buckle up and settle in for what could be a handful of eventful days for the organization. After weeks of waiting, we should get some answers to pressing questions about the Canucks. 
Will the farmhands win the Calder Cup? Will the big club be able to improve while the winds of change blow across the NHL? As we await answers to those questions, we will try to provide answers to some of your queries. And, as always, it’s clear Canucks fans have plenty on their minds. Let’s open the Monday mailbag:
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-145113 size-full" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-22-at-7.18.50 PM.png" alt="" width="1186" height="280" srcset="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-22-at-7.18.50 PM.png 1186w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-22-at-7.18.50 PM-300x71.png 300w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-22-at-7.18.50 PM-1024x242.png 1024w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-22-at-7.18.50 PM-768x181.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1186px) 100vw, 1186px" />
It’s certainly a strategy worth considering. I don’t think the 15th pick by itself is landing the Canucks the kind of player that addresses their pressing need for help at centre at the top of the lineup. But it could certainly be a significant part of a deal to make the club better. 
However, if the Canucks don’t find a deal to their liking by the time they are on the clock on Friday night, then they probably should look at dropping down and trying to acquire additional assets or further draft capital. At that point, I’d still like to see them have and use a first round pick, but there probably would be no harm in peddling the 15th overall and moving back a handful of spots if they could find a trade partner who covets their current draft position.
<blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:25khrjy4656in335ygslgicq/app.bsky.feed.post/3ls7fpodnrc2c" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreihtphgq44tyns2zk7r4vuwdf5kxdiobwfju5brg4pu3ipddiwc3du">
Given the unimpressive draft, the unimpressive free agent class, and the rising cap which has turned most of the league into buyers, is it better for the Canucks to take minimal action this offseason and instead setup for next with a better draft and a potentially better free agent pool?
&mdash; <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:25khrjy4656in335ygslgicq?ref_src=embed">Max (@canso.bsky.social)</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:25khrjy4656in335ygslgicq/post/3ls7fpodnrc2c?ref_src=embed">2025-06-22T15:40:47.202Z</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
But what about keeping Quinn Hughes happy? That seems to be the primary motivation of the hockey club these days and standing pat this offseason hardly seems like it would do much to impress the captain. Beyond that, there is a season ticket base that deserves much better than it signed up for last season. The status quo isn’t really an option. 
The Canucks weren’t good enough last season and as currently constructed could not ice a legitimate NHL top six among their forward group. They can’t sit on the sidelines while teams around them get better. That’s not Jim Rutherford’s style and it certainly doesn’t sound like the blueprint the club intends to follow in the coming days and weeks.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Who is your ideal top 6 acquisition that&#39;s realistic to acquire and how much do you think it takes?
&mdash; Fergus Doyle (@DoyleFergu44485) <a href="https://twitter.com/DoyleFergu44485/status/1936902659971150263?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I’ve been on Team Tuch for a while now. I like Alex Tuch a lot and think he checks almost every box on the Canucks’ wishlist: big, fast, right handed shot, proven goalscorer and penalty killer with playoff pedigree. He has scored 36 goals in two of the last three seasons on a bad Buffalo hockey club. Before that he went to the playoffs in four straight seasons in Vegas. 
He won’t come cheap, but the Canucks seem to have been linked to the Sabres for a while now. Perhaps it’s part of a bigger deal than just Tuch for a pick and a prospect. The 29-year-old has one year left on his current contract at $4.75M with a 5-team no trade list. It seems the hockey world is waiting for the Sabres fire sale to begin and the Canucks should be on the phone hoping Alex Tuch shakes free.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Assuming the Canucks are able to land one of their rumored C targets (Rossi, Zacha, etc.) who do you think would be the best fit?
&mdash; Will Anderson (@willanderson393) <a href="https://twitter.com/willanderson393/status/1936839245421060554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/what-nhl-player-vancouver-canucks-pair-15th-overall-trade-marco-rossi">Marco Rossi is a terrific hockey player</a>. Is he the perfect player? No. But of the names that have been tied to the Canucks in trade scuttle, he feels like the guy they should be pursuing to help up the middle. A 23-year-old coming off a 24-goal/60-point season is an attractive commodity and would certainly fit the bill for this team at centre. 
Of course, the questions that quickly follow are: what is the acquisition cost? And what will it take to get Rossi under contract? <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/minnesota-wild-declined-vancouver-canucks-trade-package-marco-rossi-report">Reports last week said the 15th overall and ‘a player’ wasn’t enough for the Wild</a>. But that could all be posturing and part of the negotiations. If Player A in Vancouver’s initial offer wasn’t to Minnesota’s liking, perhaps the Canucks will double back with a different player in their proposal. I don’t think this one is a closed book just yet. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Another for you: am I nuts thinking Tavares is a perfect fit for us? Short term, 5-7 mill a year?
&mdash; Cole Robinson (@Colenuck) <a href="https://twitter.com/Colenuck/status/1936830918406418462?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
Nuts? No. Not at all. I’d say more of a dreamer. John Tavares just scored 38 goals in 75 games at the age of 34. Clearly the guy can still play. And if there was a way to lure him to the West Coast on a short term deal, I’d say the Canucks could do a lot worse in free agency. He’s a leader, a solid veteran and plays the game the right way. 
Plus he’s scored 39 power play goals in the past three seasons including a dozen this past season. But – and you knew there’d be a but – at this stage of his career, he’s also likely to position himself to take a run at a Stanley Cup and that’s not something the Canucks can offer him right now.  So while I don’t really mind the idea of a John Tavares type for the Canucks, I just don’t see them having enough to offer Tavares to make him think this is the place for him to play the next few seasons.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Which Abby Canucks players will definitely be on the big club in a regular role next season?
&mdash; jeff putnam (@Putsky88) <a href="https://twitter.com/Putsky88/status/1936817518066422250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This seems to be a weekly question, but with those Canucks on the cusp of the Calder Cup, it’s worth taking another look at the key pieces behind their impressive playoff push. Linus Karlsson has been outstanding and maybe at his best when the stakes have been the highest in the championship series. He leads all AHL playoff scorers with 13 goals and 25 points. 
While he won’t have the same role in Vancouver, it seems fairly certain that Karlsson is playing himself into a full time job at the NHL level to start next season. Despite an injury that has kept him out of all but one game over the final three rounds of the playoffs, Aatu Räty still has a strong shot to break training camp with the big team as he did last season. 
The only caveat there is if his current injury threatens his already shortened off-season training in any way. The lengthy playoff run may make it difficult for Jonathan Lekkerimäki to put on the size he needs to be an every day NHL’er, so I don’t know if he can be pegged for full time NHL employment right out of the gate next season. Max Sasson’s speed has been on full display throughout the playoffs and that trait alone could be a factor in the battle for a depth forward role in the NHL to start next season. 
And then there is Arturs Silovs, Abbotsford’s playoff MVP, who will require waivers to be sent to the AHL next season. That complicates matters somewhat. Last week, I said I still figured Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen would be the starting tandem for the NHL Canucks when next season gets underway. I’m sticking to that. But it’s going to be interesting to see what that means for Silovs who has done everything humanly possible on this playoff run to prove that he deserves another opportunity to prove he belongs in the NHL.
<h2>PRESENTED BY WHISTLER GOLF CLUB</h2>
<a href="https://www.whistlergolf.com/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-142422 size-large" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/WG_logo_black-1024x564.png" alt="" width="1024" height="564" srcset="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/WG_logo_black-1024x564.png 1024w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/WG_logo_black-300x165.png 300w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/WG_logo_black-768x423.png 768w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/WG_logo_black-1536x846.png 1536w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/WG_logo_black-2048x1128.png 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
<div>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 <a href="https://www.whistlergolf.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.whistlergolf.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1744132058749000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0ap1p40lH7OdVKoTc7zBpV">https://www.whistlergolf.com/</a></div>
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Jeff Paterson's weekly Vancouver Canucks mailbag.

It’s two months to the day since the Abbotsford Canucks began <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/despite-tough-ot-loss-game-5-abbotsford-canucks-earned-benefit-doubt-claim-calder-cup">their road to the Calder Cup</a>. It’s been slightly longer than that since the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations">Vancouver Canucks</a> played a game. 

The minor league Canucks' season will end this week while the big league team <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-offseason-trade-target-alex-tuch">should be active on the trade front</a> and at the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/unfortunately-vancouver-canucks-lot-buyers-not-many-sellers-canucks-conversation">National Hockey League Draft</a>. So buckle up and settle in for what could be a handful of eventful days for the organization. After weeks of waiting, we should get some answers to pressing questions about the Canucks. 

Will the farmhands win the Calder Cup? Will the big club be able to improve while the winds of change blow across the NHL? As we await answers to those questions, we will try to provide answers to some of your queries. And, as always, it’s clear Canucks fans have plenty on their minds. Let’s open the Monday mailbag:

<img class="alignnone wp-image-145113 size-full" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-22-at-7.18.50 PM.png" alt="" width="1186" height="280" />

It’s certainly a strategy worth considering. I don’t think the 15th pick by itself is landing the Canucks the kind of player that addresses their pressing need for help at centre at the top of the lineup. But it could certainly be a significant part of a deal to make the club better. 

However, if the Canucks don’t find a deal to their liking by the time they are on the clock on Friday night, then they probably should look at dropping down and trying to acquire additional assets or further draft capital. At that point, I’d still like to see them have and use a first round pick, but there probably would be no harm in peddling the 15th overall and moving back a handful of spots if they could find a trade partner who covets their current draft position.

https://bsky.app/profile/canso.bsky.social/post/3ls7fpodnrc2c

But what about keeping Quinn Hughes happy? That seems to be the primary motivation of the hockey club these days and standing pat this offseason hardly seems like it would do much to impress the captain. Beyond that, there is a season ticket base that deserves much better than it signed up for last season. The status quo isn’t really an option. 

The Canucks weren’t good enough last season and as currently constructed could not ice a legitimate NHL top six among their forward group. They can’t sit on the sidelines while teams around them get better. That’s not Jim Rutherford’s style and it certainly doesn’t sound like the blueprint the club intends to follow in the coming days and weeks.

https://twitter.com/DoyleFergu44485/status/1936902659971150263

I’ve been on Team Tuch for a while now. I like Alex Tuch a lot and think he checks almost every box on the Canucks’ wishlist: big, fast, right handed shot, proven goalscorer and penalty killer with playoff pedigree. He has scored 36 goals in two of the last three seasons on a bad Buffalo hockey club. Before that he went to the playoffs in four straight seasons in Vegas. 

He won’t come cheap, but the Canucks seem to have been linked to the Sabres for a while now. Perhaps it’s part of a bigger deal than just Tuch for a pick and a prospect. The 29-year-old has one year left on his current contract at $4.75M with a 5-team no trade list. It seems the hockey world is waiting for the Sabres fire sale to begin and the Canucks should be on the phone hoping Alex Tuch shakes free.

https://twitter.com/willanderson393/status/1936839245421060554

<a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/what-nhl-player-vancouver-canucks-pair-15th-overall-trade-marco-rossi">Marco Rossi is a terrific hockey player</a>. Is he the perfect player? No. But of the names that have been tied to the Canucks in trade scuttle, he feels like the guy they should be pursuing to help up the middle. A 23-year-old coming off a 24-goal/60-point season is an attractive commodity and would certainly fit the bill for this team at centre. 

Of course, the questions that quickly follow are: what is the acquisition cost? And what will it take to get Rossi under contract? <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/minnesota-wild-declined-vancouver-canucks-trade-package-marco-rossi-report">Reports last week said the 15th overall and ‘a player’ wasn’t enough for the Wild</a>. But that could all be posturing and part of the negotiations. If Player A in Vancouver’s initial offer wasn’t to Minnesota’s liking, perhaps the Canucks will double back with a different player in their proposal. I don’t think this one is a closed book just yet. 

https://twitter.com/Colenuck/status/1936830918406418462

&nbsp;

Nuts? No. Not at all. I’d say more of a dreamer. John Tavares just scored 38 goals in 75 games at the age of 34. Clearly the guy can still play. And if there was a way to lure him to the West Coast on a short term deal, I’d say the Canucks could do a lot worse in free agency. He’s a leader, a solid veteran and plays the game the right way. 

Plus he’s scored 39 power play goals in the past three seasons including a dozen this past season. But – and you knew there’d be a but – at this stage of his career, he’s also likely to position himself to take a run at a Stanley Cup and that’s not something the Canucks can offer him right now.  So while I don’t really mind the idea of a John Tavares type for the Canucks, I just don’t see them having enough to offer Tavares to make him think this is the place for him to play the next few seasons.

https://twitter.com/Putsky88/status/1936817518066422250

This seems to be a weekly question, but with those Canucks on the cusp of the Calder Cup, it’s worth taking another look at the key pieces behind their impressive playoff push. Linus Karlsson has been outstanding and maybe at his best when the stakes have been the highest in the championship series. He leads all AHL playoff scorers with 13 goals and 25 points. 

While he won’t have the same role in Vancouver, it seems fairly certain that Karlsson is playing himself into a full time job at the NHL level to start next season. Despite an injury that has kept him out of all but one game over the final three rounds of the playoffs, Aatu Räty still has a strong shot to break training camp with the big team as he did last season. 

The only caveat there is if his current injury threatens his already shortened off-season training in any way. The lengthy playoff run may make it difficult for Jonathan Lekkerimäki to put on the size he needs to be an every day NHL’er, so I don’t know if he can be pegged for full time NHL employment right out of the gate next season. Max Sasson’s speed has been on full display throughout the playoffs and that trait alone could be a factor in the battle for a depth forward role in the NHL to start next season. 

And then there is Arturs Silovs, Abbotsford’s playoff MVP, who will require waivers to be sent to the AHL next season. That complicates matters somewhat. Last week, I said I still figured Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen would be the starting tandem for the NHL Canucks when next season gets underway. I’m sticking to that. But it’s going to be interesting to see what that means for Silovs who has done everything humanly possible on this playoff run to prove that he deserves another opportunity to prove he belongs in the NHL.
<h2>PRESENTED BY WHISTLER GOLF CLUB</h2>
<a href="https://www.whistlergolf.com/"><img class="alignnone wp-image-142422 size-large" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/WG_logo_black-1024x564.png" alt="" width="1024" height="564" /></a>
<div>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 <a href="https://www.whistlergolf.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.whistlergolf.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1744132058749000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0ap1p40lH7OdVKoTc7zBpV">https://www.whistlergolf.com/</a></div>
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