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Offseason roster churn leaves Canucks no choice but to develop new penalty killing forwards
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Photo credit: © Tav Morisson-CanucksArmy
Jeff Paterson
Jul 6, 2026, 17:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 6, 2026, 16:56 EDT
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The Vancouver Canucks don’t play a game until early October, so this isn’t a problem quite yet. But given the way their roster is currently constructed, the hockey club seems to be lacking capable, competent penalty killing forwards. Four of the top eight busiest penalty killing forwards on last year’s roster no longer play for the Canucks.
Now, maybe that’s not such a bad thing, considering the team finished 32nd and dead last in the National Hockey League, successfully killing just 71.5% of all shorthanded situations. So a strong argument can be made that change was necessary in that important facet of the game. However, as the team emerges from the first wave of free agency, it seems it hasn’t found a long list of replacement candidates.
Gone from last season are Conor Garland, Kiefer Sherwood, Teddy Blueger and David Kämpf, who, in that order, logged among the most shorthanded ice time of all Canucks forwards. Returning players – for the time being – Drew O’Connor, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk rounded out the top eight in terms of penalty killing forwards.
It stands to reason that Pettersson and O’Connor will be tasked with the job next season. Boeser and DeBrusk may be called up again. But neither newcomer Brendan Gallagher nor Paul Cotter killed penalties for their respective clubs last season. It’s possible that Cotter could be added to the PK mix, but it’s unlikely a role Gallagher will take on at this stage of his career. 
Neither Marco Rossi nor Filip Chytil killed penalties for the Canucks last season. As a centre, Rossi may have no choice but to add that role to his resume. It doesn’t feel like the kind of job for Chytil, who spent exactly 20 seconds on the ice while shorthanded last season. And Jonathan Lekkerimäki doesn’t fit the bill as a penalty killer at this early stage of his career. So if he’s in the lineup, he doesn’t seem like an option.
That leaves players like Aatu Räty, Liam Öhgren, Linus Karlsson and Max Sasson to embrace the opportunity in front of them. Räty, as a faceoff ace, seems like a natural fit for the Canucks’ penalty-killing plans next season. However, he needs to prove that he can do more with the role than simply win draws. It’s a start, no doubt, but on those occasions he doesn’t win the faceoff, he needs to be prepared to dig in and get to work defending. 
Öhgren shows the raw skills to take on a regular penalty killing assignment. And it feels like something he should want to do to build out his overall game. He saw an increased role in this regard down the stretch last season and should be looking to build on the 32:13 of shorthanded ice time he earned under Adam Foote.
Karlsson and Sasson did next to no penalty killing for the Canucks last season. With his length and his ability to win puck battles along the boards, Karlsson looks the part of a player that could be a successful penalty killer at the NHL level. If he wants additional minutes, this seems like the opportunity he’s looking for. And with Sasson, his speed, motor and ability to process the game feel like the kinds of attributes that would go a long way to helping the cause while shorthanded. He has struggled in the faceoff circle in the NHL, so he may need to be paired with a natural centre if he’s used in this regard.
The Canucks are a clean slate with Manny Malhotra now in charge. The new head coach will surely have his ideas about who can help the hockey club when it has players in the penalty box. If a team wants a minimum of three penalty killing duos up front, Malhotra will have to incorporate some fresh blood into the role. If the Canucks want four sets of penalty killing pairs, it seems like they’ll be stretched to find enough candidates to step up. 
Now though, as the team rebuilds, it seems like the perfect time to experiment with players and live with their mistakes.
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