#Canucks new looks at practice O’Connor-EP40-Karlsson Cotter-Rossi-Boeser DeBrusk-Chytil-Lekkerimaki Ohgren-Sasson-Gallagher Bains DPetey-Hronek Oleksiak-Willander Buium-Mancini Brisebois-Schenn
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Scenes from practice: Rossi returns and Canucks shake up forward lines in effort to snap 8-game losing streak
Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Oct 21, 2026, 18:06 EDT
Mired in an eight-game winless skid and in search of answers, the Vancouver Canucks showed a number of new looks at practice on Wednesday morning at Rogers Arena.
One of the biggest changes was the return of Marco Rossi, who has missed the past two games due to illness.
What we saw
Rossi’s return gives Manny Malhotra three natural centres and lets him move Drew O’Connor back to the wing. O’Connor found himself skating with Elias Pettersson and Linus Karlsson while Rossi was between Paul Cotter and Brock Boeser.
Filip Chytil was flanked by Jake DeBrusk and Jonathan Lekkerimäki, while Max Sasson continues to hold down the centre position on the fourth line and today had Liam Öhgren and Brendan Gallagher on his wings. Arshdeep Bains swapped in and out with Gallagher, but for the most part was the extra forward.
On defence, Victor Mancini skated with Zeev Buium, indicating that Mancini may return to the lineup on Thursday against Detroit. Luke Schenn and Guillaume Brisebois appeared to be the extra duo at practice.
As they did on Monday, the Canucks skated for about 45 minutes before taking a break and flooding the ice. They then returned to continue with more drills. Malhotra is taking full advantage of his team’s practice days on this three-game homestand.
The Canucks were wearing their black skate gear at practice and will once again roll out the black jerseys for games against the Red Wings and Minnesota Wild. Leevi Meriläinen showed off a new setup featuring gear he wore when he was with the Ottawa Senators. Meriläinen wore white pads the first time he donned the black skate jersey earlier this season. Today he showed off a red and black setup of blocker, catcher, and pads.
Leevi Meriläinen repurposing old Sens gear for #Canucks black skate set-up
The Canucks devoted all of their practice time to five-on-five work and didn’t spend time on special teams. With a stout practice on Wednesday, it’s likely the club will hold an optional morning skate ahead of the game against the Red Wings.
What we heard
Manny Malhotra on getting Marco Rossi back and what it does for team depth: “It does a lot in terms of just slotting guys where they need to be and putting guys in the right position. So it definitely helps just being able to change the line-up and change the chemistry of lines and more so putting guys where they should be playing.”
Malhotra on what he needs to see from Rossi, who has gone seven games without a point: “Obviously, being in our top six we’d like to see some more offensive production. When it comes down to our game it’s about being harder to play against and being tenacious on pucks and winning puck battles and getting in first on forechecks. Those types of things will give him the opportunity to create more offence as opposed to being on the perimeter and waiting for things to happen.”
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What are you actually trying to accomplish? Most people don’t want a mortgage. They want a first home, a bigger one, a rental property, or breathing room on their debt. Jason starts with that question. A mortgage broker for more than 20 years and named one of Canada’s top 30 mortgage brokers by Canadian Mortgage Professional magazine, Jason works with Dominion Lending Centres A.I.M.I. Collective, serving clients across British Columbia and Alberta. His clients include first-time buyers, move-up families, self- employed business owners, investors and homeowners looking to refinance. He lays out the real options, makes a clear recommendation, and does the legwork so the right lender says yes.
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Vancouver CanucksTeam Cap Summary
Cap Summary
2026-27
2027-28
Projected Cap Hit
$87,993,412
$71,329,167
Projected Cap Space
$16,006,588
$42,170,833
Current Cap Space
$20,295,935
$42,170,833
Active Players
23/23
13/23
Draft Picks
Round
'27
'28
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
1
1