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Should this version of Canucks be better than it is as Henrik Sedin insisted?

Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images

By Jeff Paterson

Nov 14, 2026, 16:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 14, 2026, 15:08 EST

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There is bad. And then there is whatever this version of the Vancouver Canucks is right now.

After Friday’s 5-1 loss to the New York Rangers, the Canucks have dropped seven straight and now have just a single victory in their past 18 games. It’s a rebuild, and that certainly comes with layers and levels of expected pain. But it’s fair to ask: should this roster, as currently constructed, really be this bad? Henrik Sedin doesn’t think so, and the co-president of the hockey club said as much at Thursday’s quarterly state of the franchise media availability at Rogers Arena. And he’s not wrong.

No one is suggesting for a second that this is a playoff-contending roster. But Sedin is well within his rights to feel the hockey club should have more than one regulation victory and seven total points through its first 21 games. While hockey operations was prepared for a tough slog this season, it was evident from the tone of both Henrik and Daniel Sedin that more was expected from this group.

Here are 10 things that the hockey bosses couldn’t have projected as the losses pile up:

1) No one anticipated the Canucks would give up more than four and a half goals per game. The team has allowed 95 goals already this season. No other team in the league has surrendered more than 78. At 4.52 goals against per game, the Canucks are truly in a league of their own. Chicago is second worst at 4.11 per game, and the Toronto Maple Leafs – the third worst defensive team right now – allow 3.68 goals per game. The gap between 32nd and 30th is nearly a full goal every game.

2) There had to be an expectation that the worst penalty kill in the league last season couldn’t get markedly worse. Oh wait, indeed it has. The Canucks killed penalties at an alarming 71.5% last season and, through 21 games, have taken a massive step back to 62.7% this season. The Canucks have surrendered a league-high 25 goals while shorthanded. Compare that to Nashville, which has allowed just six through its first 20 games. Colorado had the best penalty kill in the league last season and gave up 36 goals over 82 games. The way things are going, the Canucks will likely be at that number – by the end of November.

3) Everyone knows Kevin Lankinen has struggled. No one could have projected he’d have one win in eight starts and carry shocking individual numbers like a 6.03 GAA and an .808 save percentage. With a pair of back-to-back weekends ahead, Lankinen is likely to get a couple of starts in short order. Can he regain any sort of NHL form, or will his struggles continue?

4) No one would have imagined waiver-wire pickup Leevi Meriläinen would be among the league leaders in games played and starts six weeks into the season. Meriläinen showed early flashes, but his ridiculous workload – due in large part to Lankinen’s struggles – has clearly caught up with him. Somehow he has been tabbed to start eight of the last nine and 11 of the team’s last 14 games. Over that stretch, Meriläinen is 1-9-1 with a 3.86 GAA and an .874 save percentage. He’s dropped his last six decisions and appears to be showing signs of fatigue for a goalie that’s never been asked to shoulder a starter’s role at this level. The other issue with overplaying him is it invites injury into the equation (see Demko, Thatcher).

5) Speaking of injury, Filip Chytil returned to the lineup on Friday, played 17:14 and had absolutely no impact. Who knows what the internal expectations were for Chytil, but he’s played eight games this season, hasn’t scored and has just two assists. He’s also carrying some of the worst defensive metrics in the league. Since being crushed by Tom Wilson in Washington last season, Chytil has played 14 NHL games and has just two assists to show for it. He doesn’t look comfortable. With his injury history, he doesn’t seem able to get fully engaged. It’s understandable, but it’s also fair to wonder how much longer he can continue to play like that.

6) Marco Rossi was second on the team in scoring after the Olympic break last season. He had 20 points in 25 games. There were clearly hopes – and expectations – that he’d deliver far more than he has so far this season. He got off to a hot start in the season-opening games against Edmonton but has not scored since October 1st and has just three assists in his past 17 games. He hasn’t been able to solidify the club’s weak centre-ice position and, in fact, seems to have somehow fallen down the depth chart in the eyes of Manny Malhotra, who seems to prefer speed and size down the middle.

7) Jake DeBrusk is a streaky scorer, sure. But the Canucks were banking on at least one hot streak through the first quarter of the season. DeBrusk has five goals, but has scored in just three of the team’s 21 games so far. And a 19 power play goal guy a year ago, the veteran winger has managed just a single goal with the man-advantage. Playing top-line minutes, DeBrusk has just two goals in his last 14 games – and they both came in a 5-4 loss to Anaheim on November 3rd. DeBrusk leads the team with 44 shots, so maybe he’s due a bounce or two. But he hasn’t lived up to his end of the bargain to help a struggling team through these tough times.

8) The same can be said about Drew O’Connor. A 17-goal scorer last season, the hope was certainly that in a contract year, he’d match that production and possibly exceed it. Instead, O’Connor is sitting on two goals on the season and only one in his last 18 games. This is a player who logged a season-high 17:56 of ice time in Tampa Bay on October 17th. On Friday against the Rangers, O’Connor saw just 9:38 of ice time and just 8:47 at even strength. This is supposed to be one of the team’s true trade chips. But it’s hard to imagine the current version of O’Connor fetching significant assets ahead of the trade deadline.

9) Paul Cotter was signed as a depth piece last summer with the hope of perhaps finding a little more offensive pop given more opportunities. And he exploded out of the gate with two goals, including the overtime winner on opening night, and four goals through his first four games with the team. He was the league’s Third Star of the first week of the season. He was never going to score at that pace. But no goals and two assists over his last 16 games? Clearly a little more would be a welcome contribution. Cotter has been moved around the lineup and asked to play in different situations. His overall production looks fine on paper with four goals and four assists through 20 games. But the past month has also seen him scratched by head coach Manny Malhotra. He’s logging a career-high in ice time and because of it, there has to be an expectation of a slightly higher bottom line.

10) Even Linus Karlsson, who continues to work hard, has gone ice cold with one goal and one assist in his last 10 games. Like so many others, he feasted in the first week of the season when the team was scoring goals, winning hockey games and having fun. Remember those days? But over the past month, he has struggled to make any sort of dent on the scoresheet. Karlsson is probably the least of the Canucks concerns, but even a little more production somewhere along the line might have helped this club find a way to turn a result in its favour.

Ultimately, losing is in the best interest of the organization. And to that end, the Canucks have done a spectacular job. But for the morale and psyche of the group, it would be okay to sprinkle in the occasional win. That task is nearly impossible with as many players struggling as much as they are individually. Throw in a disastrous penalty kill and substandard goaltending on many nights, and it’s understandable why the Canucks are in the funk they’re in.

Saying all of that, however, Henrik Sedin was not wrong on Thursday. This group shouldn’t be this bad, and it should have at leastw more wins along the way.

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