A couple of weeks ago, Rick Dhaliwal joined Harman Dayal and me on an episode of Canucks Conversation. It was a great interview, filled with multiple nuggets and interesting bits of Vancouver Canucks information. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you can do so by clicking here.

One thing Dhaliwal mentioned was that the Canucks “aren’t biting” on adding additional players in free agency. Here’s exactly what he said:

Hutton was an interesting name to hear brought up. In theory, adding a veteran defenceman with Stanley Cup-winning experience, who’s been in Vancouver before, to be a bottom-of-the-lineup defenceman seems like a good idea for a rebuilding team. The only problem is, the Canucks have already done that this offseason. And they should probably stop adding veterans altogether at this juncture.

Focusing on the idea of a defenceman specifically, the Canucks added two veteran defencemen this offseason — Luke Schenn and Jamie Oleksiak. When I wrote “the Canucks have already done that this offseason” above when referring to the idea of adding a bottom-of-the-lineup veteran defenceman who’s been in Vancouver before, I was obviously talking about Schenn. The role that Schenn, who will turn 37 in November, will fill on this team is clear. He’s been brought in to help be a sounding board for the Canucks’ young defencemen, protect his teammates, and play a hard-nosed game as a 6th or 7th defenceman who can also kill penalties.

If one of the Canucks’ young defencemen shows they’re ready to take on more minutes — say, Victor Mancini, then the rebuilding Canucks won’t hesitate to take Schenn out of the lineup to get Mancini the minutes he deserves.

Similarly, the Canucks shipped out Marcus Pettersson to the New York Rangers in exchange for a first-round pick, and signed Jamie Oleksiak to be Pettersson’s replacement on the blue line. With that move, the Canucks gained a very valuable asset in the form of the Rangers’ 2030 first rounder, and while they may have downgraded their lineup by replacing Pettersson with Oleksiak, they committed just two years to Oleksiak, meaning it’s very possible that the Canucks will be able to flip him for an asset down the line. Plus, the Canucks should be doing everything they can to make sure they can secure as high of a draft pick as possible in the 2027 NHL Draft, so worsening the lineup shouldn’t be a cause for concern.

The other big positive with the Oleksiak signing is that because he’s not exactly a can’t-miss top-four defenceman these days, the Canucks essentially have an insurance policy in the event that Elias Pettersson (DPetey) doesn’t take the step forward that the club is hoping he will. After a promising rookie campaign, Pettersson struggled to build on it, even in sheltered minutes last season. If those struggles continue this season, Oleksiak is capable of taking on the tough minutes and leaving easier matchups for DPetey to work with as he continues his development. And if Pettersson takes the step the Canucks are hoping he can, then Oleksiak can just as easily slide down the lineup and allow Pettersson to take on his well-earned minutes. But Pettersson has to prove he can handle that first.

But the point is, Schenn and Oleksiak aren’t blocking any of the Canucks’ youngsters from seizing opportunities. Rather, they’re there as insulators in case players like Mancini, DPetey, and even Kirill Kudryavtsev aren’t rushed into situations they’re not yet ready for.

But adding more vets?

At some point, adding too many hurdles for young defencemen to clear becomes more of a roadblock than a smart plan B.

And we’ve only touched on the on-ice reasons so far. Off the ice, Victor Mancini’s 2-year one-way extension (signed by the last regime) kicks in this season; he’ll be owed the same salary whether he’s in the NHL or the AHL. That means that, in all likelihood, Canucks management would have to get the blessing from ownership to pay a young player $950,000 to play in the AHL. When you’re managing up, you’d likely not use one of the bullets in your chamber on a request like that.

At the end of the day, the Canucks need to look at the young players they have and what opportunities they will and won’t have depending on their current depth chart, compared to if they added any more players. They won’t want to throw anyone to the wolves or hand out roles that haven’t been earned, but they also don’t want to create an environment where it’s impossible for young players to earn their keep ahead of schedule.

And it’s not just defencemen, either. The Canucks have a number of forwards that need to have the chance to flourish. The club showed patience and discipline in not re-signing Teddy Blueger, or another veteran bottom-six centre. That leaves space for Aatu Räty to be an every-night player and grow into a reliable part of the team. It’s make-or-break time for Räty, and a rebuilding team should be giving a player with his tool set every opportunity to prove he’s an NHL player. Now, the Canucks did bring in Brendan Gallagher and Paul Cotter this offseason, but opened up spots by trading away Nils Höglander and letting Evander Kane and the aforementioned Blueger walk in free agency.

On top of Räty, Jonathan Lekkerimäki is another young player who the Canucks, on paper, have a spot in their lineup for. That hasn’t exactly been the case for Lekkerimäki to this point in his career. Lekkerimäki has moved up and down the Canucks’ lineup, and in and out of the press box (and the injured reserve, for that matter). Lekkerimäki was shut down midway through last season to undergo shoulder surgery and is projected to be 100% healthy and ready to go for training camp next month. The season before that, Lekkerimäki went on a long playoff run with the Calder Cup-winning Abbotsford Canucks, and his offseason was shortened as a result. That took away valuable time for Lekkerimäki to bulk up, and the hope now is that he comes into 2026-27 stronger than ever before and ready to prove he can be an everyday middle-six winger. Adding another veteran body would likely jeopardize Räty or Lekkerimäki’s spots in the lineup, and that’s something a rebuilding team should avoid.

Now, Lekkerimäki is waiver exempt, so if he really isn’t ready, then the Canucks can give his spot to someone else. The Canucks made some interesting depth signings to players on two-way contracts this offseason. Akil Thomas, Trey Fix-Wolanski, not to mention Mackenzie MacEachern, all have NHL experience and can be recalled from Abbotsford if Lekkerimäki clearly still isn’t ready. But adding that “someone else” on a one-way contract ready to go is getting into roadblock territory for Lekkerimäki.

Forward, defence, and even goaltending. The rebuilding Canucks should probably be done signing veterans for at least the next little while, no matter how many players’ agents come calling.