The annual Free Agent Frenzy is nearly upon us.

As a rebuilding franchise, the Vancouver Canucks are primarily focused on building through the draft, and so the majority of the focus from fans and media has been on the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, scheduled to begin on June 26, 2026. But less than a week after that comes July 1, the day on which free agency opens up, and it’s going to be a quick turnaround between the two events.

Despite their future-flung aspirations, the Canucks will be involved, at least to a certain extent, in free agency. We know this because every team signs at least a few individuals every year, and also because new GM Ryan Johnson has already talked about the types of characters he’d like to target.

We also know this because the Canucks do have a few small roster needs that will probably have to be addressed via a key UFA signing or two.

The first and most prominent of those needs is a veteran extra defender. As it stands, the Canucks have five regular defenders signed for 2025-26, with those being Filip Hronek, Marcus Pettersson, Elias Pettersson, Zeev Buium, and Tom Willander. Three of those five are 22 or younger.

On top of that already-youthful mix, the Canucks are probably looking to expand the roles of 24-year-old Victor Mancini and 22-year-old Kirill Kudryavtsev. Both stand a better-than-even chance of cracking the roster out of training camp.

The end result is a very, very young blueline. Now, that’s not necessarily an issue for a rebuilding team – it’s kind of the point. But it does probably mean that when Johnson and Co. go looking to add an eighth D to the group, he’ll be leaning toward age and experience.

The Canucks do have Pierre-Olivier Joseph as a pending RFA, and would be able to retain his rights with a simple qualifying offer. But Joseph is just 26 himself, and his play didn’t exactly stand out last year. The team might instead want someone with more miles on the odometer and more lessons to teach the other, younger defenders. Someone like the outgoing Derek Forbort, who made a positive impact before injuries effectively ended his career.

Whoever that veteran defender is, they’ll have to be ready and willing to spend plenty of time in the pressbox. That aforementioned starting five of Hronek, Pettersson, Pettersson, Buium, and Willander should be playing each and every night when healthy. And both Mancini and Kudryavtsev are at the points where they badly need some NHL reps to continue their development. This extra D might not play much at all, and will be doing most of their mentoring at practice and in the dressing room.

A name that makes plenty of sense here is Troy Stecher, who recently expressed some interest in rejoining his hometown team. But, really, it could be any number of well-tenured individuals, and while this UFA class is overall a little thin, there should be plenty of players matching that profile for the Canucks to pursue this summer. There are a full 48 defenders with NHL experience over the age of 28 hitting the market as of July 1.

Their other prominent need is less position-based, and more niche-based, and we’re talking about toughness here. The Canucks would like to become a more difficult-to-play-against team across the board, but most are expecting them to underline that trait with at least one bona fide enforcer-type.

The impact that Curtis Douglas made after being picked off of waivers last year was noticeable. He’s a pending UFA himself, and many in the fanbase wish to see him retained. But the Canucks haven’t talked to his camp as of yet, and there’s been some word that this is because they’re seeking out a more “everyday player.”

As we’ve covered before, this shouldn’t be an issue in this particular UFA class. If there’s one thing available in abundance this summer, it’s tough guys of every variety.

However, if they’re really focused on finding someone with more playing ability than Douglas, they’ll have to zero in on a few candidates. Names like AJ Greer, Brandon Duhaime, Ross Johnston, and especially Jeffrey Viel make sense here.

But then, who wouldn’t want a tough guy on the roster who can play every night? Just because these players are available doesn’t mean they will be willing to sign with the Canucks. If there’s one area of free agency where the Canucks might need to compromise on their ideal offer and sign something relatively exorbitant, it might be here. Getting their hands on the exact right ‘protector’ for the rebuild is probably worth a few extra dollars at this point in time.

Fortunately, the Canucks can put almost of their free-agency-related energy into these limited areas. Beyond a veteran extra defender and some dedicated toughness, it’s tough to say the Canucks need anything more out of free agency.

They’ve already got 12 NHL-level forwards signed for next year. Add a tough guy to the group, and it’s pretty much finished. Any departures – like, say, Jake DeBrusk – might reasonably be replaced – like, say, by Brendan Gallagher – but efforts will also be made to leave space open for younger players, like Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Braeden Cootes, to claim spots in camp. The Canucks will probably avoid too much free agent activity just to avoid gumming up the roster too much.

Goaltending is an interesting question. The Canucks have all three of Thatcher Demko, Kevin Lankinen, and Nikita Tolopilo all in place for next season. They might roll with all three in 2026-27. They might trade one of them. They might try to sneak Tolopilo back down to Abbotsford.

If the Canucks do plan to lose one of the three, via trade or waivers, they might want to add a veteran third or fourth goaltender for additional coverage. Say they lose Tolopilo to waivers or trade, they’d be down to just Demko and Lankinen, and then some undercooked names like Ty Young or Aku Koskenvuo in the system. Given the state of Demko’s health, that’s asking for trouble. Another Jiri Patera-type might be worth shopping for, if Patera himself isn’t retained.

The Abbotsford roster itself probably also needs some refurbishing after a near-last-place finish, and that will probably include a minor league UFA addition or two.

But, really, the Canucks are going to have the luxury of going into the Free Agent Frenzy with a very short shopping list. That should subsequently allow them to put all of their focus and all of their chips, both metaphorical and actual, onto a small set of targets.

The Canucks’ needs might be minor and relatively tertiary to the roster, but getting the exact right players to fulfill them is still an important and underrated component of the rebuild all the same.