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Left wing or right wing: Where are the Canucks better?
Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Jul 24, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 24, 2026, 03:09 EDT
Alright, the cynics among you might be wondering if this is a trick question, and some of you may be seeking a third option. But that’s not how this works. While light years from a perfect depth chart, the Vancouver Canucks will still line up on opening night with four left wingers and four right wingers. They’ll also quite likely have a few extras in reserve.
As it stands right now, the right side of the Canucks forward group could quite easily be Brock Boeser, Linus Karlsson, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, and Brendan Gallagher – not necessarily in that order. On the left, the Canucks are likely to run with Jake DeBrusk, Liam Öhgren, Drew O’Connor and Paul Cotter. Again, the flaws here are on full display. But this is an organization in the early stages of a rebuild, and hopefully in a few years, this exercise will yield considerably better options.
However, this is what the Canucks have to work with for now. And barring significant changes between late July and the middle of September when training camp rolls around, this is likely what Manny Malhotra will have to work with in his first year as the team’s head coach.
A few weeks back, we offered up potential line combinations the Canucks could consider. Now, this was prior to July 1st when the Canucks added Cotter, who certainly looks like he will be an every-night addition to the team’s bottom six. However, the 26-year-old was the only forward added in free agency that will likely be in consideration for an NHL job. The other forwards signed on July 1st are depth pieces likely destined to start the season in Abbotsford.
So back to the original question: are the Canucks better on the left side or right wing?
Jake DeBrusk led all Canucks goal scorers with 23 last season. As has been well documented, 19 of his goals came on the power play with a paltry four at even strength. It would be virtually impossible to replicate that next season. DeBrusk will score more than four goals at evens. The hope is clearly that he’ll remain a power play finisher and if his goal scoring at even strength normalizes, perhaps the veteran can push 30 goals for the first time in his career. But between his struggles last season and his long-term outlook with the hockey club, DeBrusk is a bit of a wild card heading into the 2026-27 season.
Liam Öhgren certainly has upside. But despite flashes of the player the Canucks hope he becomes on a full-time basis, the 22-year-old scored just eight times in 51 games after being acquired from Minnesota. That’s a 13-goal pace over a full 82 game schedule. And Öhgren has just 11 goals in his first 97 NHL games. So he clearly has some ground to cover, but still has time on his side to reach the potential scouts saw to make him a first round pick in 2022 and develop into a legitimate top six scoring winger at the NHL level.
Drew O’Connor tied for third on the Canucks with a career-best 17 goals last season. What’s more is that he shared the team lead for even-strength goals with 15. Goal scoring doesn’t come naturally for the Chatham, NJ native, but he has size and speed and with those attributes seems to get his fair share of chances. It’s fair to wonder if 17 will be his career-high when his playing days are over, but if there is another level to reach, then O’Connor should be able to push to be a 20-goal guy.
And Cotter is a bit of a wild card in as much as he’s twice scored in the teens in his NHL career and is a season removed from a 16-goal campaign. But he’s not here to be a goal scorer per se. And his role on the Canucks has yet to be fully defined. But he should add to overall team speed and be a rambunctious forechecker – and there is certainly room for a player like that.
Over on the right side, Linus Karlsson isn’t a first-line winger by NHL standards, but he might find himself on this team’s top line to start the season. It’s clear by now that the 26-year-old’s motor is always running and he has a nose for the net, as demonstrated by his 15 goals last season. There may still be some untapped potential as an NHL finisher.
It’s hard to know if Brock Boeser’s still a potential 30-goal scorer or if expectations should be tempered at this stage of the 29-year-old’s career. He scored 22 times last season and finished strong on a line with Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren. The Canucks are hoping for a bounce-back from Boeser. Only time will tell.
It sure feels like Jonathan Lekkerimäki needs a breakout season at the NHL level. And that may be a lot to ask for a player coming off season-ending shoulder surgery. The team’s first-round pick in 2022 is celebrating his 22nd birthday on Friday (July 24th). He has scored at every level, including 13 goals in just 21 games in AHL Abbotsford last season, but has only five NHL goals to his name in 37 games and can’t be counted on as an everyday producer at this stage of his career.
Brendan Gallagher may bring intangibles to his new team, but there are some questions about what else he’ll deliver in his first season with the Canucks. Hustle, determination and a heavy dose of grit are non-negotiables. But at 34 and with just seven goals in 77 games last season, is the former Vancouver Giant on his last legs in the NHL?
Of course, without true play driving wingers, so much of the success of the wings is dependent on the men in the middle. And as the Canucks found out the hard way last season, a lack of centre depth doesn’t just hurt the team in the middle of the ice, but it also hampered just about every one of the team’s wingers. The Canucks are better with a one-two punch of Elias Pettersson and Marco Rossi as the team’s top centres, but beyond that there are still plenty of questions about who’ll play the middle in the bottom six and what sorts of realistic expectations should be placed on those players.
Filip Chytil could still find himself as a winger instead of a centre when the new season rolls around. And Max Sasson certainly wants to have a say in how the team lines up. He showed last season that he’s likely now a winger and it probably should stay that way if the speedster is going to carve out a full-time NHL career.
Add it all up, and it’s easy to see that the Canucks wings lack true star power. That’s just a matter of fact. But based on the evidence, it seems there is a little less volatility and probably a touch more dependability on the left side. There may be more offensive upside over on the right, but there are also question marks across the board on right wing.
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