We are still entrenched in the dog days of summer with little to no news in the NHL world. However, in just a few short weeks, the Vancouver Canucks will open training camp in Penticton, and we will finally have some action to discuss. Until then, we will continue previewing the season ahead, which we hope will be full of positivity – unlike last season, where negativity and drama were a common theme. So, with that, let’s get into a piece I always love doing at this time of year: three bold predictions.
1. Elias Pettersson Will Hit 100 Points Again
Hopefully, this won’t have to be a bold prediction next season, but after what we saw from Elias Pettersson in 2024-25, it definitely is this season. There was a time when 100 points wasn’t a pipe dream, especially after his 2022-23 season when he had a career-high 102, and it felt like the sky was the limit for the Swedish star. That season wasn’t that long ago, and I refuse to believe he’s now just a shell of the dynamic, two-way forward that was once discussed in the same breath as Pavel Datsyuk.
If his offseason training and early press clippings are any indication of Pettersson’s drive to become that forward again, fans should be in for a treat. He’s bigger, stronger and highly motivated to be the Canucks’ best player and justify the money that’s being pumped into his bank account right now. I predict he will hit the century mark again this season and prove to everyone that he is not a footnote in the NHL’s elite.
2. Filip Chytil Will Play a Full Season & Score 30 Goals
Filip Chytil has never suited up for a full 82-game season in his career. The closest he’s gotten was 74 and 75 games in the 2022-23 and 2018-19 seasons, respectively, and in the former, he had a career-high 22 goals and 45 points. In the seasons since that career-high, he’s only played 66 games and has been riddled with concussions and multiple stints on the long-term injured reserve (LTIR) list. After suffering a concussion and missing 72 games in 2023-24, he had another one last season after joining the Canucks from the New York Rangers and missed the rest of the season.
Related: Jake DeBrusk and the Canucks Are a Perfect Match in the Making
The Canucks are banking on him staying healthy this season and filling that gaping hole on the second line. As of this writing, they haven’t been successful in finding someone else to fill that role, so it might be Chytil or bust when they drop the puck on Oct. 9. He certainly has the skillset to do it, but will his body hold up? That will be a question throughout the season, and every time he gets hit into the boards. Hopefully, his next concussion doesn’t send him down the path of Michael Ferland, who, unfortunately, had his Canucks career cut short after joining the team in free agency in 2019. He only played 14 games in Vancouver before he was forced to retire.
If Chytil does stay healthy, he will score 30 goals. His speed and transition game have been hallmarks of his time with the Canucks so far, and if he can find some chemistry with Conor Garland and Jake DeBrusk/Evander Kane, he should hit double-digits again in the goal column. He is arguably the Canucks’ biggest X factor going into the season. If he can deliver as the second-line centre and Pettersson returns to form, they are that much closer to returning to the team that won the Pacific Division in 2023-24.
3. Canucks Will Make the Playoffs as a Divisional Seed
Despite all the drama and injury woes surrounding the Canucks last season, they still finished with 90 points and a stone’s throw from making the playoffs. It’s not like they fell to the bottom of the standings and were in the running for the first overall pick. Now with that drama (hopefully) in the rearview mirror and health on their side (again, hopefully), they should be more equipped to battle with the likes of the Edmonton Oilers, Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings, who ended up with the three divisional seeds last season. While the Calgary Flames might give that quartet a run for their money, I think the Canucks can knock the Kings out of the division and finish third below the Oilers and Golden Knights.
Related: Canucks Will Have a Great Defence Corps in 2025-26
The Canucks could even pass the Oilers and finish second if their defence and goaltending end up being as strong on the ice as they are on paper. That’s one thing the Oilers don’t have – a reliable tandem capable of stealing games. If Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen both stay healthy all season, the Canucks will have a chance to walk away with two points every night. Unfortunately, that’s a big if, considering Demko’s injury history over the last couple of seasons. They also have question marks in their forward group, the biggest being the aforementioned second-line centre spot and Elias Pettersson’s ability to lead the offence. But that’s why this is a bold prediction, right?
Hopefully, the Canucks’ Reality Show Was Cancelled in the Offseason
The Canucks will be an interesting team to follow in 2025-26, especially after the reality show that everyone was forced to watch last season. Hopefully, for Canucks Nation’s sake, it wasn’t renewed in the offseason, and we can watch a more feel-good story instead, similar to 2023-24 when it looked like this team had become a contender again. Whatever show it turns out to be, it starts with a matchup against the Flames on Oct. 9.
