2026-27 Season Predictions for New Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks were one of the busier teams early in the offseason. First, they added Brendan Gallagher from the Montreal Canadiens and traded Nils Hoglander to the Nashville Predators on June 29. Then, on July 1, they dealt Marcus Pettersson to the New York Rangers for a 2030 first-round pick and signed Paul Cotter, Luke Schenn and Jamie Oleksiak. Since then, no one else has been signed or acquired, leaving Gallagher, Cotter, Schenn and Oleksiak as the only newcomers so far that will be part of the regular NHL roster.

So, as we continue the dog days of summer where only speculation and rumours about Elias Pettersson’s future dominate the headlines, let’s predict how the new Canucks will do in 2026-27.

Note: I am not including Trey Fix-Wolansky, Akil Thomas and Matthew Stienburg since they likely won’t be playing full seasons with the Canucks.

Brendan Gallagher

Trading for Gallagher was probably one of the worst-kept secrets in the NHL. Everyone knew it was going to happen eventually the minute he talked about how great it would be to join the Canucks during both his exit interview and his appearance on Donnie and Dahli on June 25. It took until June 29, but general managers Kent Hughes and Ryan Johnson found a way to grant his request, giving him a chance to close his hockey career in a place he had a lot of success as a teenager.

Gallagher spent his formative years at Pacific Coliseum, playing for the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants. He became one of their biggest stars and goal scorers, eclipsing the 40-goal mark three times, including a career-high 44 goals and 91 points in 2010-11. He also captained the team during his final season in junior and finished his WHL career with 136 goals and 280 points.

Now, 14 years later, Gallagher’s career has come full circle. After debuting with the Canadiens back in 2013 against the Florida Panthers, where he recorded his first NHL point, he’s going for point 488 in game 912, just a few blocks away from where he played junior. I don’t think anyone could have predicted that when he was drafted all the way down in the fifth round in 2010. He’s now 89 games away from 1,000, a mark not many undersized players have reached. Unfortunately, unless he re-signs next offseason, he won’t hit that milestone in a Canucks jersey – but that’s a discussion for another day.

As for this season, Gallagher will take on the role of mentor and an example for how to play the game the right way, from preparation to work ethic on and off the ice. While he’s not the 30-goal scorer and top-six forward he was in his prime, he still has all the hallmarks of a gritty utility player who can move up and down the lineup. He can play on both special teams and align with skill and physicality, making him a candidate to join the likes of Pettersson or Marco Rossi in the top-six and Aatu Raty or Cotter in the bottom-six.

Because of that versatility, it’s a little tough to predict Gallagher’s numbers for the season. He could click with Pettersson or Rossi and return to his 25-goal form or, the more likely scenario, fit with Raty or Cotter and form a physical identity line alongside Max Sasson or Drew O’Connor.

Prediction: 10-15 goals playing primarily on the third line with Raty and O’Connor. He will get time with Pettersson and Rossi at some point, though.

Paul Cotter

Cotter was signed to a one-year deal, but of all the players the Canucks added on July 1, he could be the one that sticks around long-term. He’s only 26 years old and fits with the rebuild timeline. He’s also someone that could surprise this season and play a bigger role than most people think. A lot of projections are putting him on the fourth line behind Raty, which at this point is the right call considering how Raty has looked since last season ended. Having said that, his speed, skill and physicality could force Pettersson or Rossi to the wing and Cotter centring the first or second line.

Cotter will likely start in the bottom-six, though, especially since his defensive game has been questioned over the years. While plus/minus is an imperfect stat, he’s a career minus-53, a number that has progressively gotten worse since he entered the league in 2021-22. Looking beyond that, his Corsi for percentage doesn’t look too good, either, with only one season (2024-25) above 50.

The good thing is Cotter has shown the ability to score, win faceoffs, and throw the body. Also, thanks to the World Championship, he’s got some built-in chemistry with Sasson. With Manny Malhotra’s guidance, he should improve defensively and might even find a role in this rebuild beyond 2026-27.

Prediction: 10-15 goals playing in the bottom-six, likely as the fourth line centre. He will also be a fixture on the penalty kill and take some pressure off Raty in the faceoff dot.

Luke Schenn

Schenn returning to the Canucks for a third stint is one of the best stories of the offseason. He rejuvenated his career the first time he was in Vancouver, won two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning, then had two mentorship seasons alongside Quinn Hughes, and finally, bounced around the Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, and Buffalo Sabres before signing with the Canucks on July 1. The last time he was in the blue and green was 2022-23 when he recorded 21 points in 55 games, his best offensive season since 2011-12 with the Maple Leafs. He also had 273 hits and 96 blocked shots.

Schenn was signed for two reasons: veteran leadership and culture. Similar to Gallagher, he will be the example for the young players to look up to when it comes to preparation, resiliency and character. He’s been through it all, from rebuilding teams to Stanley Cup champions, and he also knows how to deal with the pressure of being a top-five pick in the draft. His 1,122 games of experience speak for themselves, along with the 1,671 blocked shots and 3,807 hits. He will protect the young stars, hit everything that moves, while also effectively killing penalties and making life easier for goaltenders Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen.

Prediction: It’s pretty clear what Schenn will provide in terms of stats and intangibles. He’s done it his entire career. He will easily record over 100 hits and blocked shots, be among the top penalty-killing defencemen, and a sounding board for Zeev Buium, Tom Willander, Victor Mancini, and any other prospect that finds their way to Vancouver – not to mention the overall character and presence he will bring to the locker room and the bench.

Jamie Oleksiak

The other hard-nosed defenceman the Canucks signed on July 1 was the 6-foot-7 Oleksiak. Most of what I said about Schenn can be said about him as well. His calling card is hits and blocked shots, maybe even more than Schenn right now – at least in the blocked shots category. He hit triple digits in blocked shots for four straight seasons with the Seattle Kraken and has only failed to do so in the hit department once in the last nine, surprisingly having only 74 in 82 games in 2024-25. He can also add a little bit of offence, averaging five goals a season over his career, with a high of nine in 2022-23.

Alongside Schenn, Oleksiak will also help the penalty kill, probably even lining up together on the first unit, building a brick wall in front of Demko or Lankinen on a nightly basis. Just having those two added to the PK will boost a unit that was the worst in the league last season. In fact, they flirted with history at one point, but ended up finishing with the 10th-worst all-time at 71.5 percent. While Oleksiak was also part of a porous PK in Seattle, his skill set and style suggest his presence will improve a unit that allowed the most power-play goals in the NHL.

Prediction: Oleksiak, like Schenn, will be among the leaders in hits and blocked shots this season. Oleksiak will play more games and not be subject to healthy scratches, though, so he will lead the way with 150-plus blocked shots and 100-plus hits. He will also lead in shorthanded ice time and average time on ice shorthanded.

New Additions Will Help Build a Solid Foundation for the New Core

Every addition the Canucks have made so far has three things in common: leadership, character, and grit. Together, they bring 3,087 games of experience and a whopping 6,993 hits. Cotter is the youngest and most inexperienced of the bunch, but he still brings the boom with 855 career hits, which is only 27 behind Gallagher’s overall hit count in only 296 games.

No, this quartet will not vault the Canucks from rebuilders to contenders. That’s not what they were brought in for, anyway. What they will do is provide a solid foundation for the emerging core to build on. And that’s step one of any rebuild.