Canucks tough guy Curtis Douglas will play for another team next season
Zeev Buium probably isn’t thrilled about this, but it appears as though Curtis Douglas’ time with the Vancouver Canucks is coming to an end.
Ryan Johnson spoke to the media on Thursday at Rogers Arena, where he was asked about the team’s pending unrestricted free agents, which include Douglas.
“I’ve been very clear with the UFAs that we have currently, that we won’t be moving forward,” Johnson said.
The Canucks have four players who are set to become unrestricted agents on July 1: Evander Kane, Teddy Blueger, Derek Forbort, and Douglas.
Considering Kane left the Canucks before the season even ended, there was no chance he would return. And earlier this week, CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reported that Blueger and Forbot would also be testing the free agent market.
Then on Friday, Dhaliwal reported that the Canucks never made Douglas a contract offer to return.
Vancouver choosing not to bring back Douglas is a bit surprising. The 6-foot-9 forward provided a physical presence that was lacking from the lineup, and seemed like a solid locker room presence.
“I love Douglas, I love that guy,” Buium said on Sportsnet 650’s Canucks Central after the season concluded.
“Heās only been here for a little bit, but heās a great person,” Buium said. “He came up to me and said, āPlay your game, feel free out there, if anyone touches you, theyāre dead.ā Heās great.”
Although there was a rationale for bringing him back, Douglas’ skating was an issue, and he averaged a team-low 8:22 per game in ice time.
Douglas was originally claimed off waivers by the Canucks from the Tampa Bay Lightning on trade deadline day. He played 14 games for the Canucks, scoring his first career NHL goal during the Canucks’ third-last game of the season.
ā¼ļø CURTIS DOUGLAS FIRST @NHL GOAL ALERT ā¼ļø pic.twitter.com/86P80O4YXv
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) April 13, 2026
While his Vancouver tenure was short-lived, he will go down as the tallest human to ever play for the Canucks.