What the Canucks roster is projected to look like next season
The Vancouver Canucks head into next season looking to build on what was an incredibly successful 2023-24 campaign.
The team beat all expectations and took the Edmonton Oilers to the brink of elimination in the second round. While many of the core pieces remain intact, the Canucks have added some new players over the past week in free agency.
This means that the roster will look slightly different when they take the ice on opening night next season.
Forwards
The Canucks entered this offseason with a clear need on the wings. They used free agency to solidify that position group as they look to build around what’s a very strong group of core forwards.
These are the forwards who will definitely be on the opening night roster barring a massive unforeseen change.
- Brock Boeser
- Elias Pettersson
- J.T. Miller
- Danton Heinen
- Nils Höglander
- Jake DeBrusk
- Teddy Blueger
- Conor Garland
- Dakota Joshua
- Kiefer Sherwood
- Pius Suter
That leaves just one spot in the lineup open with a few possible candidates. These are the four players most likely to occupy that role on opening night. Another one of these players will likely be a healthy scratch.
- Nils Ă…man
- Vasily Podkolzin
- Linus Karlsson
- Phil Di Giuseppe
The forward group is quite deep and has some serious star power up top.
Defence
The Canucks defence group has changed a lot over the past 24 months. It will look very different this year compared to last once again as management brought in a few free agents to round out the group.
There are six players who will almost definitely be on the opening night roster.
- Quinn Hughes
- Filip Hronek
- Carson Soucy
- Tyler Myers
- Derek Forbort
- Vincent Desharnais
A few other players will then be fighting for a spot on the roster and could make the opening night lineup.
- Noah Juulsen
- Mark Friedman
- Cole McWard
- Christian Wolanin
The defence doesn’t look improved from last season when Nikita Zadorov and Ian Cole were part of the group. However, management could always add a player midseason, like they did with Zadorov last year.
Goalies
The Canucks have changed the least in the crease. They did lose last season’s backup, Casey DeSmith, to the Dallas Stars in free agency, where he signed a three-year deal, but they have replacements ready to step in.
There are three goalies who have realistic shots at playing NHL games next season, barring a ton of injuries.
- Thatcher Demko
- Arturs Silovs
- Jiri Patera
Thatcher Demko will assume the starter’s role, and he’ll look to have another season like this past one, in which he finished second in Vezina Trophy voting.
While Arturs Silovs will have the inside track to earn the backup role in training camp, the team did sign Jiri Patera who has played NHL games in the past. That means Silovs will face some competition as the two battle it out for the everyday NHL role.
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