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Where does Evander Kane fit into the Vancouver Canucks lineup?

Trevor Beggs
Trevor Beggs
|
Jun 26 2025, 5:32 pm
Where does Evander Kane fit into the Vancouver Canucks lineup?
Jerome Miron/Imagn Images

It’s been barely over a year since the Vancouver Canucks lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

While that loss occurred just over 13 months ago, in actuality, it might feel like a lifetime for Canucks fans.

The polarizing Evander Kane acquisition by the Canucks is just one reason why the Canucks 2024 playoff run feels like a distant memory. Up front, their forward group has been completely revamped since being defeated by the Oilers.

During that run, the Canucks most common first line of Pius Suter, J.T. Miller, and Brock Boeser could all be gone by the time July 1 rolls around. Elias Lindholm is also long gone.

In their place, the Canucks currently have a roster that could look something like this.

The Canucks forward group, as currently constructed, just isn’t good enough, even after the Kane acquisition. That puts a ton of pressure on Patrik Allvin over the next few days.

For now, however, we’re left to wonder where the newest member of the Canucks could fit into the lineup.

Where does Kane fit on Canucks?

Allvin described Kane as a “top-nine, mid-six guy” when he spoke to the media following the trade.

Based on where Kane is at in this point of his career, that vague description makes sense.

When Kane last played in the regular season back in 2023-24, he finished with 44 points in 77 games, which was the fifth-best total among Oilers forwards. At even-strength, where Kane collected most of his points, his points-per-60 mark of 1.68 clocks in at a low-end, second line rate.

In the 2025 playoffs, Kane also finished fifth among Oilers forwards in both goals and points, although Zach Hyman was nearly as productive despite playing six fewer games.

When projecting where Kane ideally fits, you do have to take into account his injury history as well.

Kane missed the entire 2024-25 regular season after having multiple surgeries to repair two torn hip abductor muscles, two hernias, and two torn lower abdominal muscles. He also underwent arthroscopic knee surgery.

Based on the physical brand of game Kane plays, it’s fair to wonder how his body will hold up throughout an entire regular season.

If you want to look at his health situation optimistically, perhaps a healthy Kane can be even more productive than he’s been over the last two seasons, as his injury issues persisted throughout 2023-24 before he finally underwent surgery.

During Kane’s first two seasons with the Oilers, he amassed 38 goals and 67 points in 84 games, while averaging 19:07 of ice time per night.

If that version of Kane can still be unlocked, then he would currently be the best winger on the Canucks. However, expecting Kane to reach those heights as a 34-year-old next season is probably asking too much.

Is Pettersson the most ideal linemate for Kane?

Oddly enough, the centre that Evander Kane had the most success with during the Oilers’ postseason run wasn’t Leon Draisaitl or Connor McDavid. It was Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

The line of Kane, Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman outscored the opposition 4-1 at even-strength and controlled 74 per cent of expected goals.

The interesting thing about Kane’s success with Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman is the fact that both Kane and Hyman play similar games. Both are physical, hard-working wingers who often win board battles. Both players are also high-volume shooters who succeeded when skating alongside a playmaking, two-way centre.

So, what does that mean for the Canucks?

Right now, it doesn’t make much sense to pair Kane with Teddy Blueger or Aaty Raty/Nils Åman, who are projected to be the Canucks third and fourth line centre.

Unless something changes drastically, Kane is going to be a top-six fixture in Vancouver. That means he’s likely to play with either Elias Pettersson or Filip Chytil.

In terms of Chytil, he showcased an ability to enter the offensive zone with ease while with the Canucks, even though the offensive zone time didn’t translate to a bunch of offence. Still, over the last few seasons, his primary assists-per-60 is one of the better marks in the NHL.

Ideally, Kane isn’t playing above your second line, meaning a middle-six role with Chytil would be ideal.

However, when thinking about the construction of the top-six, it’s also worth noting that the Jake DeBrusk/Elias Pettersson experience kind of flopped last year. DeBrusk, the left winger on the depth chart above Kane, controlled just 45 per cent of expected goals while playing with Pettersson. When Pettersson was without DeBrusk, his expected goals total jumped up to 57.1 per cent.

Because of that, playing Kane with Pettersson, while pairing DeBrusk with Chytil, might be worth a shot.

If Pettersson gets anywhere close to his old self, he is undoubtedly the best playmaking centre the Canucks have. And while Kane has a lot of flaws, he’s arguably one of the best finishers among Canucks forwards.

Of course, the potential addition of a centre would change the Canucks outlook. For now however, don’t be surprised if Kane gets a crack playing alongside Pettersson for the Canucks when the puck drops on the 2025-25 NHL season.

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