4 outside-the-box ideas for Canucks to consider next season
The Vancouver Canucks have never been under less pressure to win.
Fans in this market know that winning too much is detrimental to the Canucks rebuild. While there’s a desire to see the team compete harder than last season, no one expects the Canucks to be good.
With the pressure off, Manny Malhotra and his coaching staff are in a perfect position to experiment with the roster.
Whatever Malhotra decides to do, there should be two primary goals in mind: developing young players on the roster while trying to enhance the trade value of the remaining Canucks veterans.
With that in mind, here are some outside-the-box ideas for the Canucks to consider this season.
Change Pettersson’s usage drastically
If there was one bright spot with Elias Pettersson’s game last season, it’s that he held his own defensively.
However, the Canucks further depressed his offensive flair by giving him all of the tough minutes.
Among NHLers last season, Pettersson was in the 93rd percentile in terms of going up against the league’s top forwards. He had to endure that while having Evander Kane as one of his primary wingers. It doesn’t take a genius to tell you that’s not a recipe for success.
Heading into this season, the easy thing to do is have Pettersson play all of the tough matchups, especially with a lack of options at centre.
But that’s not what the Canucks should do.
Vancouver should be on a mission to help Pettersson regain his offensive swagger, and hopefully trade him to accelerate the rebuild.
It would be impossible to get Pettersson away from all the tough matchups. But, heavily increasing his offensive zone usage is the best way to try and resuscitate his value.
The Canucks would be wise to put him on a line with Jake DeBrusk and Linus Karlsson. DeBrusk is poised to rebound in terms of his five-on-five shooting percentage, and that line controlled more than 60 per cent of expected goals at five-on-five last season.
No top power-play unit
This goes against the grain compared to most NHL teams.
But for the Canucks, having two units compete head-to-head has logic.
One of Vancouver’s dilemmas is that Filip Hronek was quietly solid on the power play last season. The Canucks need to balance that with getting Zeev Buium ample power-play time.
Hronek and Marco Rossi were the catalysts for the Canucks power play success down the stretch. If you’re looking to optimize both units, splitting them up makes sense.
Here’s how the Canucks could get more opportunities for players by having two power play units split time next season.
1A Unit
DeBrusk
Boeser – Cotter – Pettersson
Hronek
1B Unit
Karlsson
Rossi – Ohgren- Lekkerimaki/Mancini
Buium
DeBrusk and Karlsson are both solid choices at net-front. Cotter has an underrated shot and could work well in the bumper on one of the units. Letting the Minnesota boys in Ohgren, Rossi, and Buium work some chemistry also has logic.
If Lekkerimaki is in the NHL, he needs power -play time. If he goes back to the AHL, Victor Mancini is an intriguing option with his underrated offensive flair.
Regardless, the Canucks shouldn’t go into the season sticking with one main unit.
Pair Willander with a young D
The Canucks should see if Willander can find chemistry with a fellow young defenceman. (@Canucks/X)
There’s a consensus that Jamie Oleksiak will slide into the Marcus Pettersson role alongside Tom Willander.
The Canucks should consider other options, though.
For starters, Oleksiak has previously said he’s more comfortable on the right side, even though he’s a left shot.
But more importantly, Willander, Buium, and defenceman Elias Pettersson showed some off-ice chemistry last season. Theoretically, all three players should be Canucks for the foreseeable future.
In a season where losses don’t matter, it’s worth exploring if either D-Petey or Zeev Buium could be a long-term fit alongside Willander.
Project Cable Box 2.0
Shout out to Jason Botchford’s old strategy here.
When Botchford touted Project Cable Box during the 2017-18 season, the idea was giving Anders Nilsson easy starts against bad offences to boost his trade value, while letting Jacob Markstrom take all the tough matchups.
It’s a strategy that the Canucks would be wise to employ in 2026-27.
It sounds like Thatcher Demko may not be ready to start the season. Even if he is, there’s little chance that he or Kevin Lankinen gets dealt this season.
Can the Canucks turn Nikita Tolopilo into a trade chip? (Bob Frid/Imagn Images)
The Canucks should be strategic about giving Nikita Tolopilo the soft matchups. If he succeeds in that role, getting a return similar to the Arturs Silovs trade (AHL depth player and a fourth-round pick) should be feasible. Last offseason, the Florida Panthers acquired Daniil Tarasov for a fifth-round pick, after posting worse numbers than what Tolopilo accomplished last season.
If Tolopilo ends up outplaying Lankinen while Demko is still on the shelf, perhaps the return is even a smidge higher than a mid-round pick.
Regardless, getting an asset in return for a player signed as a European free agent would be a win for the Canucks. It’s something they should strategically chase this season.