The Canucks did not bottom out, they imploded. The J.T. Miller trade to the Rangers fractured the room, and captain Quinn Hughes was eventually dealt to Minnesota, a franchise-altering move that at least brought back young building blocks in center Marco Rossi and defenseman Zeev Buium. Elias Pettersson, a 100-point star not long ago, has cratered to 45 and then 51 points in back-to-back seasons, Thatcher Demko could not stay healthy in front of a bottom-three defensive group, and an ownership group that has overseen one of the most dysfunctional decades in the league has yet to show a plan. Vancouver finished with the worst record in the Western Conference, and even the lottery went the wrong way, with Gavin McKenna landing in Toronto rather than on the coast. There was one feel-good note: the Canucks drafted Caleb Malhotra third overall, the son of head coach Manny Malhotra, and Jamie Oleksiak added size on the back end. The young pieces to build around are here in Rossi and Buium, but with Pettersson's freefall and no franchise defenseman to anchor the back end, 2026-27 still looks rough, a rebuild only just finding its feet.
The Vancouver Canucks have $17.81M in salary cap space for the 2026-27 season, with $86.19M committed against the $104.0M cap (83% utilization).
Elias Pettersson is the Vancouver Canucks' highest-paid player with a $11.6M cap hit, signed through 2032.
The Vancouver Canucks have 23 players signed toward the 23-man active roster (roster full).
The Vancouver Canucks' top cap hits for 2026-27 are Elias Pettersson ($11.6M), Thatcher Demko ($8.5M), Brock Boeser ($7.25M).
Regular-season points, last five seasons.
Closest historical team-seasons by points pace, goals for, and goals against (era-normalized z-score, since 1967–68). Click any card to open a side-by-side compare.
5 selections in rounds 1-3. Prospect pages; NHL roster spots come as they sign.
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