3 questions facing Vancouver Canucks

NHL.com is providing in-depth analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, three important questions facing the Vancouver Canucks.

1. Can Elias Pettersson find his old form?

It has been 2 1/2 seasons since Pettersson scored at the rate of a top-10 center, so expecting a return to that form may be a big ask. But the Canucks are hoping for more than the 15 goals and 48 points he averaged the past two seasons and believe a better environment will help.

The 27-year-old had fewer goals (30) and points (96) the past two seasons combined than in 2022-23, when he set NHL career highs in goals (39), assists (63) and points (102). He was on a similar pace through the end of January 2024, with 64 points (27 goals, 37 assists) in 49 games, but he finished 2023-24 with 89 points (34 goals, 55 assists) in 82 games, struggled during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs with six points (one goal, five assists) in 13 games and never has looked the same.

In the two seasons since, Pettersson endured injuries and a rift with top center J.T. Miller that played a role in Miller being traded, and was called out by former coaches and members of management for poor preparation and training habits. New general manager Ryan Johnson, however, isn't interested in piling on.

Instead, he feels he has a responsibility to create an environment in which the soft-spoken Pettersson can rediscover his best game without feeling pressure to be something he isn't.

"What I'm stressing with (Pettersson) is I want to give him an environment that supports him, that allows him to be himself and not feel that he's got to be anything other than himself," Johnson said of their offseason conversations. "I want to help him just in creating a space where I know he wakes up excited to come into the arena every day."

2. How many games will Thatcher Demko play?

Demko played 20 games last season after playing 23 in 2024-25, but the Canucks' would-be No. 1 goalie seems optimistic January hip surgery might be key to ending the injury cycle.

"The last two years, I was playing with zero degrees of internal rotation in my hip," Demko said after last season. "So everything above and below is going to take the hit. It's the back, it's the knees, the groin, everything is trying to do too much work."

Demko called surgery a "last resort" and "drastic measure," but said then he'd already seen "incredible strides" in his mobility. On June 24 he posted on Instagram that he was back on the ice for the first time since surgery, but Johnson has been careful not to place any specific timelines on Demko's return, so there remains uncertainty about whether the 30-year-old will be ready for training camp.

"I've stayed with the messaging we do not have him on a timeline, never have," Johnson said. "He had a great summer physically, mentally, and he's in a very good spot progressing."

Demko was a finalist in 2023-24 for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the League's best goalie, but knee injuries led to him missing time near the end of that season, and he never returned to the lineup after playing Game 1 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Getting Demko back to that form could expedite the rebuild, but the injury risk might require contingency plans. Kevin Lankinen is the backup and has proven capable in a bigger role, but No. 3 goalie Nikita Tolopilo would need to clear waivers if the Canucks opted to send him to the American Hockey League. So would carrying three goalies be an option?

"Is it something we consider as we move through camp? Absolutely," Johnson said. "Is it something I'm pining to do? I don't like it for the goalies and I think it's challenging on the coaches."

3. Will Zeev Buium (or another young defenseman) take a step?

Vancouver regularly played with three defensemen under the age of 23 last season, a list highlighted by 20-year-old Buium after he was acquired from the Minnesota Wild as part of the trade for Quinn Hughes on Dec. 12. Tom Willander, a 21-year-old in his first professional season in North America, and Elias Nils Pettersson, 22, each played 70 games, while Victor Mancini, who turned 24 on May 26, got into 24 NHL games. Buium, who had 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) in 76 games between the Wild and Canucks, has the highest upside offensively.

"He's a skilled guy," said defenseman Filip Hronek, 28. "He can skate well, move the puck. He sees the ice well, so it's a lot of fun and I think he has a bright future ahead of him."

Vancouver signed veterans Jamie Oleksiak (two years, $10 million) and Luke Schenn (one year, $2.25 million) as free agents and traded defenseman Marcus Pettersson to the New York Rangers, all on July 1. Oleksiak, Schenn and Hronek will be counted on to mentor and insulate the younger defensemen, but the key will be not limiting their opportunities, which may prove tricky on the power play.

The Canucks power play was second in the NHL after the 2026 Winter Olympics with a 32.8 percent success rate over the final 25 games, and Hronek was a big part of it, averaging 2:27 on the top unit, while Buium played 1:06 and Willander averaged 55 seconds. For Buium to truly break out, he might need more opportunities on that top unit.