The Hockey News’ NHL summer splash rankings enter the homestretch with the Vancouver Canucks in seventh place.
In this series, we’re examining every team’s additions, departures, hirings and firings to see who improved, stayed the same or got worse. We’re well in the group of teams that showed signs of improvement.
The Canucks had a disastrous season, falling from the top spot in the Pacific Division in 2023-24 to fifth in the division in 2025-26, out of a Stanley Cup playoff position.
We noted at the beginning of the series that there are some exceptions in the rankings for teams that did significantly more or less than expected to either keep their core together or try to get upgrades. Teams such as the Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings were near the bottom for not doing enough to suggest a significant step forward is coming this season, when it was pretty important for them to do so.
Vancouver earns some bonus points because they could have gotten much worse this summer and face more uncertainty in the season ahead had they not taken the actions they did this off-season.
Additions
Evander Kane (LW), Vitali Kravtsov (RW), Pierre-Olivier Joseph (D), Chase Stillman (RW), Adam Foote (promoted to coach from assistant coach)
The Breakdown: The Canucks are this high on the NHL summer splash rankings not solely because of their additions – it’s also because Vancouver GM Patrik Allvin brought back UFA right winger Brock Boeser on a contract extension with an average annual value of $7.25 million.
Star goaltender Thatcher Demko also signed a contract extension with an average annual value of $8.5 million, avoiding free agency in 2026. With Demko and backup Kevin Lankinen both under contract for the foreseeable future, the Canucks have one of the NHL’s best goalie tandems for a long time to come when they’re healthy and in form.
Allvin also delivered a contract extension for right winger Conor Garland. Although Garland’s new deal also doesn’t kick in until the 2026-27 season, with a rising salary cap ceiling, Garland’s pay raise to $6 million per year would’ve been matched by many teams. So, effectively re-signing Boeser and Garland to long-term deals is a significant victory for Vancouver management.
Meanwhile, the big-name addition for the Canucks is left winger Evander Kane, who is coming off a four-year stint with the Edmonton Oilers. Adding Kane’s edge and scoring touch should be an improvement on departing veteran winger Dakota Joshua, but Kane playing for his hometown Canucks will give him a honeymoon stage he needs to make the most of. After missing all of the last regular season and putting up 12 points in 21 playoff games, Kane would benefit from a bounce-back campaign to prove he’s still worth big bucks in the NHL.
Vitali Kravtsov returns to the Canucks after two seasons in the KHL, where his scoring surged. He had 58 points in 66 games last season with Chelyabinsk, up from 34 the year before. Those are boosts from the two points in 16 NHL games Kravtsov had after the New York Rangers traded him to Vancouver in 2023. He can be a bargain depth scorer in Vancouver if all works out.
The Canucks also promoted Adam Foote to coach after Rick Tocchet left. This will be Foote’s first time being the top bench boss of an NHL team, but Garland said he’s really excited about Foote’s promotion. Foote will try to make sure no dressing room or chemistry issues arise, like the Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller rift did last season, and distract the players and staff from focusing on winning together.
With the re-signings, additions and promotion, the Canucks improved up front and in overall vibes. So long as the injury bug and drama don’t take as big a bite out of them as it did last season, this Vancouver team should be a consistent winner. That’s more than you can say about last season’s Canucks.
Departures
Pius Suter (C), Dakota Joshua (LW), Arturs Silovs (G), Erik Brannstrom (D), Phillip Di Giuseppe (LW), Noah Juulsen (D), Rick Tocchet (coach)
The Breakdown: Vancouver’s cap crunch meant that not every Canucks player from last season’s team would return. This is why veteran center Pius Suter left for the St. Louis Blues via free agency. This is also why Allvin traded rugged winger Dakota Joshua to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In addition, with his goaltending picture now settled, Allvin traded up-and-coming netminder Arturs Silovs to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Silovs had a terrific AHL season, but Vancouver’s depth between the pipes meant there was no future for him as a Canuck.
Otherwise, Vancouver allowed some fringe players to leave. And with due respect to the departees, the Canucks’ additions make up for what they’ve lost.
The Bottom Line
The Canucks are a team that’s built to win now, and that fact has informed Allvin’s work this off-season. There was no stepping back, no focus on retooling on the fly, no trades that hurt Vancouver’s odds of a bounce-back year. And for the purpose of these summer splash rankings, the Canucks have clearly had a better off-season than most teams.
Just about everything that could’ve gone wrong for Vancouver did go wrong last year – injuries, infighting and underachieving key players. But Allvin’s actions this summer have set the Canucks up to be a strong team in the relatively weak Pacific, and Vancouver fans should be elated with the moves the Canucks have made.
While Vancouver might not challenge for top spot in the Pacific, there’s no good reason why the Canucks can’t challenge for second place in the division. If they can do that and secure home-ice advantage in next year’s post-season, all of Vancouver’s off-season work will have been worth it.
Allvin has doubled down on his core talent, and with some tweaks here and there, the Canucks are going to be a handful for any opponent. And from our perspective, only six teams in the league have had a better off-season than Vancouver.
NHL Prospect Pool Overview ’25-26: Vancouver Canucks’ Pipeline Is PerplexingThe Vancouver Canucks are today’s focus in the NHL prospect pool overview series.
Summer Splash Rankings
8. San Jose Sharks
9. Utah Mammoth
10. New York Rangers
11. Detroit Red Wings
12. New Jersey Devils
13. St. Louis Blues
14. Pittsburgh Penguins
15. Colorado Avalanche
16. Ottawa Senators
17. Boston Bruins
18. Edmonton Oilers
19. Minnesota Wild
20. Seattle Kraken
21. Columbus Blue Jackets
22. Washington Capitals
23. Nashville Predators
24. New York Islanders
25. Tampa Bay Lightning
26. Toronto Maple Leafs
27. Dallas Stars
28. Calgary Flames
29. Los Angeles Kings
30. Winnipeg Jets
31. Chicago Blackhawks
32. Buffalo Sabres
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