Canucks season preview: Malhotra eyes a better culture with additions Gallagher, Schenn and Oleksiak

The Story

The Vancouver Canucks open the 2026-27 NHL regular season on Sept. 29 following a 2025-26 campaign that ended with a 25-49-8 record and last-place results on both goals against and the penalty kill. Entering his first season behind the bench, coach Manny Malhotra faces a central challenge: building a winning culture during a year in which victories could remain hard to come by early, even as the team focuses on tangible improvements that affect every game.

A key theme in the team’s preparations is defensive detail and discipline. The Canucks finished last in goals allowed (314) and also ranked 30th with a 71.5% penalty kill in 2025-26, placing extra weight on preventing shots and limiting opponents when Vancouver is short-handed. The coaching approach is expected to connect those defensive goals to day-to-day habits, with an emphasis on narrowing the gap between “losing” and “playing losing hockey,” language Malhotra has used to describe the mindset the club is trying to establish.

Vancouver’s offseason also included free-agent additions aimed at strengthening the blueline. Defensemen Luke Schenn and Jamie Oleksiak are among the new faces, with Oleksiak projected to bring experience and physicality alongside more defensive structure. Oleksiak also has been described as having started on a top-pair role with Filip Hronek during the pre-season look referenced in the preview material, an arrangement that underscores the organization’s intent to upgrade both the foundation and the matchups.

Offensively, the Canucks added forward depth and physical presence through Brendan Gallagher and Paul Cotter. Gallagher was acquired in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on June 29, arriving after a season in which he played three of 19 games for Montreal during the run to the Eastern Conference Final. For Vancouver, Gallagher’s value is framed not only in his experience, but also in the type of work ethic and leadership he is expected to provide, while the team seeks secondary support around its established scoring core.

At the same time, the preview points to an ongoing need for improvement in Vancouver’s scoring. The Canucks finished 30th in goals scored (210) last season, which means progress will rely on both incumbents and newer additions finding more production. Much of the responsibility is expected to land on players such as Elias Pettersson, Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser, with the organization viewing a better environment as one pathway to a rebound.

Goal safety and availability are another practical hinge for the Canucks’ season. Thatcher Demko, who finished second in Vezina Trophy voting as the league’s best goalie in 2023-24, missed the end of that season and nearly all of the playoffs due to knee injuries, and he has played 43 games in the two seasons since. The preview notes he is working back from January hip surgery and had not yet practiced with the team during training camp at the time of the season outlook, though he has been skating with the goaltending coach, Marko Torenius, and expressed optimism after last season. It also describes the most recent surgery as potentially helping resolve lower-body injuries that have lingered.

For Pettersson, the team’s path back to contention-like hockey is closely tied to performance at even strength and at critical moments. He set career highs in 2022-23 with 39 goals, 63 assists and 102 points, but his combined totals in the past two seasons have been lower, with 30 goals and 96 points over that span. While the preview stresses his defensive play has remained strong, Vancouver needs evidence of scoring touch returning to match the pace and threats he showed earlier in his career.

Among the more intriguing lineup questions is how the Canucks will deploy their forward group once training camp work translates into regular-season minutes. Gallagher is expected to factor into the lineup as he looks to play his way up the card, and the preview highlights the type of scoring around the net that helped him find success over a 14-season Canadiens career. Linus Karlsson, meanwhile, is described as a possible “surprise” only in name: he led the Canucks in even-strength points (31) last season, with 13 of his 15 goals at even strength, even though he previously did much of that work from limited minutes on the third and fourth lines.

So far in training camp, Karlsson’s role appears to have shifted. The preview states that he had been part of the top line with Pettersson and DeBrusk, a combination that could increase his offensive opportunities at even strength and may help Vancouver create more structured chances rather than relying on isolated scoring spurts.

The team is also expected to give Jonathan Lekkerimaki a meaningful chance to translate his scoring from the American Hockey League to the NHL. He has produced 33 goals in 63 AHL games, and the outlook emphasizes the club’s eagerness to test whether his “elite shot” can carry over. Lekkerimaki was selected 15th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft and began training camp on a line with Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, with the preview further noting that shoulder surgery in February delayed offseason workouts.

In the NHL transition, the preview points to the next layer of development beyond shooting. Lekkerimaki is listed at 5-foot-11 and 172 pounds, and while the organization is confident in his offensive ability in open ice, it says he still needs to demonstrate success in puck battles and in getting to scoring areas around the net against NHL-calibre pressure.

Defenseman Zeev Buium is another name highlighted for his potential impact. The preview describes Buium as a fantasy sleeper, citing his rookie season output for the Canucks and Minnesota Wild: 26 points (six goals, 20 assists), including 13 power-play points, across 76 games, along with 73 shots on goal. Acquired from Minnesota as part of the Quinn Hughes trade last season, he is characterized as having the highest offensive upside among young defensemen on Vancouver’s roster.

Buium’s role is expected to include power-play responsibility, with the preview noting Vancouver’s man advantage ranked second in the NHL after the league resumed play following the 2026 Winter Olympics. During that span, the team’s power play was supported by defensemen including Hronek, Buium and Tom Willander, with Hronek playing the most power-play ice time per game in the group and Buium also logging significant contributions. The outlook also includes performance indicators for Buium, including high-danger goal involvement and speed and zone-time metrics.

Looking ahead to the starting lineup considerations described in the preview, Vancouver’s projected forward and defense pairings include Elias Pettersson with Linus Karlsson, and a defensive group featuring Oleksiak with Hronek and Buium paired with Schenn. The preview also lists Thatcher Demko as injured due to a hip issue, a reminder that goaltending readiness could be among the most important early storylines for a club seeking to improve both its defensive results and its overall competitiveness.