The Vancouver Canucks are looking to return to relevancy after a hugely disappointing 2024-25 campaign. The squad followed up a trip to Game 7 of the Western Conference second round by missing the postseason entirely, finishing fifth in the Pacific Division after a tumultuous year.
One key place the team has been looking to upgrade is down the middle after the midseason trade of JT Miller to the New York Rangers. And although general manager Patrik Allvin hasn't had any success doing so just yet, he acknowledged that the front office continues to keep an eye on the market.
“We continue to talk to teams but there hasn’t been a whole lot available here leading up to this point,” Allvin told Sportsnet's Iain MacIntyre from NHL meetings in Detroit last week. “Obviously, it comes down to the cost of acquisition and, you know, where the fit is for (head coach) Adam Foote and his style of how we want to play. That’s definitely something we continue to look at.”
The 50-year-old added: “The more depth you can have at center, probably the stronger you are as a team. It’s an area where we’ve identified that if we’re going to make a trade, our preference to strengthen our lineup is a center iceman. But [Aatu] Raty is, what, 22 years old. Ty Mueller was a horse in Abbotsford at the end, and we have Max Sasson.”
The Canucks certainly have a plethora of talented young pivots, but none seem to be ready to fill the 2C role behind Elias Pettersson just yet. It's assumed that Filip Chytil — who came over from the Big Apple in the JT Miller trade — will begin the 2025-26 season in that role.
Chytil confirmed that he was fully healthy earlier this summer, which is great news for Canucks fans. The 26-year-old has a long history of concussions, suffering another one in March after being hit from behind by Chicago Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson. That cost him the final two months of the regular season.
Center market was extremely thin in NHL free agency
As Allvin told MacIntyre, there weren't many effective centers available this offseason after several free agents ended up re-signing with their current teams. One of the exceptions was Pius Suter, who had a strong campaign with the Canucks in 2024-25 but left to join the St. Louis Blues in July.
It's objectively an extremely important season in British Columbia — especially as superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes is two years away from unrestricted free agency — and Allvin admitted there is pressure on the team to perform.
“I’m not sure if urgency is the right word. But there is pressure. I just feel for my players, too, that I want to provide them — and especially the players who have been here for several years — I want to provide the best roster I can for the players to have a chance to win. And for the fans,” the GM said.
There are multiple intriguing storylines to follow for the team this year, including Pettersson's potential return to form after an abysmal 2024-25, as well as Chytil's ability to stay healthy and effectively fill the 2C role.
It'll be interesting to see if Vancouver's roster can do enough to get back into the dance next spring — and what moves Allvin will make to help them get there.
