5 Bold Vancouver Canucks Predictions for 2026-27 – The Hockey Writers – Vancouver Canucks

For the first time in a while, the Vancouver Canucks are entering a season without expectations of making the playoffs. In fact, almost everyone expects them to finish near the bottom of the league again and be in the running for Landon Dupont in the 2027 Draft. They are firmly in a rebuild now, and it will likely be another long and painful season for Canucks Nation to watch. However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be surprises and positive things along the way. Here are some bold predictions for 2026-27.

Jonathan Lekkerimaki Establishes Himself in the Top 6 & Scores 25 Goals

After having his season cut short in February, Jonathan Lekkerimaki will hopefully hit the ground running when he gets to training camp and the preseason this year. He’s still a major part of the Canucks’ future and will get a massive opportunity to establish himself in the top six and first-unit power play. He’s already shown he can score in the American Hockey League (AHL), and this season will be the one he proves he can do it in the NHL.

Markus Naslund, who also possessed a lethal shot, broke out in the NHL at 22, the same age Lekkerimaki is now. Naslund was traded to the Canucks from the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-96 and finished with 22 goals after campaigns of just four and two goals, respectively, before that. Lekkerimaki has had similar stats in his NHL career so far, with two goals last season and three goals in 2024-25. Naslund didn’t have to deal with major shoulder surgery, though, so it will be interesting to see how quickly Lekkerimaki bounces back and whether his shot is positively or negatively affected by it.

Since this is a bold prediction, the surgery will positively affect Lekkerimaki’s shot, and he will be among the team leaders in goals with 25. He will also be the primary trigger man on the man advantage, hitting double-digits in power-play goals.

Braeden Cootes Finishes Game 84 as the Top-Line Centre

Turning to another emerging youngster, Braeden Cootes, this won’t be his first rodeo when it comes to NHL games. Surprisingly, he made the Canucks’ opening-night roster last season and played three uneventful games, with zeroes across the board except for a minus-2 blemish in the plus/minus column. This season will be totally different, however, as he’s coming off another standout campaign in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and now knows what to expect in the NHL. Also, unlike 2025-26, he can be sent to Abbotsford to hone his craft rather than the WHL, where he has nothing left to learn.

Cootes has the makings of a Bo Horvat/Nick Suzuki-type centre, someone who doesn’t hit the highlight reels often but plays elite two-way hockey. While I am not going to predict he hits the heights of those two this season, he will finish Game 84 against the Calgary Flames as the Canucks’ top-line centre. I will go one further and say he also scores 20 goals. He will spend a little time in the AHL at the beginning of the season, but after a couple of months of dominance, he will transition full-time to the NHL and slowly move to the top of the lineup.

Last year, at around this time, I predicted that Elias Pettersson would return to his 100-point form in 2025-26. That obviously didn’t happen, not by a long shot. And no, I am not repeating my mistake this year. Unfortunately, I think those days are behind him, and I will eventually include that 102-point season in my Canucks One-Hit Wonders series.

Having said that, Pettersson is still an elite top-six forward capable of scoring 25 goals and hitting 70-75 points. He just needs the right linemates, and possibly a position change. When he last looked like himself, he was playing as a winger on the briefly iconic Lotto Line with J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser. This won’t happen right away, but head coach Manny Malhotra will eventually align Pettersson with Cootes and Lekkerimaki on a new-look top line with Cootes centring the two Swedes.

In time, the trio will build chemistry together, and Pettersson will look more like the forward that wowed everyone earlier in his career. He won’t abandon his centre duties altogether, taking faceoffs when needed, but he will spend most of the season as a winger with Cootes feeding him. As a result, he won’t get traded and start erasing the doubts everyone has had about him for three seasons now.

Thatcher Demko Stays Healthy, Returns to Vezina Trophy Finalist Form

Thatcher Demko staying healthy is a bold prediction in and of itself. He hasn’t been a regular starting goaltender since 2023-24, and even then, he was injured at the end of the season. The last time he played without missing time due to injury was 2021-22, when he started a career-high 64 games.

For Demko’s sake, I hope at least half this prediction comes true. Even if he doesn’t return to Vezina Trophy finalist form, but finishes Game 84 not worried about his body, I think he will consider that a successful season.

Canucks Don’t Finish 32nd in the Standings

As I said off the top, most people are expecting the Canucks to be a basement dweller again this season. While I am not bold enough to say they will surprise everyone and finish close to a playoff spot – or even make the playoffs – they won’t be as bad to finish 32nd, with double digits separating them from 31st.

For one, the locker room drama that has plagued this team for two seasons won’t be there. Co-presidents Daniel and Henrik Sedin, general manager Ryan Johnson and the coaching staff led by Malhotra will see to that. Youthful energy and the addition of veteran character like Brendan Gallagher, Jamie Oleksiak and Luke Schenn, who demand a strong work ethic and coming to play every night, will also make a difference in winning and losing.

The Canucks will still finish within lottery distance, but I think fans will be pleasantly surprised by how many times they won’t be yelling at the TV or slumping in their chairs at Rogers Arena this season. Canucks Nation will rediscover their passion for this team and be proud of their effort every night.

2026-27 Season Coming Up Fast

August is still trudging along, but before we know it, Canucks hockey will be back. The Prospects Showcase between the Canucks and Seattle Kraken goes Sept. 12-13 at Rogers Forum, and then training camp begins Sept. 17 in Penticton. Not long after that, the new truncated preseason begins Sept. 19 against the Kraken again, and finally opening night in Edmonton on Sept. 29.

We might not be in for a season full of Ws, but hockey is still hockey, and you never know what will happen. That’s the beauty of it. And it all starts in a little over a month.