The Canucks Big Job This Season Is to Find Character
Coming back from the Olympics is always a little rough in any NHL city. You ride a wave of emotion for two weeks, watch games that make your pulse race, and then suddenly you’re back in the grind of 25 regular-season matches that feel like they could stretch on forever. For the Vancouver Canucks, the scenery isn’t much prettier. They sit at the bottom of the standings, injured players are trickling back, and the trade deadline looms like a shadow over the next couple of months. But the narrative here isn’t just about losses or draft odds—it’s about character, culture, and making sure the rebuilding pieces actually fit.
As Blueger Noted, the Final Stretch Isn’t Without Meaning.
Veteran Teddy Blueger, fresh off a quarterfinal run with Team Latvia at the Olympics, put it plainly: this stretch isn’t meaningless. “We’ve got to find some character in our group,” he said. “Not just go through the motions because we're last in the league. Come in and compete.” That sentiment resonates throughout the locker room. Drew O’Connor echoed it, noting that building a winning culture starts with lifting each other up, keeping consistent energy, and focusing on process over standings. Marcus Pettersson added that emotional maturity—being able to keep the mood high on the bench and navigate tough losses—is exactly what this group needs to carry forward.
Canucks Management Faces a Few Key Decisions.
Off-ice, management faces its own decisions. Blueger, Evander Kane, and David Kämpf are all potential trade candidates before unrestricted free agency, while the team balances the development of first- and second-year players who’ve been thrown into NHL speed far sooner than expected. Injuries complicate the picture: Filip Chytil’s facial fracture keeps him out indefinitely, Brock Boeser is recovering from a viral illness post-concussion, and a few Olympians are just sliding back into practice routines.
Still, the Canucks are trying to frame the end of the season as an opportunity rather than a funeral march. Every game, every practice, every small leadership moment counts—because the lessons learned now, the habits instilled, could prevent this franchise from being in the same place a year from now.
The Canucks Final 25 Games Aren’t a Funeral Procession.
The takeaway? Vancouver’s final 25 games aren’t just a tally of wins and losses—they’re a litmus test for culture. Can the team stay accountable, support one another, and show glimpses of the character they want to be known for? If they do, even a 31st-place finish won’t feel like total wasted effort. These last weeks are about laying groundwork for something better, and making sure that when the rebuild finally takes shape, it’s built on more than just draft picks and stats—it’s built on players who know how to compete, together.