After an opening night commanding win over the Calgary Flames, the Vancouver Canucks haven’t looked like themselves in the NHL. Consecutive losses to the Edmonton Oilers and St. Louis Blues are starting to affect morale. However, head coach Adam Foote made sure to convey confidence with his comment about Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, and other stars.
The Canucks need to get back on track before the air begins to grow tense in Vancity. It’s very early in the 2025-26 NHL season, but it’s never too early for drama in Vancouver. Pettersson, Hughes, and Foote are well aware of that, and it’s up to them to right the ship.
With the team’s best forward and defenseman accounting for just one point each through three games, many wonder if the coaching staff will try to push them and inspire a reaction. However, Foote is taking a very different approach, giving them space instead.
“It’s early in the season, we’re in game three. We’re not going to get into that,” Foote answered during his post-game media availability. “The top guys know. I’m sure they’re thinking about their power play, it’s been three games and they want to get it going. We’re not going to over-analyze that at this moment.”
Concerning
For Canucks fans, the summer of 2025 in Vancouver felt endless. After an early ending to the 2024-25 NHL campaign, the team had lots of time to re-group before the new season. Much was talked about Pettersson and his physical changes, yet those have yet to translate onto the score sheet.
Three games into the NHL regular season, the Swede has yet to find the back of the net. It’s not something for Vancouver to panic over, but it is concerning to say the least. The organization hoped to get the 26-year-old’s best version, and that hasn’t been the case so far.
If anything, it’s trending to look awfully similar to his performance during the past year. Last season, it took six games for Pettersson to record his first goal. At some point, the Canucks will need a bigger goal-production from their best forward.
At a loss of answers
As for Hughes, his season hasn’t gotten off to any better of a start—at least in the offensive zone. So far, the star blueliner has recorded one assist. It’s his lowest production over the first three games of a season in his career. Hughes had never registered fewer than two points or produced below a 0.66 point-per-game pace in the opening three outings.
“They’re a good team, and they’re just making a lot of plays and we probably weren’t matching that. If I had the answer, I would have capitalized on that and had a goal and assist. But I don’t know,” Hughes said after the 5-2 loss to the Blues, via NHL.com.
Hughes’ lack of certainty in his statement hinted at his confusion about the current state of the Canucks. Something must change for Vancouver. It doesn’t come down to one area of the ice or any single player, though—it will take an effort from everyone in the lineup. Still, the Canucks stars staring down from those massive banners at Rogers Arena will have more to answer for.