The Vancouver Canucks have been in the same cycle of trying to make the playoffs every two years since the Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel, retired. This cycle does not pay off in the long run. The team and ownership need to embrace a full scale rebuild rather than these quick fixes.
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That’s what the Canucks are doing right now with this thing called a ‘hybrid retool’ as General Patrik Allvin called it during an interview on Monday Night Hockey on Prime. But as Rick Dhaliwal of the Donnie and the Dahli Show said before the Holiday break, this is a great term to try to turn this around as quickly as possible.
“This hybrid is a good name. A good name for what it really is. We will try to change this as soon as possible,” said Dhaliwal. “Donnie. Forget rebuilding. They have to come out and be honest. We’re trying to turn this around as fast as possible. That’s what the hybrid says. That’s all it says.”
And here’s the problem with the Canucks. While Vancouver has President of Hockey Operations in Jim Rutherford and General Manager in Patrik Allvin, everyone knows that Rutherford runs the show. Rutherford is getting older and will try to fix this mess in a year and a half. It’s the same strategy that Jim Benning followed for years, “I’ll try to fix it in two years,” as Dhaliwal says.
The Canucks need to embrace a rebuild. And you’ve heard Rutherford say he’s rebuilding in discussions following the trade of Quinn Hughes from Vancouver to the Minnesota Wild for Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, and a 2026 first-round pick.
We also heard earlier in the season that the Canucks are open for business, and that they have gone beyond unrestricted free agents. Kiefer Sherwood, Derek Forbort, Evander Kane, Teddy Blueger, and David Kampf are mentioned. Others, such as Jake DeBrusk, Tyler Myers, Elias Pettersson, Filip Hronek, Brock Boeser, and others, will be difficult to move because of their trade protection.
And let’s be honest, the guys who just signed extensions aren’t going anywhere. But Rutherford has to decide who will be part of this move forward and who will be the general manager of the club if not Allvin. But the Canucks need to embrace a rebuild, as do many other teams.
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While rebuilding may take longer than others when a team tears down to start over, it’s better to pursue continued success than ride a rocky roller coaster. Just look at what happened in Montreal with the Canadiens. In one of hockey’s toughest markets to accept a rebuild, fans have embraced the plan proposed by Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton and General Manager Kent Hughes.
It took a couple of losing years, but now look where the Canadiens are. Similar to the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, and possibly the Buffalo Sabres. But what scares these owners is that the Buffalo Sabers will miss the playoffs for 14 years. If they are done right, the team misses three or four years, not 14 years.
The challenge is to overcome the belief that fans will not accept a rebuild. Fans would rather have a top five pick in the 2026 NHL Draft than sit in the murky middle. While playoff money is important, the Canucks are nowhere near being a playoff team. Although 18 months removed from Game 7 in Round 2 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers, this team is nowhere near what that team was.
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There hasn’t been a plan or a goal for the Canucks in Vancouver for years. They traded away good players like Bo Horvat, Roberto Luongo, Cory Schneider, JT Miller, and now Quinn Hughes in hopes of quickly turning this around and getting back to the playoffs. But the only way to build lasting success is to write up and improve.
There are still too many holes on this roster for management to consider this team a playoff team. Not to mention the constant distractions the Canucks create for themselves every year, trying to turn around roster after season of mistakes.
The Vancouver Canucks will remain in this state of limbo until they embrace a rebuild and present a system to the players and fans.
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