The Vancouver Canucks kept busy on Wednesday, adding four players on one-year deals and mixing established NHL mileage with a pair of depth bets.
Luke Schenn and Paul Cotter headline the group. Schenn, a veteran defenseman, signed for $2.25 million for the 2026-27 season, while Cotter’s one-year contract is worth $2.15 million for the same period. Both deals are one-way contracts.
The other two additions are forward Akil Thomas and blueliner Trey Fix-Wolansky. Thomas agreed to a two-way, two-year contract that pays $900,000 at the NHL level and $375,000 in the minors. Fix-Wolansky’s deal carries the same $900,000 NHL salary and $525,000 in the AHL.
Schenn, 36, is back in Vancouver for a third stint. He previously played for the Canucks in 2018-19 and again from 2021 to 2023.
His career has taken him through Winnipeg, Nashville, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Anaheim, Buffalo, Arizona, Los Angeles and Philadelphia as well, and he arrives with 1,122 NHL regular-season games on his resume. Across that stretch, he has 45 goals, 167 assists and 212 points, along with Stanley Cup rings from 2020 and 2021 with the Lightning.
He split last season between the Jets and Sabres, appearing in 50 games and recording one goal and seven points.
Cotter also brings championship experience, having been part of the Vegas Golden Knights’ 2023 Stanley Cup run. In 296 career games with Vegas and the New Jersey Devils, he has 47 goals and 82 points. Last season, he scored nine goals and totaled 15 points in 79 regular-season games.
Thomas spent 2024-25 with the LA Kings and their minor-league affiliate, seeing action in 25 NHL regular-season games while also posting nine goals and 16 points in 39 AHL games with the Ontario Reign and Springfield Thunderbirds.
Fix-Wolansky, 27, has mostly worked in the AHL, but he has also appeared in 26 NHL games, collecting four goals and two assists.
The Canucks are being positioned for a long-term reset under new general manager Ryan Johson and co-presidents Henrik and Daniel Sedin, and the expectation is that Schenn, Cotter and Fix-Wolansky won’t be major pieces beyond the 2026-27 season. Thomas, though, could still emerge as part of the answer.
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