The Canucks may not be done tinkering with their camp roster just yet.
According to Rick Dhaliwal on this week’s Canucks Conversation, Vancouver doesn’t sound inclined to hand out any more contracts to the remaining unrestricted free agents, but a PTO or two could still be in play. That would fit the usual late-summer pattern around here: fans spend weeks mapping out the lineup, then camp opens and a non-roster invitee suddenly gets a crack at somebody’s job.
It’s a familiar wrinkle for the Canucks, even if it usually doesn’t lead anywhere. Last year, they didn’t bring in any PTOs beyond the standard camp tryouts for players under contract with Abbotsford, plus an amateur tryout for Zack Sandhu.
Two years ago, Dylan Ferguson and Sammy Blais got the invite. Neither earned an NHL deal, but Blais did land with Abbotsford and rebuilt his career from there.
The last PTO to really pay off for Vancouver was Alex Chiasson, who arrived in 2021, signed, scored 13 goals, and bought himself an extra year in the league.
If the Canucks do add a PTO this time, the logic would have to be specific. With camp and only four preseason games to sort things out, there’s not much room for a passenger. A tryout player would need a real job to chase.
One obvious reason would be competition. Vancouver already has a few younger players who look pencilled into roles for 2026-27 without fully proving they own them yet.
Jonathan Lekkerimäki is in that category on the wing. So are Victor Mancini at 4RD and Kirill Kudryavtsev at 4LD.
Some would include Aatu Räty in that discussion, though not here; if he winds up as the third-line centre, then the battle for 4C opens up behind him anyway.
That’s where a PTO could make sense: bring in someone who can push those players in camp and force them to earn the spot rather than inherit it. The candidates floated for that kind of challenge are Adam Boqvist for Mancini, Ben Hutton or Jacob Moverare for Kudryavtsev, and Patrik Laine or Pavol Regenda for Lekkerimäki.
The blue line is another area where a tryout could matter. Right now, the Canucks’ top six looks pretty set with Filip Hronek, Zeev Buium, Tom Willander, Elias Pettersson, Jamie Oleksiak, and Luke Schenn.
Mancini and Kudryavtsev appear to be next in line as the seventh and eighth defenders, but both are waiver-exempt and could easily be sent to Abbotsford. Kudryavtsev, especially, may need more time at 22.
That leaves open the possibility of a veteran PTO defender stepping in for the eighth spot. Logan Stanley, Nick Blankenburg, and Matt Grzelcyk were mentioned as names who might still end up on real contracts later this summer, though the rest of the group sounds more squarely in PTO range.
Centre is another place where the Canucks could look for help. If Filip Chytil isn’t ready, or if he ends up on the wing for the season, then Elias Pettersson, Marco Rossi, and Räty would be the first three centres on the roster.
That still leaves an open fight for the remaining spot, with Braeden Cootes, Ilya Safonov, Ty Mueller, and maybe others in the mix. Vancouver can never really have too much depth down the middle, so an experienced tryout centre would at least make sense on paper.
There’s also the softer side of the equation. The Canucks have leaned into good vibes and a more positive culture lately, so a PTO could be about adding the right kind of person to camp as much as the right kind of player. And sometimes these invites are just about familiarity and a little PR, the way Brendan Morrison’s old camp return used to be.
Then there’s the preseason itself. Even with only four games, there’s still enough rough stuff to justify a little extra muscle in the room.
Vancouver already added Luke Schenn and Jamie Oleksiak for that kind of presence, but the club probably doesn’t want everyday lineup pieces taking needless hits or fights in exhibition games. There are still a few tough options out there who could be brought in on PTO duty if the Canucks want a little more protection in camp.
In Other News...
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What makes the situation more pressing is the clock. Each player will need to take another step soon to keep Vancouver interested enough to offer an entry-level deal, and none of the three has made the choice easy based on current performance. Gardner, Perkins and Celebrini all bring different backgrounds and skill sets, but the common thread is the same: the Canucks have to decide whether the upside is worth waiting on, or whether this is another prospect cycle that fades without ever reaching Abbotsford, let alone Vancouver. [Read more 🡒]
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For the Canucks, the appeal goes beyond minutes on the ice. Schenns previous run with the club included a strong defensive pairing and a noticeable offensive bounce in the 2022-23 season, but this return is more about guidance than production. Vancouver wants its younger defenders to keep growing, and Schenn gives them a seasoned presence in the room while the organization sorts out how the rest of the back end will settle in. [Read more 🡒]