The Canucks may be heading into the season without a captain, and the clock is already ticking.
Vancouver has been without a player wearing the C for more than nine months, dating back to the trade of Quinn Hughes. A captain could still be named before opening night, but the organization doesn’t sound eager to rush into it.
New coach Manny Malhotra made that clear Wednesday at Rogers Arena.
“We’re in no rush to hand out letters just for the sake of putting a letter on somebody,” Malhotra told reporters. “We’ve talked about it earlier in the summer that the leaders of this group will emerge when the time is right.
That’s going to play out over the next few weeks to see who takes hold of that type of role, and we see who the guys want to follow. But we’re not in any rush to put A’s and C’s on guys.
When it happens, it happens.”
That leaves the Canucks with a decision that feels more open than it did under the previous regime. Filip Hronek had seemed like the most obvious candidate before the change in management, but the new group doesn’t appear locked in on that path.
None of that is a knock on Hronek. He was Vancouver’s best player last season, and he’s still a natural fit to be part of the leadership core. The question is whether that rises to the level of a captaincy right now.
The Canucks also don’t have much time to sort it out. They have only two practice days before their first preseason game Saturday in Seattle, and then just four preseason games before the regular season opens Sept. 29.
The alternate captain picture is just as interesting. Hronek, Elias Pettersson, and Brock Boeser all wore As last season, and it’s not clear whether that setup will stay the same.
Pettersson is the biggest swing decision of the group. He has never seemed fully comfortable in a leadership role, but taking the A away would come with its own message.
The team has also added veterans Brendan Gallagher and Luke Schenn, both of whom were brought in with leadership in mind. Whether either one gets formalized with a letter is another call Malhotra and the Canucks will have to make.
If Vancouver decides to go without a captain altogether, that would hardly be new territory. After the Sedins retired, the Canucks used four alternate captains in 2018-19: Bo Horvat, Alex Edler, Chris Tanev, and Brandon Sutter.
They took a similar approach after Stan Smyl retired, with Trevor Linden, Doug Lidster, and Dan Quinn rotating the C in 1990-91.
In both cases, the team was waiting for a young player to grow into the role, and it eventually paid off. Linden was named captain at 21, and Horvat got the job at 24.
For now, the Canucks are leaving the door open. And while 20-year-old Zeev Buium is probably not the answer, the idea isn’t completely off the board.
In Other News...
Canucks Fans Have Another Reason To Be Excited About Their Next Core
Caleb Malhotra is already sounding like a player the Canucks can build around, and he is making it clear he thinks the organization may have landed another important piece in Adam Novotn. The third overall pick spoke recently about Novotns upside, calling him a steal, a useful bit of praise from one of Vancouvers most prominent young prospects as both players continue to settle into the next stage of their development.
Malhotra also laid out his own short-term priorities, pointing to his freshman season at Boston University and his goal of earning a spot with Canada at the World Juniors. Both he and Novotn have turned heads at development camp and in previous appearances, which only adds to the sense that the Canucks next core could have real depth if the early promise keeps translating as the stakes rise. [Read more 🡒]
Jake DeBrusk Sends A Clear Message About Vancouvers Reset
Jake DeBrusk opened Vancouver Canucks training camp by sounding like a veteran who understands the moment as much as the scoreboard. After a season filled with frustration, he talked about keeping his focus on the present and bringing intensity into the new year, while also embracing the responsibility that comes with being one of the more experienced voices in a team going through a reset.
DeBrusk also spent part of the offseason sharpening the parts of his game he believes can help the Canucks right away, including his shot and his speed. For Vancouver, the larger takeaway was less about any one practice session and more about the tone he set, one that fits a roster trying to move past last years disappointment without pretending the work ahead will be easy. [Read more 🡒]
3 Abbotsford Prospects Could Define The Canucks Next Wave
The Abbotsford Canucks could end up being one of the most important stopping points in Vancouvers next phase, and three prospects in particular are set to make that team worth watching this season. Braeden Cootes, Ty Mueller and Kirill Kudryavtsev all figure to spend time there, giving the organization a closer look at players whose development could shape the Canucks future. Each arrives with a different path, but all three are moving into a year that should help clarify where they fit in the larger picture.
Cootes already has the kind of profile that makes people in the organization pay attention, while Mueller and Kudryavtsev have also shown enough to keep their names in the conversation as the calendar turns toward the 2026-27 campaign. For Vancouver, the appeal is obvious: Abbotsford is where the next wave can be tested, refined and ultimately judged. The questions around these prospects are no longer just about promise, but how quickly that promise can translate into real NHL impact. [Read more 🡒]