The preseason is in the books for the Vancouver Canucks, and the real questions are finally about to start getting answers.
A 1-3 record doesn’t exactly scream momentum, but that number was never the point. Manny Malhotra and his coaching staff spent the last stretch trying to put a new system in place, blend in fresh faces, sort out the goaltending picture and give this group some idea of what the new Canucks are supposed to look like. That work now shifts from rehearsal to reality.
One of the clearest takeaways from Saturday was on the back end. Vancouver has done plenty of mixing and matching on defence, but the latest combinations hinted at something more settled.
Zeev Buium lined up with Filip Hronek, Tom Willander skated with Jamie Oleksiak, and Elias Pettersson, known as D-Petey, was paired with Luke Schenn. The pattern is obvious enough: a young defender alongside a veteran on each pair.
For a team trying to develop its younger players without tossing them into the fire, that setup makes sense. Malhotra said all three pairings worked well and singled out the communication between the players.
That’s encouraging in August and September. It will mean a lot more when the games start counting and the opposition includes Connor McDavid in Edmonton on opening night.
And there’s no easing into the schedule. The Canucks start on the road in Edmonton, return home for three games, then head out on a six-game Eastern trip that includes matchups with the winners of the last three Stanley Cups. That stretch should reveal a lot in a hurry.
The roster picture is getting close to settled, too, even if there’s still some room for movement. Leevi Merilainen has been claimed to take Nikita Tolopilo’s spot as Kevin Lankinen’s backup, while Thatcher Demko and Filip Chytil are set to begin the season on injured reserve.
On Saturday, Aatu Raty, Guillaume Brisebois and Victor Mancini were the three extra skaters available. Another move could still happen before Monday.
That uncertainty doesn’t look like a problem so much as part of the process. Vancouver still has decisions to make, and it has some flexibility because Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Victor Mancini do not need waivers. So even if the current group looks close to the opening-night roster, there may still be a little housekeeping left before the season begins.
The bigger shift may be less about names and more about tone. Ryan Johnson has talked about building the right “environment” after the dysfunction of the past couple of seasons, and that message is starting to show up in how the players talk about the group.
The idea is everybody pulling in the same direction. Buium said players want to compete for each other.
That doesn’t guarantee success once the puck drops, but it does show what this regime is trying to create.
Elias Pettersson is another piece worth watching. His confidence appears to be returning, and it’s showing in the details: forechecking, battling for pucks, helping out defensively and playing with more conviction. For Vancouver, that’s a major subplot heading into the regular season.
So the 1-3 preseason mark can go in the trash. The Canucks weren’t chasing results there. They were learning a new system, figuring out the lineup and building habits before the points matter.
Now comes the real evaluation. Over the next 10 days, the defensive pairings, the system, the young players and that new team environment will all get put to the test. This is the first real look at what Manny Malhotra, Ryan Johnson and the rest of the new regime have been putting together.
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