For the Vancouver Canucks, the late-summer guessing game comes down to two very different bets: Liam Öhgren reaching 40 points or Thatcher Demko making 40 starts.
Both are believable in their own way. Both come with obvious strings attached. And both tell you something about where this team is headed this season.
Öhgren is the younger, flashier swing. Demko is the harder workload question.
The case for Öhgren starts with what the Canucks hope he becomes. They’d love a breakout year from the 22-year-old, because that kind of growth would go a long way toward making a rebuilding season feel worthwhile.
Still, 40 points would be a big jump. After arriving from the Minnesota Wild last December, the Stockholm native put up eight goals and 10 assists in 51 games.
That’s a solid base, but not exactly the kind of production that screams “40-point season” just yet.
There is a path, though. Öhgren has size and speed, and if he sharpens the finish around the net, a 15-goal, 25-assist year is in the realm of possibility.
The bigger issue is that Vancouver may have trouble scoring as a group again, which would make the climb even steeper. Even so, there’s at least a blueprint here.
He produced at a 30-point pace after the Olympic break while skating with Marco Rossi and Brock Boeser, and if he lands back on the BRÖ line and keeps rolling, the 40-point mark becomes a real target - even if he doesn’t quite get there.
Demko’s situation is a different kind of puzzle.
Trying to predict his workload is almost impossible. The Canucks still haven’t committed to him being ready for the start of the season, even though he has been back on the ice this summer after season-ending hip surgery.
Right now, the first hurdle is simply getting to the point where he can start one NHL game. That’s where the focus has to stay.
But if the surgery gets him all the way back, 40 starts shouldn’t be out of reach. In fact, that may be the ideal number going forward.
Demko is turning 31 in December and is entering the first season of a three-year contract extension, and the days of him carrying the load like an old-school workhorse may be behind him. A more measured approach makes sense: more rest, more full days off, fewer nights where he’s asked to do everything.
That’s the lens here. Not how many games he should start if everything goes perfectly, but how the Canucks should handle him if they want the most out of him.
Öhgren remains one of the young pieces Vancouver needs to hit if the rebuild is going to work. Under Manny Malhotra, his usage will be worth watching closely.
Some nights last season, he looked exactly like a former first-round pick beginning to flex as a power forward. Other nights left plenty to be desired.
The effort was there. The consistency in scoring wasn’t.
If that part comes together, 40 points becomes possible.
Demko, meanwhile, is staring at a season that could go one of two ways: he gets healthy and reclaims his level, or he runs into more injury trouble and the questions get louder. When he’s right, he’s been one of the best at his position. But over the past two seasons, he has started only 23 and 20 games.
So which is more likely?
It’s a tight call. Öhgren looks like a player who can take a step or two, but 40 points on a team that may struggle to score feels ambitious.
Demko’s 40 starts are just as difficult to project because of the surgery and the injury history. Still, the safer pick is that Demko gets there - with careful management, a measured return, and no extra workload beyond that.
That would leave Kevin Lankinen and Nikita Tolopilo with chances of their own.
In Other News...
Canucks Future Core Debate Just Got A Lot More Real
Bill Dalys comment that a new NHL franchise could be ready to begin play as early as the 2029-30 season puts the leagues next expansion cycle on a clearer track, with Houston viewed as the priority market and Austin standing by as an alternative. For Vancouver, the bigger ripple is not the market itself but what comes next: an expansion draft that would force the Canucks to start sorting their future core well before the usual time for that kind of debate.
Elias Petterssons no-movement clause would shape part of that conversation automatically, and the rest of the protected list would likely center on the younger players the Canucks hope to build around. The tricky part is deciding where the line falls between preserving long-term pieces and using one of those protection spots on more established talent, a question that suddenly feels a lot less abstract with expansion no longer a distant what-if. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Fans Can Stop Fearing A Healthy Demko Tank Killer
A healthy Thatcher Demko remains one of the few reasons to think the Canucks could outperform expectations in the near future, but even that kind of lift may not be enough to drag the team far from the bottom of the standings in 2026-27. The discussion around Vancouver has centered on whether elite goaltending can still move the needle when the roster around it is thin, and Demko is the kind of netminder who at least makes that question worth asking.
Igor Shesterkin has shown how strong individual play in goal can still coexist with a rough team finish, and that comparison does not exactly offer much comfort for Canucks fans hoping for a dramatic climb. If Demko is fully healthy and playing at his best, he can change nights and steal points, but the bigger picture still points toward a team that may struggle to escape the lower tier. [Read more 🡒]
Jim Rutherford Leaves Canucks Fans Debating How This Era Will Be Remembered
Jim Rutherfords run in Vancouver is heading toward its end, with the Canucks president of hockey operations saying he will step down after the 2026 entry draft and shift into an advisory role. It closes a four-season stretch that has given the organization some real moments to build on, while also leaving plenty of debate about the direction the club took under his watch.
Rutherfords time with the Canucks was never simple to sort into neat wins and losses, and that is part of what makes his departure such a tricky one to assess. Several controversial decisions and public comments shaped how the team was viewed inside the room and outside it, leaving fans to weigh the successes against the friction and uncertainty that came with them. [Read more 🡒]