Zeev Buium’s start to the 2026-27 season has put him under a brighter spotlight than the Canucks probably wanted this early. Through eight games, the Vancouver defender has only one point, and he has already been moved down to the third pair. That’s enough to spark some worry, even with the season still in its opening stretch.
The biggest reason some fans are looking twice at Buium is the contract waiting in the wings. He is still on his entry-level deal, but he already has an eight-year extension lined up with a cap hit of $9.38 million beginning next season.
That kind of number will always draw attention. Still, it makes little sense to judge how that contract will age based on what’s happening in October.
What does deserve a closer look is the way he’s playing right now. Vancouver is still getting offensive-zone chances when he’s on the ice, but the defensive side has not taken the step forward the Canucks were hoping for. The turnover count is part of the picture too: Buium has been charged with 12 giveaways already, according to the NHL.
There have also been too many shifts where Vancouver gets trapped in its own end. It’s not always on Buium alone, but the Canucks have had sequences where they can’t clear the zone and the opposition just keeps working the puck until a chance opens up. Buium hasn’t consistently been able to stop plays along the wall or win enough battles in front of the net to shut those situations down.
The five-on-five numbers from Natural Stat Trick as of October 14, 2026, paint the same general picture. Buium has been on the ice for 111 Corsi For and 154 Corsi Against, along with 50 shots for and 82 against. The expected goals line sits at 5.74 for and 9.35 against, and the high-danger chances are 23 for and 36 against.
Even with those struggles, this is not the time to overreact. Buium is 20, and young players taking lumps in their second year is nothing new. The Canucks are also only eight games into a season while adapting to Manny Malhotra’s system, which adds another layer of difficulty.
That’s the nature of a rebuild: mistakes happen, and learning curves get exposed. Buium arrived with plenty of pedigree, but he’s still just another young player trying to figure out the NHL one shift at a time.
So the answer for now is pretty clear. Canucks fans don’t need to panic about Buium yet, even if the early results have been rough. What they should do is keep watching closely over the next few weeks to see whether he can steady things before the calendar turns to 2027.
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Canucks Loss Showed The Same Problem Fans Are Already Tired Of
Vancouver went into UBS Arena looking to steady itself, but instead saw the same kind of game slip away in a 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders. The Canucks had the edge early, then watched the Islanders keep pressing behind Kyle Palmieri and Matias Maccelli, with Palmieri finding the net twice and Maccelli scoring his first goal since joining the club. It was the kind of result that leaves Vancouver trying to sort out what went wrong before the frustration starts to feel familiar.
The Islanders, now 3-3-0, got a needed lift from a night in which Palmieri ended his scoring drought and provided the kind of finishing touch they have been chasing. Vancouver, meanwhile, leaves with another reminder that a lead alone does not always tell the full story. The Canucks will want a faster answer the next time they are in position to control a game, because these are the moments that can linger in October and shape how a fan base sees the team early. [Read more 🡒]