Zeev Buium is going to make mistakes in Vancouver. That part is already baked into the deal.
The Canucks have made their bet on the 20-year-old defenceman, acquiring him in the Quinn Hughes trade and then backing that belief with an eight-year, $75.04 million contract extension. That is a loud statement about what they think he can become. It is not, however, a magic wand that turns a young blueliner into a finished product overnight.
Buium has already shown why the organization is so high on him. He’s an offensive defenceman who can move the puck, carry it up the ice, and help create chances.
The upside is obvious. So is the learning curve.
That’s why his recent turnover against the New York Islanders matters, but only to a point. It was the kind of play that jumps out because it can end up in the back of your net. Young defencemen have to live through those moments and figure out how to handle them better the next time the pressure rises.
And that’s the tricky part for Vancouver. If a player is going to grow into the role the club clearly envisions, he has to be allowed to live in it first.
The answers don’t come from the outside looking in. They come from getting the minutes, taking the lumps, and learning how to respond.
He does not have to become Quinn Hughes. That is too high a standard for anybody. What the Canucks need is for Buium to become the best defenceman he can be, with coaching, accountability, and room to work through the rough nights that come with being 20 and playing an important NHL role.
Patience is never the easiest sell in hockey, especially when the organization has already made such a major investment. Fans want the payoff right away.
But development does not move in a straight line. A step forward can be followed by a mistake, and that does not erase the belief behind the move.
The real question now is not whether Buium will have errors. He will. It’s how he handles them, and how the Canucks handle him while he grows into the future they’ve already paid for.
In Other News...
Canucks Loss Still Put A Few Young Players In Focus
Even in a 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders, there were a few reasons the Canucks could come away with a clearer picture of some of the younger names in the lineup. The game leaned more toward a performance review than a simple final score recap, with several players drawing attention for the way they handled bigger minutes and more pressure than usual.
Leevi Merilinen kept Vancouver afloat with a series of important stops, while Max Sasson supplied the early offense and Liam hgren helped swing momentum by drawing a penalty that eventually led to the tying goal. For a team looking for signs of progress in the depth chart, nights like this can matter almost as much as the result, even if the finish still leaves something to be desired. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Suddenly Have A Real Battle For Bigger Roles
Vancouvers early-season results have not exactly matched the flashes the club has seen, but there are enough encouraging signs to make the next stretch interesting. Leevi Merilinen has given the Canucks steady goaltending in recent games, and that has added a little edge to a crease picture that also includes Lankinen. At the same time, the organization is continuing to give looks to younger players such as Elias Pettersson and Jonathan Lekkerimki while trying to sort out who can handle bigger responsibilities.
Jonathan Lekkerimkis role is one of the more intriguing parts of that evaluation, especially as the Canucks keep testing how their young forwards and defensemen fit into the longer-term plan. Vancouver is not just chasing short-term stability, it is also trying to find out which prospects can move from promising pieces to real building blocks. In that sense, the battle for minutes has started to matter almost as much as the results, and the next decisions should say plenty about where the team sees its future coming from. [Read more 🡒]
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 🡒]