After a Friday day off, the Vancouver Canucks were back on the ice at UBC on Saturday morning, and the message from Manny Malhotra was hard to miss: something has to change.
The club held an hour-long practice session at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre as it tries to snap a nine-game losing skid ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Quinn Hughes and the Minnesota Wild. Malhotra again mixed and matched his lines and pairings, looking for a spark after Thursday’s 5-2 loss to Detroit.
One of the more notable shifts came up front, where Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser were reunited on a line with Drew O’Connor. Brendan Gallagher worked on the right side with Marco Rossi and Jake DeBrusk, while Liam Ohgren - a healthy scratch against Detroit - skated with Filip Chytil and Jonathan Lekkerimaki. Max Sasson was between Paul Cotter and Linus Karlsson, and Arshdeep Bains took part in some drills but appeared to be the extra forward.
The defensive side of things had its own clues. Jamie Oleksiak may be on the way out of the lineup Sunday, with Victor Mancini beside him at practice and Oleksiak taking a knee in the neutral zone during special teams work while the rest of the group handled power play and penalty-kill reps.
If Oleksiak sits for a second time this season, Guillaume Brisebois would likely step in. Brisebois skated with Luke Schenn, while Elias Pettersson was paired with Filip Hronek and Zeev Buium and Tom Willander spent the session together.
Saturday’s workout leaned heavily into the basics that were missing Thursday. Coming off a game in which the Canucks were held without a shot in the second period and finished with a season-low 13, the group spent a lot of time on breakouts and getting traffic to the net. The session was firm, but it wasn’t framed as punishment.
At the end of practice, fans at UBC let the players know they were there, and Luke Schenn added a small extra moment on his way out. After heading toward the tunnel with his teammates, the veteran defenseman grabbed some Halloween candy that was being used by the club’s social media team and handed it to young fans leaning over the railing.
Malhotra said the group needed to come back with purpose after the Detroit loss.
“Just a spirited response. We are very aware of what we didn’t do well last game structurally. More importantly, the response in terms of the energy that we bring to that game (Sunday) needs to be a lot better.”
He also explained why Pettersson and Boeser were put back together.
“The messaging for our entire group, not just the two of them, is that we need a response from you. We need to see your best game out on the ice. And those two, being two of our leaders, I think they got the message loud and clear.”
Elias Pettersson also looked ahead to Quinn Hughes’ return on Sunday.
“I’m sure it’s a lot of emotions for him coming back to where he played for years. It will be good. And hopefully we can come up with a win.”
In Other News...
Quinn Hughes Returns To Vancouver With Canucks Fans Facing A Real Decision
Quinn Hughes came back into the conversation this week in Seattle, where the former Canucks captain spoke ahead of his first game in Vancouver since being moved to the Minnesota Wild in December. Even after leaving, Hughes made it clear he still looks back warmly on his six and a half seasons in Vancouver, a stretch in which he established franchise records and wore the captains title. It is the kind of return that can stir up a crowd before the puck even drops, especially for a player who meant so much to the organizations recent identity.
The real question now is how Canucks fans choose to greet him when he steps back onto the ice in Rogers Arena. Hughes said he does not know what to expect, which only adds another layer to a night already loaded with emotion and memory. For Vancouver, this is less about the standings than about an old face returning in a new sweater, and the reaction in the building will say plenty about how his years here are still being held. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Fans Have A New Braeden Cootes Question To Watch
Amid a rough stretch for the big club, the Canucks have had one welcome subplot to track in the pipeline, with several 2026 draft picks turning heads in their leagues. Braeden Cootes has been the name drawing the most attention. The 2025 first-round pick is already playing professionally with the Abbotsford Canucks, and his early AHL start has put him in a class of his own among his draft peers.
For Vancouver, the question is no longer whether Cootes can keep up, but how long the organization will keep him on the patient track. General manager Ryan Johnson has made it clear the team wants to be careful with the young forward, even with his strong opening run in the minors, and that leaves fans watching for the next development step without expecting a quick NHL jump. [Read more 🡒]
Bruce Boudreau Reignited A Canucks Debate Fans Never Resolved
Bruce Boudreau has reopened an old Canucks wound just by talking about Quinn Hughes. The former Vancouver coach said he hopes fans do not boo Hughes when he returns to Rogers Arena, framing the captain as a player who gave everything to the organization and carried himself with uncommon maturity during his time in Vancouver.
What makes Boudreaus comments linger is the familiar edge beneath them. He made clear he still believes the decision-making behind the Canucks handling of Hughes and the coaching change all runs through the same front-office chapter, even as he stopped short of turning the moment into a full public score-settling. For a fan base that never fully resolved those feelings, Hughes next trip back home now comes with a little extra baggage. [Read more 🡒]