Manny Malhotra has plenty to sort out in his first season behind the Vancouver Canucks bench, and one of the biggest questions sits right in the middle of the lineup: who takes the third-line centre job?
Elias Pettersson and Marco Rossi are the easy answers at the top of the depth chart, but after that the picture gets messy fast with training camp still more than a month away.
A lot of people will naturally point to Filip Chytil. If he’s healthy, he’s a strong candidate, and his speed gives the Canucks something they badly need.
But there are real concerns here. Chytil, 26, played only 12 games last season because of a long and alarming history of head injuries.
When he came back from a three-month absence, Vancouver even considered shifting him to the wing to help limit the open-ice contact that comes with playing centre. Whether Malhotra sees him in the middle or on the flank remains unclear.
That uncertainty opens the door for Aatu Räty, who looks like the next most logical option. He posted four goals and 14 points in 66 games last season, but he also struggled to keep his place in the lineup late in the year on a last-place club under Adam Foote.
The expectation now is that things could look different with Malhotra in charge. In a full rebuild, the Canucks need Räty on the ice and need time for Malhotra to work with him.
There are other names in the mix, but each comes with its own caveats. Braeden Cootes will get a chance to show what he can do at camp, though a full season in Abbotsford looks like the best path for the 19-year-old’s development.
Ty Mueller has also made a case for himself. He’s had two productive seasons in Abbotsford under Malhotra and earned late-season NHL looks in both of his first two years in the organization. He could see NHL ice this season, but asking him to step into a third-line centre role feels like a reach.
Then there’s Ilya Safonov, the biggest wildcard of the group. The 6’5”, 222-pound centre had 16 goals and 33 points in the KHL last season, and his size jumps off the page. Still, he arrives in North America as an unknown, and at this point he looks more like a long-shot to challenge for anything beyond a fourth-line job.
So as the Canucks head toward mid-September camp, the battle for third-line centre stands out as one of the most interesting competitions on the roster. Wide open might actually be underselling it.
In Other News...
Petterssons Latest Video Has Canucks Fans Wondering Whats Really Going On
Elias Petterssons offseason clip from Los Angeles was enough to light up Canucks social media and, naturally, send trade speculation into overdrive. Any time a player of his stature is spotted away from Vancouver, fans start connecting dots, especially with the league always humming with contract chatter, roster movement and the kind of noise that tends to follow a star in transition.
But the more immediate explanation appears to be far less dramatic than a blockbuster coming together. The trip to Los Angeles is being viewed as a personal offseason choice rather than a sign that something is close on the trade front, which should calm at least some of the panic around one of Vancouvers most watched players. For now, the video says more about how quickly the rumour mill can spin than it does about Petterssons future. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Add Another Young Blue-Line Option Fans Can Track
The Abbotsford Canucks have added another young name to the organizations defensive pipeline, signing Isaac Belliveau to a one-year AHL contract. Belliveau arrives with a bit of pro experience already on his rsum, having spent the past few seasons bouncing between the AHL and ECHL after starting his development in the QMJHL and signing a three-year entry-level deal with Pittsburgh in 2023.
For Vancouver fans, it is the kind of depth move that is easy to overlook but worth filing away, especially for a blue line that always needs competition and insurance. Belliveau was later traded to the Buffalo Sabres before not receiving a qualifying offer, and while he never reached the NHL with the Penguins, the 23-year-old now gets a fresh chance to carve out a role in Abbotsford and make himself a name worth monitoring. [Read more 🡒]
Elias Pettersson Trade Talk Leaves Canucks Facing One Big Problem
Elias Pettersson is still in Vancouver, and for now that remains the most important part of the Canucks offseason puzzle. Interest from multiple teams has existed around the league, and the trade conversation did pick up before cooling after the 2026 NHL draft, but the reality has always been that moving a player of Petterssons stature is not simple when the contract is sizable and the protections are built in.
The LA Kings, Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins have all shown interest at various points, yet the market has not moved anywhere near a finish line. For Vancouver, the challenge is less about finding attention than finding a deal that fits, and with no agreement close, Petterssons situation still hangs over the roster as one of the more complicated decisions in front of the organization. [Read more 🡒]