The Vancouver Canucks may be stuck in a rough patch early in the 2026-27 season, but a few players have already given the club something to hang onto.
Through seven games, Vancouver is 2-5-0 and riding a four-game losing streak. That kind of start is hardly what anyone wants, but in the first year of a rebuild, the bigger picture matters just as much as the record. And right now, Paul Cotter, Jake DeBrusk, and Jonathan Lekkerimäki have all put together encouraging starts.
Cotter has been the early scoring surprise. After signing a one-year, $2.15 million deal on July 1, he has come in and produced quickly, posting four goals and six points in seven games.
That puts him first on the team in goals and second in points behind Elias Pettersson’s eight. His four goals also have him tied for 11th in the NHL.
That kind of pace stands out when you compare it to last season. In 2025-26 with the New Jersey Devils, the Michigan native had nine goals and 15 points in 79 games.
He has already scored nearly half as many goals in seven games with Vancouver as he did across that entire season. Cotter’s best goal total came in 2024-25, when he finished with 16 for the Devils, and his top point total was 25 with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023-24.
DeBrusk has taken a different path, but the results have been just as useful for Vancouver. Last season, he led the Canucks with 23 goals, though 19 of them came on the power play.
That left only four even-strength goals in 81 games. This year, the balance has looked much better: he already has three goals, and all three have come at five-on-five.
His shooting percentage is up to 18.8%, a sharp jump from 10.5%. DeBrusk’s 2025-26 total of 42 points was a dip from the 48 he had the year before, but the Canucks are still hoping he can get back to the 50-point level he reached in 2022-23 with the Boston Bruins. Vancouver signed him to a seven-year deal in July 2024 worth $5.5 million annually, and the expectation was that he could bring more steady production.
That hasn’t always been the easiest ask. DeBrusk has built a reputation as a streaky player, the kind who can go quiet for a stretch and then suddenly pile up points in bunches - like 13 in 10 games.
If this start is the beginning of a more balanced season, the Canucks could finally get the kind of goal total they were hoping for. A 25- to 30-goal year is very much in play if he keeps blending even-strength scoring with power-play production.
Lekkerimäki, meanwhile, is starting to look like a player ready to take a real step. Through seven games, he has two goals and five points, which already puts him within reach of several career highs.
He had two goals and three points in 2025-26, and before that he posted three goals and six points in 24 games. Right now, he is just two goals, one assist, and two points away from setting new personal bests.
That progress matters, especially with only 44 games of NHL experience under his belt. Lekkerimäki also has familiarity with head coach Manny Malhotra from their time together with the Abbotsford Canucks, which should help as he tries to settle into a bigger role. At 22, the Swedish forward is still early in his NHL journey, but a breakout season would give the Canucks another reason to feel better about where the rebuild is headed.
For Vancouver, the season is going to be about more than wins and losses. It’s also about figuring out where the young core stands and what still needs to be addressed. The results have been uneven so far, but Cotter, DeBrusk, and Lekkerimäki have given the Canucks a few bright spots to watch as the season unfolds.
In Other News...
Canucks Loss Still Put A Few Young Players In Focus
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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
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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 🡒]