Canucks' Projected Direction: Rebuild Or Add?

The Vancouver Canucks are likely to lose Brock Boeser in free agency and traded J.T. Miller this season. Those are two big losses and not a ton came back to fill those holes. Filip Chytil is not the player Miller is, even if he is younger. The Canucks missed the playoffs this season when a lot came crashing down on them from a division win in 2023-24.

Quinn Hughes is only under contract for two more years before becoming a UFA and the team only has Elias Pettersson, Jake DeBrusk, Filip Hronek, Marcus Pettersson, and Kevin Lankinen signed to at least 2030. That's a core, but not a great one at all. A lot needs to go right for Vancouver to even get into contention status, never mind actually compete for the Stanley Cup. So which direction should the Canucks go this offseason?

It's never a good idea to stay quiet and coast as a middle of the pack team. A team has to either go for it or break it down and get the right pieces in order to be able to go for it in the future. The Canucks are one of the teams right in the middle. They were on the cusp of playoffs, didn't get a good draft pick, and wouldn't have had much of a chance if they did make the postseason.

Hughes is a franchise defenseman and the Canucks would be broken if he decides to leave in two years. I don't see him asking for a trade next season, but if things continue to go poorly and the Canucks aren't exactly in it during the final year of his deal, that's when he could be dealt. Mikko Rantanen is a reason why teams shouldn't trade stars, but if he's definitely going to leave, something has to be brought back.

This should give the Canucks at least a year and a season and a half to build something quickly and show Hughes that Vancouver is a team that can win and compete year after year. If they lose him, a rebuild will be inevitable. They have to add what they can in a weaker free agent class and possibly even trade their first round pick this year or next to add one of the more impactful players on the trade block. I think the Canucks could be fighting for a playoff spot next season, but depending how the offseason goes, it can change the way the franchise heads.