Every Move the Vancouver Canucks Made in the 2025 Offseason

Every Move the Vancouver Canucks Made in the 2025 Offseason

From polarizing pickups to fan favorite farewells to a teenage talent with promising potential, in case you missed it, here’s every single move the Vancouver Conucks made this off season. Starting with one they had no control over. Rick Tocket has decided not to return as head coach of the Vancouver Conucks after winning the Jack Adams and leading the Canucks to the Pacific Division title during his first full season behind the bench in 2023 2024. This past year, a different story for Tocket. The Conucks missed the playoffs. Just 2 weeks after their final game of the regular season, the Canucks sent out a press release announcing the departure of head coach Rick Tockett. In a statement to fans, Tockett kept it classy, saying, “Family is a priority, and I feel like this is the right time for me to explore other opportunities in and around hockey.” And to his credit, that’s exactly what he did. In fact, he explored so hard that just two weeks after leaving Vancouver, he was already behind another bench. this time as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers where he spent 11 of his 22 NHL seasons as a player. Well, can we start there? Why’d you leave? Oh, man. Just um a little bit of a fresh start, you know, get back east. Um couple of, you know, some other little things. I wonder what those other little things could have been. Either way, what mattered most to the Canucks now was finding a new head coach to help them get back to the playoffs. And that brings us to our next move. To play at the highest level, it takes discipline to reach your goals. That’s why I put Subway in my training at least three times a week. Seven great tasting low-fat subs to choose from. I never get tired of my routine. Wait, what? Adam Foot was in a Subway commercial and wasn’t even asked to say something like, “Try the brand new Adam foot long.” Oh, never mind. Did I get it? Anyway, instead of hiring an outsider, the Canucks search for a new bench boss ended with the promotion of their assistant coach, Adam Foot, to a job he has no experience in at the NHL level. What Foot does have, though, is familiarity. He’s been with the team through the highs and lows of the past two seasons and knows the roster inside and out. He’s also a big reason why Kucks fans are no longer complaining about the team’s defense. As a player, Foot was one of the toughest defenders in the league. He was a brick wall on the blue line for two decades and a key piece of Colorado Stanley Cup wins in 1996 and 2001. So, it’s no coincidence he was able to reshape Vancouver’s back end so quickly. But if you’re still not convinced, listen to this. You know, I think Adam Foot’s, you know, the best coach I’ve ever had. There’s a lot of coaches out there that um you know, scream and yell and they want to you know, bully their players, intimidate their players, and um this is a guy that I would say coaches his defenseman, coaches his players like he’d want his kids coached. Um, and then on top of that, with all the experience he has, and you know, I think Adam Foot’s, you know, the best coach I’ve ever had. Now, I should mention not everyone was thrilled with Foot’s hiring. A lot of people were hoping Manny Malhotra would get the job. Not just because he was a fan favorite back when he played for the Canucks, but because of the work he was doing with the farm team in Abbottzford. In fact, at the time of the hiring, Malhotra was in the middle of coaching the Abbey Canucks to their first ever Calder Cup victory. I actually covered their entire run here on the channel. So, if you want the full story on how Abbottzford won it all, check these videos out. Oh, and Malhotrey isn’t going anywhere. They extended him for two more seasons. You know who else isn’t going anywhere? Derek Forbort, he resigned for one more year. Arch Deep Baines for two more years. Max Cessone for one more. At Ratatu for two. Thatcher the puck snatcher Demco for three more years starting next season. Connor the Gargoyle Garland for six more years also starting next season. And then out of nowhere, Besser’s agent was negotiating with other teams when Kuck’s GM Patrick Alvine called with a better offer than the reported 5-year, $40 million deal the right-winger rejected in February. You know, I kind of lit up. Even after everything that’s happened, I still kind of had that feeling in my stomach. And um you know, I just listen to it and you know, it felt right when they started talking and trying to figure out a deal. I just started getting excited and you know, I just knew it was meant to be. Brock the Brockar Besser ressigned for seven more years. I repeat, Brock Besser is still a member of the Vancouver Conucks. Everything, and I mean everything, was pointing toward Besser signing elsewhere. So, when I heard the news that he was sticking around, as I’m sure many of you did, I ran into the ocean and dapped up the first killer whale I could find. Sources say I may have even shed a tear, but that’s yet to be confirmed. But, it gets better. Big Best Bess didn’t just stick around. He signed a teamfriendly deal. He took less money to stay here. We got an elite rightwinger signing for most of the rest of his career probably for a really reasonable capit. This is a big victory for the Vancouver Conucks. And speaking of wanting to play in Vancouver, the Canucks sent a fourthround pick to the Edmonton Oilers to bring the 33-year-old power forward who grew up in East Van back home. Uh Vander Kane is now a member of the Vancouver Conucks. Yeah, I’m not going to lie. This one came out of left field. Evander Kane, one of the NHL’s most prominent [ __ ] disturbers, is now a Vancouver Canuck. He has a way of sliding under the skin of his opponents like a warm knife through butter. And then when he’s done pissing them off, he’ll go out and score a goal. Something he did plenty of as a member of the Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver’s biggest division rival. So, as you can imagine, Kucks fans accepting him with open arms wasn’t going to happen overnight. On top of that, Kane’s name comes with a lot of baggage. He’s had a plethora of off- ice controversies over the years. And even though he seemed to turn a new leaf during his time in Edmonton, it still left some fans feeling pretty uncomfortable with this move. Personally, I’m hoping it turns into a positive, not just for the team, but for Kane himself. He now has the chance to play in the city he grew up in, give back to a community he was once part of, and hopefully continue growing in the right direction as a person. Because on the ice, the upside is obvious. Kane brings grit, scoring depth, and playoff experience to a team that could really use all three. All for just a fourth round pick. Speaking of draft picks, the Vancouver Conucks are proud to select from the Seattle Thunderbirds, Braden Coats. With the 15th pick in the first round of the 2025 NHL entry draft, the Canucks selected a kid named Braden Coots. And listen, this is going to be one of those picks we look back on thinking, how the hell did this guy not get picked higher? The 18-year-old Canadian center is mostly known for his elite hockey IQ, his near NHL ready two-way game, his undeniable skating, his unshakable work ethic, his strong compete level, his leadership qualities, his durability, his tenacity, his intensity, his maturity. This kid seemingly has it all. Now, I don’t want to get too ahead of myself, but honestly, I think Cydney Crosby, I mean, Braden Coups might become an NHL regular a lot sooner than we think, but I’ll get into that in a later video. Enough about Coots for now. The Canucks also drafted goalender Alexi Medvidev, forwards Kieran Dervin, Wilson Bjork, and Gabriel Shirro, and defenseman Matthew Lancing. In free agency, the Canucks added some depth, signing forwards Mackenzie McKern, and Joseph Lebat along with defenseman Jimmy Schultz. All three are expected to spend most of their time playing down in Abbottzford. The bigger free agent ad was 26-year-old left-handed defender Pio Joseph. He’s already played 194 games as an NHL player, so he’s got some experience and will likely slot in as Vancouver’s seventh or eighth defenseman. Then there was a huge trade involving Jake De Brusk. Wait, I read that wrong. A huge Pokemon trade involving Jake De Brusk. Okay. And what would you say is your favorite Pokemon? Uh, probably Kyogre. Kyogre. Okay. And if you could have one card in your collection, any card you wanted, what would it be? Probably First Edition Charizard. First edition Charizard. And while we’re on the topic of trades, I should probably let you know that well, the Conucks traded away fan favorite future considerations to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for the signing rights to Russian forward Ilia Safenov. I know it’s heartbreaking. They also traded goalender Arur’s Arty Party Sheils to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a fourthround pick in 2027 and 22-year-old former first round pick Chase Stillman. And then they traded Dakota Joshua to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a fourthround pick in 2028. But it wasn’t just them. We also lost [Music] Anyway, that’s basically the gist of it. I mean, there were a few other little things like signing Tom Valander to his entry-level contract and resigning Abbottzford legends Guom Breeze Boa Jet Woo and Nikita Toapilo and bringing Vitali Krabsov back from Russia on a one last shot one-year deal. Philip Hedel and Alias Person got married, not to each other, to their wives. But yeah, that’s it. I sure hope they don’t make any more moves after I post this. Anyway, send this video to a friend who needs to get caught up before the new season starts. Thanks for watching. I’ll see you later. Bye. [Music]

In this video, I recap every single move the Vancouver Canucks made during the 2025 offseason. Every hiring, firing, trade, signing, and everything in between. This is your complete catch-up before the new season gets underway.

The Vancouver Canucks are GOOD.

– Nuckhead

Skip to…
00:00 — Intro
00:12 — Rick Tocchet Leaves the Canucks
01:44 — Canucks Hire Adam Foote
03:28 — Brock Boeser Re-Signs With the Canucks
04:40 — Evander Kane Traded to the Vancouver Canucks
05:55 — Canucks Select Braeden Cootes at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft
06:52 — Free Agency
07:14 — The Jake DeBrusk Trade
07:49 — The Players We Lost (In Memoriam)
08:46 — The Small Moves
09:07 — Outro

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