Just two short years ago, Brock Boeser went into the National Hockey League’s Christmas break with 24 goals. This season, no Vancouver Canuck has amassed 24 points as the club unwinds for a few days over the holidays. To underscore the big picture challenge the Canucks have had scoring this season, the team’s top point producer through 36 games isn’t even on the roster anymore.It’s a credit to some of the younger players and new faces in the lineup that the Canucks have reached the Christmas break with wins in four of their last five games. But as the organization ponders its future in the wake of the Quinn Hughes trade to the Minnesota Wild two weeks ago, it’s important for the Canucks to recognize the scoring struggles of key veterans – especially four wingers that were expected to lead the way offensively for this hockey club this season.

The aforementioned Boeser hits the Christmas break this season mired in an 11-game goal drought and with just one goal (November 27th in San Jose) in his last 18 outings. Jake DeBrusk, who led the team with a career-high 28 goals last season, has one (a power play goal at New Jersey) to show for his last 15 games. DeBrusk also somewhat inexplicably has just one 5-on-5 goal through 36 games this season. Conor Garland’s empty netter at Madison Square Garden last week is his lone goal in his last 10 games, and he has beaten just one goalie in his last 14 outings, while Evander Kane, acquired for equal doses of offensive punch and actual punches, has underwhelmed on both counts. The 34-year-old has six goals on the season, with just one in the last nine games and only three over his last 20. 

One of the easiest explanations for all of these struggles is that the wingers haven’t exactly had the best set of centres to work with. And that’s certainly an argument that holds plenty of sway. Elias Pettersson, who has missed the past eight games with a mysterious injury, hasn’t had the kind of bounce back the club was banking on with eight goals and 14 assists in the 28 games he’s played. And after that, the centre ice position has been both a revolving door and – for the most part – a black hole of offence. 

Driving home how little the Canucks have received from the top of their lineup, tracking back 82 games since January 1st, two defencemen have led the Canucks in scoring in the calendar year of 2025. Quinn Hughes posted 57 points for the team before being dealt to the Wild, while Filip Hronek is second over the past 12 months with 44 points. After that, it gets remarkably thin awfully quickly. Boeser has 42 points in his last 80 games while Garland has 42 in his last 75. Elias Pettersson has managed just 39 points in the 58 games he’s played in 2025. And Jake DeBrusk sits at 38 points in 82 games so far this year.

Kiefer Sherwood, with a team-high 16 goals this season and a club-best 23 goals over the past 12 months, is the only offensive player of note to overachieve over the past 365 days. And given his pending unrestricted free agent status, he looks like he’ll be the next one out the door. 

To take things a step further, since November 1st, Drew O’Connor has led the club with eight goals. Full credit to O’Connor for finding ways to contribute. But that should also shine the brightest spotlight on the pressing issue of underperformance among so many others.

All of this lays out, in crystal-clear fashion, the need for this franchise to find elite-level scorers. This is truly a cry for help. The Canucks have finally relented on the word “rebuild” and now have to figure out how to successfully tackle that challenge with the players in their lineup.

Can Marco Rossi, Liam Öhgren, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Nils Höglander, Drew O’Connor, Linus Karlsson, Aatu Räty, Max Sasson, and eventually Braeden Cootes find roles to help the hockey club? The hope is that all of those forwards continue to develop to find paths to contribute in their own ways. But is there a true difference maker in that bunch? That remains to be seen. 

That is why it’s imperative the Canucks do whatever they can to find truly elite, game-breaking talent, whether through the draft or via trade. And it’s not just one guy. They need game changers in bunches. It’s the only way this organization will build a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. 

The Canucks didn’t have so much as one forward on the roster last season with more than 50 points, and it’s certainly looking like that will be the case again in 2025-26.

So it is a sincere Christmas wish for the Canucks that even a few of the veterans at the top of the lineup regain some of the scoring form each has shown at times throughout their careers. This hockey club needs help scoring goals now, and it certainly will in the future. 

PRESENTED BY VIVID SEATS