Canucks: What is the message? 'Retool a little bit with hybrid form'

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The Canucks are getting younger, and will be better in the long run, but are they still pushing to remain relevant in long-shot playoff chase?

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Published Dec 23, 2025 • 4 minute read

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canucks news Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin is buoyed by the return in Quinn Hughes trade, plus improved team play and record. What does that mean for rest of this NHL season? Photo by Jason Payne /PNGArticle content

How does the hybrid theory apply to the reconstruction, retooling, rebuilding, or whatever you want to call the course the Vancouver Canucks are attempting to chart?

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One thing is clear: It’s not crystal clear.

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A hybrid is defined as “combining two different elements — a mixture.” And when general manager Patrik Allvin delivered his summation Monday on what the post-Quinn Hughes era may look like, he used the encouraging return in the blockbuster trade to lay the foundation.

But for what?

“We felt the package that Minnesota delivered with the younger players gives us a chance to step back here and retool it a little bit with a hybrid form,” Allvin told the Amazon Prime intermission panel. “I give the players a lot of credit in how they’ve come together again as a team.

“You see a lot of energy in the dressing room, and we’re playing with more speed and pace.”

Allvin wants his roster to get younger. The trade acquisitions of defenceman Zeev Buium, 20, centre Marco Rossi, 24, and winger Liam Ohgren, 21, certainly fit the format. Especially in a long-lens view of where the trio could be in a few years as dominant players.

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Thatcher Demko makes a sprawling save against the Rangers during 3-0 win at New York on Dec. 16. Photo by Bruce Bennett /Getty Images

However, with the Canucks winning four of five road games during the Christmas roster freeze by riding the stellar goaltending of Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen to cover up being outshot 155-109 on the trip, you probably know what ownership is thinking. It’s consumed by pursuit of a playoff position — whether logical or laughable — and this spurt of wins and new players might be part of the hybrid form mixture.

You get younger and better over time, but not this fast, so a hybrid experiment would seem extreme.

And in reality, the playoffs are a long shot because the math is daunting and the offence is struggling.

However, when you’re trying to fill empty seats, any positive hype helps. You sell the Canucks being six points out of the final Western Conference wild-card position on Monday morning with two games in hand. You ignore to hit the projected playoff point target of 96 points — the Canucks would need a super-heater 30-13-3 run for 63 to add to their 33 points.

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And they would also have to leapfrog seven teams and get a lot of help along the way.

Perhaps the Canucks are thinking the return of injured centre Elias Pettersson, combined with Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk snapping scoring slumps, is the solution for more goals to stay in the hunt.

Boeser has gone 11 games without a goal, has one in his last 18 games, and has lost confidence in his trademark quick release. DeBrusk has one goal in his last 15 games and has already endured a 10-game goal funk. And even mighty mite Conor Garland doesn’t quite look the same after the Hughes trade. His motor still runs, but the dynamic full-throttle drive has been less evident the last three games.

The Canucks are also ranked 26th in average goals per game (2.78) and even-strength goals with 36 in 63 games. They’re 22nd in face-off percentage (48.6 per cent) and even a 16th-ranked power play (20.2 per cent) can’t bail out the offence. It’s 5-for-39 the last 12 games and was blanked on seven occasions.

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Unrestricted free agent winger Kiefer Sherwood leads the Canucks in goals. hits and trade speculation Photo by Derek Cain /Getty Images

If stability, and perhaps a trade-deadline play, is the playoff push plan for the hybrid argument case, then what do we make of unrestricted free agent winger Kiefer Sherwood?

With several trade suitors seeking his total package — speed, scoring and grit — comparables suggest he should command a first-round pick. That would speak to more of a rebuild than a retool.

At age 30, Sherwood is rightfully looking for a home run to vault from an expiring $1.5 million US cap hit to at least triple that annual value in a multi-year deal. After all, it’s hard to find what he brings.

There’s a team-leading 16 goals, including a pair of hat-tricks, to go with second-rank overall in the league with 164 hits. There are five power-play goals, a pair of game-winners, and even a shorthanded tally as an emerging elite penalty killer.

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The Canucks wanted to see consistency from Sherwood this season. He quickly put to rest thoughts of performance regression from a career-high 19 goals and recorded a league-best 464 hits last season. He also had quite the retort to management concerns.

“You’ve got to be consistent when you lead the league in hits,” Sherwood told Postmedia in late September. “That’s one of my goals and it’s not going to change to lead again. I’ve been scrapping for it my whole life.”

The Canucks need Sherwood if they expect to beat enormous playoff odds. Do they hold on and see how the club responds in January and after the Winter Olympics before committing to a trade? Even if the Canucks fade away, his stock will remain high.

It’s the same story with UFA winger Evander Kane, 34, who has gained traction after a slow start.

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He would command March 6 trade-deadline interest as a playoff rental, but his recent rejuvenation may be another let’s-wait-and-see approach. Kane has nine points (3-6) in his last 15 games and 11 shots in his last three outings. Big and abrasive, his penchant for penalties with a team high 46 minutes is a concern.

However, Kane had 12 points (6-6) in 21 playoff games last season after sitting out the regular season to recover from surgery. That effort sticks in the memory banks of playoff-bound teams. So, can the Canucks get a second-round pick for Kane sooner than later?

Maybe. But maybe they wait.

bkuzma@postmedia.com

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Canucks: What is the message? ‘Retool a little bit with hybrid form’

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