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Last game before much-needed Olympic break keeps telling the same story, no goals, poor defensively, minor-league talent

Published Feb 05, 2026 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 5 minute read

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Liam Ohgren of the Vancouver Canucks and Pavel Dorofeyev of the Vegas Golden Knights vie for the puck in the first period Photo by Ethan Miller /Getty ImagesArticle content

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The Canucks ended this section of the season before the Olympic break much the way the rest of the season has gone. They stink. They give up too many chances, too many goals. They don’t score enough and the little offensive talent they do have repeatedly get mired in scoring slumps. The 5-2 loss to Vegas on Wednesday drew little more than a yawn from most Canucks fans, who don’t even really seem capable of anger, just boredom and resignation at this point.

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They haven’t scored more than two goals in a game in their last six, while giving up at least five goals in three of their last five games. The problems litter the ice like stuffed animals at a Christmas Teddy Toss.

Things are not getting better, they’re getting worse.

A whopping 21 points out of a playoff spot, seven points behind the next-worst team in the NHL, the worst goal differential, -61, in the league, it all goes on.

You can point the finger at Patrick Allvin and Jim Rutherford for the dearth of talent on the team. You can blame the injuries that have had the team’s trainers and physios playing Whack-A-Mole with various players all season, but do you also have to look at the coach?

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Even when Quinn Hughes was here, the team was awful which certainly speeded up his departure. Look at the established talent the team has, Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk, Conor Garland, Evander Kane, Nils Hoglander, Filip Hronek, Marcus Pettersson, Elias Pettersson, are any of them performing up to their abilities? If one or two players are in slumps in a challenging season, it’s understandable.

When the whole team is mired in one, you have to look at the coach. Even when goalie Thatcher Demko was healthy he was far from the bubblicious goalie Canucks fans adored at his peak.

Is Adam Foote the guy you want crafting the young careers of Tom Willander, Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, Jonathan Lekkerimaki potentially Braeden Cootes and whomever you get at the top of the draft next year? Is he capable of developing a massive squad of first-round talent into the next Canucks core that can be competitive in the playoffs?

Foote said this after the game:

“We had some good things going, but if you make a mistake, they (Golden Knights) have bigger bodies around the net. We’ll grow from that game. We’re a young team and we’re going to see blips here and there. We need everyone on board.

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“We left the slot open on bad reads and it is what it is. A young group against that level of experience and they’re going to take advantage of those situations. A lot of things have gone on with this group this year and we’ll get a bit of a break (Olympics). Well get back to work to correct the lulls.”

But where’s the correction been up until now? Where has the grown been from this team through the first 57 games of the season?

So, what’s left to get excited about, the draft lottery? Then oh yeah, the top prospect and the player Canucks fans were getting really excited about, Gavin McKenna of Penn State was just charged with felony assault for breaking another man’s jaw in a bar fight. Rumours online abound that the man called McKenna’s mother, who was with him, a vile name and so McKenna reacted.

Does that mitigate charges that could potentially put him in jail? Would you steer clear in the draft? McKenna and Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg are considered to be the only two players in the top tier and then there’s a bit of a drop off to the next group. It all certainly plays into the oft-mentioned trope that the Canucks are cursed.

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They finally have the best odds at the first-overall pick and the top prospect potentially could go to jail. Sigh.

Ben Kuzma’s player grades offered up more of the same as you’ve seen all season, here’s some of his selected grades.

Jake DeBrusk (C-)

Getting harder to find on regular basis. Two shots, minus-3.

Liam Ohgren (C+)

The kid is going to be something special. Set up first goal.

Conor Garland (C+)

A lot more giddy-up, set up goal with sweet feed. Three shots.

Jonathan Lekkerimaki (C)

Another fourth-line night to learn gritty side of holding up players.

Marcus Pettersson (C)

See above. Much of the same and has to be post-break focus.

Tom Willander (C)

Good hustle in retreat to get body position and deny Grade A.

An interesting piece in The Athletic from their anonymous player poll about what players think teams should spend money on, other than on-ice talent. There’s no Canucks specific suggestions in here, but the team has been criticized in several quarters about their penny pinching off the ice, the only team without a dedicated practice arena is a frequent one. It is interesting to read players talk about the value of things like sleep and nutrition, two things the Canucks were lauded as trailblazers in when the team GM was Mike Gillis.

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There’s only so much grilled chicken with brown rice and sweet potatoes an athlete can eat. So a little variety couldn’t hurt.

“It’s a long season, and I think, just speaking for guys in here, it’s tough (to eat) the same thing over and over again,” one player said. “So I think if you could spend a little bit more, not on quantity, but maybe different quality. There’s so (many) different kinds of foods out there. It gets repetitive eating steak, chicken and salmon for eight months of the year.”
Another area in which players are looking for an upgrade is in training — techniques, equipment, anything it takes to be a little bit better than the other guy.

“Anything high-performance, anywhere you can find an edge,” one player said.

“We spend close to half our day at the rink,” another said. “Some rinks are nicer than others. All those amenities, from treatment rooms to cold tubs to hot tubs, those should be very elite. You look at soccer teams — obviously they make more money and more revenue — but some of these stadiums and practice facilities are off the charts. … Those little things matter, especially (to) free agents nowadays.”

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We’ll take a break from Canucks Live until the team gets back into practice ahead of their next game, at home against the Jets on February 25th. We thank you for reading our coverage and appreciate your attention.

Our columnist Patrick Johnston is in Italy covering hockey for Postmedia so make sure you read his coverage.

We also have coverage of all your B.C. Athletes at the games, hopefully cheering for these hometown heroes gives you more satisfaction than rooting for the Canucks.

Check back for more Canucks news throughout the day …

Canucks Coffee: Olympic break includes disclaimer: ‘Go have fun, but don’t get too cosy’

Canucks Player Grades: B.O.G. line not bogged down in 5-2 loss to Golden Knights

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Canucks Live: Take a break, as a fan you’ve earned it

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