‘We’re hanging in there’: Vancouver Canucks struggling halfway through NHL season

By Canadian Press on January 5, 2026.

VANCOUVER — This is not the season the Vancouver Canucks expected.

Heading into the 2025-26 campaign, belief was high that the team could move past last season’s injuries and personnel issues to challenge for a playoff spot this spring.

Instead, 41 games in, Vancouver (16-20-5) sits second last in the NHL standings heading into Monday’s slate of games.

“Definitely not where we want to be,” said centre Elias Pettersson. “We’re better than what the standing shows. But it is what it is. We can only focus on what’s ahead.”

Vancouver has the fewest regulation wins in the league (10) halfway through the season, as well as the third-worst penalty kill (73.9 per cent) and the team has given up the third-most goals per game (3.46).

It also lost one of the best players in franchise history last month when captain Quinn Hughes was dealt to the Minnesota Wild.

Hughes had indicated to the front office that he was unlikely to sign a long-term deal in Vancouver, and general manager Patrik Allvin said he and his colleagues tried to maximize the return for their star defenceman.

They ultimately got forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, defenceman Zeev Buium and the Wild’s first-round pick in the 2026 NHL entry draft in exchange for the 2024 Norris Trophy winner.

“Quinn Hughes has been a big part of the organization and a great person and a great hockey player. He has a lot of records,” Allvin said at the time.

“Tough, tough day. But we’re also excited about the return of the players we got here, the younger players.”

The new trio quickly made an impact, with Buium putting up a goal and assist in his first game with the Canucks, before their production slowed during a four-game home stand.

Rossi became the latest Vancouver player sidelined when he picked up a lower-body injury in a 6-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. He was placed on injured reserve Friday.

Staying healthy has been a challenge for the Canucks once again this season.

Rossi, defenceman Derek Forbort and centres Filip Chytil and Teddy Blueger were all on the IR list for Vancouver’s 3-2 OT loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday. Winger Conor Garland was scratched due to an undisclosed ailment.

Many of the team’s stars, including Pettersson and No. 1 goalie Thatcher Demko, have also missed time.

“We’ve gone through a lot of adversity here the first half of the year with guys in and out of the lineup. Guys have handled it well,” said veteran defenceman Tyler Myers.

“And I think if you look at the way the first half has gone, we’re trending in the right direction, playing a more consistent game, and we just want to keep building off of that and keep getting better and better as we go here. We’ll see what happens.”

After ugly losses to Philadelphia and the San Jose Sharks out of the Christmas break, Vancouver showed signs of life Friday, rallying from a 2-0 deficit to force the Seattle Kraken into extra time and a shootout, where they fell 4-3.

The Canucks outshot and outhit the rested Bruins the next night, but settled for a single point in the OT loss.

Despite lingering in the basement of the NHL standings, Vancouver sits just six points out of playoff position.

“We’re hanging in there,” said head coach Adam Foote. “You just don’t want the playoffs out of reach. It’s still there. The youth that we have is getting a lot of games played, a lot of minutes. So you hope they’ll grow, they’ll continue to grow and get better.

“We just have to keep rowing. I think that the guys are resilient and we just have to hang in there until we get these wins here.”

Next up for the Canucks is a gruelling road swing featuring six games in 10 nights.

The action beginning Tuesday against the Sabres in Buffalo before Vancouver takes on the surging Red Wings in Detroit Thursday, then face the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Saturday. They’ll kick off a back-to-back set on Jan. 12 against the Canadiens in Montreal, then head to Ottawa to take on the Senators. The trip will wrap Jan. 15 in Columbus against the Blue Jackets.

Away games have been a rare bright spot for Vancouver this season. While the squad has gone 4-12-3 on home ice, they’re 12-8-2 away from Rogers Arena.

“Obviously, we like how we’ve played on the road for the most part,” Myers said. “Going on a long one here, and we want to make sure that we have the right mindset.

“But it’s one game at a time. And we can’t worry about anything negative that’s happened in the first half of the season here. We’ve just got to keep pushing it.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 5, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press