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Lekkerimaki scored a goal in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Golden Knights.
Lekkerimaki has two goals, one assist, four shots on net and a plus-2 rating over four games to begin the season. He's also been shuffled around the lineup for virtually every game. He's already matched his point total from 13 outings in 2025-26, so he's certainly trending well. Big minutes will be up for grabs as long as Lekkerimaki remains productive and rounds out his game as the year progresses.
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Canucks' Paul Cotter: Strikes on power play
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Cotter scored a power-play goal on two shots in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Golden Knights.
Cotter has opened the season on a four-game point streak (four goals, two assists). His tally Sunday was his first power-play point since last November when he was with the Devils. The Canucks had Cotter on the fourth line to begin the year, but he's worked his way up to a second-line gig with the hot start. He's also logged 12 hits and a plus-4 rating. He's worth streaming in fantasy while his offense is clicking, but he's also never had more than 25 points in a campaign -- this start is unsustainable for the full year.
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Canucks' Kevin Lankinen: Struggles in second period
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Lankinen allowed three goals on 28 shots in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Golden Knights.
All three goals against came in the second period, and the Canucks weren't able to provide an answer in the third. Lankinen has started three of Vancouver's four games so far, allowing a total of 16 goals on 85 shots while going 1-2-0. The 31-year-old netminder has been outplayed by Leevi Merilainen in this small sample of work, so it's fair to say the No. 1 job is up for grabs. The Canucks are set to head east on a six-game road trip that begins against the Hurricanes on Thursday.
Canucks' Kevin Lankinen: Tending twine against Vegas
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Lankinen will start Sunday's home game against the Golden Knights, Canucks play-by-play announcer Brendan Batchelor reports.
Lankinen hasn't looked particularly sharp early in the season, as he allowed five goals on 37 shots during an Opening Night win over the Oilers on Tuesday, and he allowed eight goals on 20 shots during a rematch against Edmonton on Thursday before getting pulled in the second period. However, he'll draw his third start in the Canucks' first four regular-season games during the second half of a back-to-back set Sunday.
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Canucks' Jake DeBrusk: Ruled out for Sunday's game
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DeBrusk (illness) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Golden Knights, Ben Kuzma of Postmedia reports.
DeBrusk will be unavailable for a second consecutive matchup due to his illness, but he's slated to travel with the Canucks during their upcoming six-game road trip. He's recorded an assist and two PIM across two appearances this year.
Willander notched two assists and a plus-2 rating in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Flames.
Willander has opened the season in a top-four role and on the second power-play unit. The 21-year-old defenseman has earned three assists, three blocked shots and an even plus-minus rating over three contests. There's risk involved in rostering a Vancouver defenseman in fantasy, but Willander has some breakout potential after a 21-point campaign as a rookie in sheltered minutes last year.
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Canucks' Linus Karlsson: Records two assists
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Karlsson logged two assists, two shots on goal and a plus-3 rating in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Flames.
Karlsson was on the top line Saturday, which likely helped him break out for a multi-point game. He's earned three assists, five shots on net, two PIM and a minus-1 rating over three contests this season. The Canucks forward combinations are far from settled, so don't be surprised to see Karlsson bounce around the lineup, which could lead to swings in his production on offense.
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Canucks' Elias Pettersson: Puts away first goal of season
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Pettersson scored a goal and went plus-2 in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Flames.
Pettersson has racked up four hits, six blocked shots and a plus-4 rating over three contests this season. The 22-year-old defenseman has maintained steady time on the third pairing, but he will need to remain effective in the defensive zone, as the Canucks are carrying eight blueliners to start the year. Pettersson should be able to build on his 10-point effort from 70 outings in 2025-26, and he'll be a steady source of hits and blocked shots.
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Canucks' Aatu Raty: Pots empty-netter
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Raty scored an empty-net goal on three shots and added two hits in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Flames.
Raty took a hit from Kevin Bahl in the second period that sent the Canuck to the locker room, but he was able to finish the game. Raty got the last laugh with the empty-netter to open his account for the season. The 23-year-old center was scratched for the first two contests of the campaign, but he got to draw in while Jake DeBrusk (illness) was unavailable. Raty may not be a full-time player early in the campaign, but a spot could open up when injuries arise or trades occur to free up space. Last year, Raty logged 14 points over 66 regular-season appearances, and he added 165 hits.
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Canucks' Drew O'Connor: Deposits goal in win
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O'Connor scored a goal on two shots, logged three hits and added two PIM in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Flames.
O'Connor has collected a goal, an assist, five shots, seven hits, four blocked shots and a minus-2 rating over three contests. The 28-year-old is filling a bottom-six role, so his scoring potential is likely to be limited. O'Connor had 29 points over 82 games with the Canucks last year, and production around that level is a fair expectation for 2026-27.
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Canucks' Liam Ohgren: Shines in 100th career game
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Ohgren scored a goal on three shots, added an assist and went plus-2 in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Flames.
Ohgren worked on the second line Saturday, logging 17:19 of ice time. The line combinations are still a work in progress for the Canucks, but Ohgren has made a good impression so far with a goal, three assists, five shots on net and a plus-2 rating over three contests. If he can secure steady top-six minutes and power-play time, there's a case to be made for a breakout campaign for the 2022 first-rounder.
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Canucks' Leevi Merilainen: Keeps Flames under control
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Merilainen stopped 23 of 24 shots in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Flames.
Getting away from the Oilers made things look a lot better for the Canucks. Merilainen presumably got the start as a reward for his decent relief performance versus Edmonton on Thursday. The 24-year-old netminder has allowed just two goals on 35 shots over his two appearances for the Canucks. He probably won't be that good in the long run, given the rebuilding team in front of him, but he could unseat Kevin Lankinen for the No. 1 job. It'll likely be Lankinen who gets the harder matchup of the weekend Sunday at home versus the Golden Knights.
DeBrusk will miss Saturday's game against Calgary because of an illness, per Canucks play-by-play announcer Brendan Batchelor.
DeBrusk has an assist and two PIM in two appearances in 2026-27. His absence might result in Aatu Raty drawing into the lineup for the first time this campaign.
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Canucks' Leevi Merilainen: Making first start with Canucks
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Merilainen was the first goalie off the ice at Saturday's morning skate, indicating that he'll start the team's home matchup against the Flames, per Thomas Drance of The Athletic.
Merilainen is in line to make his first start for the Canucks after he was claimed off waivers from Ottawa in late September. The 24-year-old backstop made his Vancouver debut in Thursday's 9-7 loss, where he stopped 10 out of the 11 shots he saw in relief. He's looking to bounce back after a tough 2025-26 campaign, where he posted an 8-10-1 record, a 3.51 GAA and an .860 save percentage across 20 regular-season outings. He'll face off against a Calgary offense that was kept to just one score in their Opening Night matchup.
Hronek notched two assists, three blocked shots and a minus-2 rating in Thursday's 9-7 loss to the Oilers.
Hronek helped out on goals by Arshdeep Bains and Jamie Oleksiak. The 28-year-old Hronek has four helpers, three shots on net and six blocks across the first two contests of the season. While he has yet to log a hit, Hronek can still throw the body around while contributing plenty of offense. He has multi-category upside from the Canucks' top pairing, making him a decent depth option in fantasy.
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Canucks' Jamie Oleksiak: Contributes pair of points
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Oleksiak scored a goal, dished an assist, added two PIM, doled out two hits and blocked two shots in Thursday's 9-7 loss to the Oilers.
Oleksiak is off to a strong start in his first year with the Canucks, earning three points, five hits, four blocks and a minus-2 rating over two contests. The 33-year-old is seeing a resurgence in ice time so far as a top-four shutdown option while the Canucks shelter younger blueliners like Elias Pettersson and Tom Willander. Oleksiak has fallen short of the 20-point mark in three straight years, and while he may get more ice time for Vancouver than he did for Seattle, the offense is far from a guarantee to stick around.
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