Even if this were the best of times, the Vancouver Canucks — based on age alone — might be one steady voice short of where they need to be. But with the potential turning point for the franchise looming in the near future, any extra jolt of positive leadership feels like a smart play for this group.
The team will soon open training camp with one of the younger rosters in the NHL, led by 25-year-old captain Quinn Hughes and a core of top-nine forwards and top-four defensemen who are mostly 28 or younger. That kind of youthful energy drives the on-ice pace, but it can leave a locker room without the steadying hand of someone who’s been through the grind.
And this is where the Canucks could quietly help themselves — not with a blockbuster signing, but by handing a professional try-out to a salty veteran like Craig Smith.
Craig Smith Looms as Smart PTO Candidate for Young Vancouver Core
Smith may not be the flashiest name still on the free-agent board, but he’s exactly the kind of no-risk, high-character add that makes sense on a PTO. He just turned 36 years old on September 5, and he has 987 regular-season games under his belt with 452 career points. Along the way, Smith has been part of playoff-caliber teams, bringing steady secondary scoring and invaluable playoff experience.
At this stage of his career, nobody is penciling him into a top-six role — and that’s not the point. The Canucks don’t need him battling Filip Chytil for second-line minutes.
What they need is a veteran presence who can help stabilize a bottom six packed with younger, less tested players. Smith has routinely played up and down the lineup — always with a workmanlike edge — and he’d bring an instant layer of accountability and composure to Vancouver’s depth forwards.
The bigger picture is that the Canucks are navigating one of the trickier leadership dynamics in the NHL right now. Hughes is wearing the “C” and saying all the right things — telling Sportsnet he can “handle the noise” — but the noise remains. Speculation about his long-term future has been a heavy topic of conversation in NHL circles, and it’s only going to get louder.
Hughes will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2026-27 season, and there are growing questions about the decreasing likelihood for him to remain with Vancouver. The odds-on favorite in the NHL rumor chats has Hughes going to New Jersey to play with his brothers, Jack and Luke. But until this chapter is completed, the storyline will not go away, and neither will the cloud of uncertainty hovering over the team.
None of this is a knock on Hughes — he’s an elite defenseman and one of the best young captains in the league. But it’s impossible to ignore how talk like this might ripple through a locker room over the grind of an 82-game schedule.
That’s why it makes sense to surround Hughes with steady, veteran voices who’ve seen it all before. Smith is exactly that kind of person: a guy who can shoulder the mental load, set the standard in drills, and give the room something else to follow when the spotlight gets hot.
Craig Smith Would Bring Experience, Steady Voice to Canucks Training Camp
At worst, bringing Smith in is about raising the bar in camp — forcing young players to work harder for jobs, bringing a pro tone to every drill, and sharing the wisdom that comes only from nearly a thousand lives in the NHL. If he doesn’t make the squad, you part ways respectfully. If he does, it won’t break the bank — he made $1 million in 2024-25, and that or less for a one-year deal is easily manageable.
It’s the kind of simple, smart move that savvy front offices make to keep a team balanced. Vancouver already boasts speed, skill, and a wave of emerging stars. What they lack is a dependable voice with nearly 1,000 NHL games under his belt who can still chip in without complaint. Craig Smith fills that role cleanly.
They don’t need a splash. They need stability. And if the Canucks front office is looking for a quiet way to sharpen their training camp while offering Hughes a layer of veteran support, Craig Smith on a PTO makes a lot of sense.
Low-Risk Move Could Give Canucks the Jolt They’re Missing