Although the Vancouver Canucks are in the middle of a rebuild, they have had a decent start to the 2026-27 season.
The Canucks currently have a 2-2-0 record. This included them defeating Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 in their season opener.
When noting that the Canucks are expected to be one of the worst teams, it is solid that they are .500 right now. One of their offseason additions has certainly played a role in Vancouver’s decent start. In fact, the signing is already looking like a home run.
Vancouver Canucks Signing Paul Cotter Is Looking Like a Home Run Already
Ahead of NHL free agency, the New Jersey Devils did not send forward Paul Cotter a qualifying offer. From there, he signed a one-year, $2.15 million contract with the Canucks in free agency.
While this signing did not create a ton of buzz at the time, Cotter has been excellent for the Canucks early on. In four games so far this season with the Canucks, he has four goals, six points, 12 hits, and a plus-4 rating. This is after he had nine goals and 15 points in 79 games for the Devils last season.
Cotter has also made some Canucks history due to his hot start to the season. According to Sportsnet Stats, Cotter is now just the seventh player in Canucks history to score four goals in his first four games as a member of the Pacific Division club. He scored his fourth of the campaign in Vancouver’s most recent game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
This is an impressive accomplishment for Cotter. He appears to be hitting a new level for the Canucks early on and will be aiming to keep it going from here.
Looking at Cotter
Cotter is currently in his sixth NHL season and his first with the Canucks. In 300 career NHL games split between the Golden Knights, Devils, and Canucks, Cotter has posted 51 goals, 37 assists, 88 points, and 867 hits. With numbers like these, Cotter has been an effective, hard-nosed bottom-six forward throughout his career.
Cotter has also shown in the past that he can be a decent goal-scorer. In 79 games with the Devils in 2024-25, he scored a career-high 16 goals and recorded 22 points. He also had a career-high 25 points in 76 games for Vegas in 2023-24. Yet, with the way Cotter is playing right now for Vancouver, he could very well crush his current career highs before the season is over.
Cotter Could Become Great Trade Chip for Canucks
If Cotter continues to play this well, he could become a very good trade chip for Vancouver. With the Canucks rebuilding, they could very well shop Cotter as a rental to playoff teams.
Time will tell what happens on that front, but it is hard not to be impressed with what Cotter is doing with the Canucks so far.
Vancouver Canucks New Signing Looks Like a Home Run After Historic Game