CANUCKS 2025-26 Player Preview: Drew O’Connor-Hockey Writer-Dancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks enter the 2025-26 season, hoping to rebound from a campaign, as they fell from a penthouse in the Pacific Division and missed the playoffs. After a relatively quiet offseason, they only added Evander Kane and Pierre-Olivier Joseph to the defense, who will step up at their core and return them to contenders.

As we approach training camp, preseason, and finally opening night against the Calgary Flames, I will continue to bring you the 2025-26 season, the Player Preview Series, which started early in the offseason with Aatu Raty and recently featured Teddy Blueger. The next one on the case file is Drew O’Connor.

Drew O’Connor

• age: 27
• How to get: Deal with Pittsburgh Penguin on February 1, 2025
• 2024-25 Data: 10 goals and 25 points in 84 games
• Career Statistics: 34 goals and 75 points in 241 games
• 2025-26 Contract Status: Average annual value (AAV) worth $2.5 million in the first year of a two-year contract

2024-25 season review

O’Connor played 53 games with the Penguins before joining Marcus Pettersson in early February. Both of them were waiting for unrestricted free agents (UFAS) when they arrived in Vancouver, but General Manager (GM) Patrik Allvin will soon be available for service this season and beyond. First, he signed Pettersson’s $5.5 million AAV on February 5, and over a week after O’Connor wrote his pen to paper for a two-year contract worth $2.5 million AAV.

“Drew has really impressed since joining our team from Pittsburgh earlier this month,” Allvin said. “We love his size, speed and ability to get into the former Ice and Hounds. Our staff also have the confidence that they can help Drew take his game to another level and we’re excited to see how the future of Vancouver Canucks will affect him.”

In less than two weeks, O’Connor was a member of the Canucks, who was impressed with two goals in his first three games, including a huge penalty hit rate in overtime to beat the February 6 San Jose Sharks 2-1. He also added a lot of speed and body to the lineup (32 hits) and showed some chemistry with Filip Chytil before the concussion knockout on March 15.

O’Connor completed the season with four goals and nine points in 31 games. Add to the 53 games he played with the Penguins, he played 84 games, becoming one of only seven players in the traditional 82 games. He also competed in 2025 World Champion Conor Garland and helped Team USA win their first gold medal in 92 years.

Roles and expectations for the 2025-26 season

Many of the lineup predictions play O’Connor with Blueger or Raty, rather than the center that appears to be clicking on when he arrives from Pittsburgh. He spent 117:06 with uniform intensity and recorded solid statistics at a ratio of 56.52 CORSI and obtained 23 heights of opportunity. The Canucks also crossed 62-45 on the ice with their opponents 62-45.

Related: More Canucks Season Preview Content

O’Connor and Chytil’s speed add some extra zippers to Canucks’ attacks, arguably getting better. According to NHL Edge, they both ranked last season with the top skating speeds (88% and 90th percentile, respectively) at the top (88% and 90th percentile, respectively) at speeds of more than 20 mph (97% and 90%), respectively. As a result, I wouldn’t be surprised if head coach Adam Foote trained O’Connor with chytil.

Regardless of O’Connor playing five-on-five in a five-on-five game, he will play a more prominent role in free throw kills (PK) in this season’s roster without Pius Suter and Dakota Joshua. Suter and Joshua are two senior men in short ice time over the past two seasons, and the Canucks will need to find the duo to replace them. O’Connor is certainly half the duo, as he has extensive experience in PK, recording 289:43:43 (1:12 average) in his career. With his center and wings playing abilities, he might even be in the second unit, but given his proficiency at the standoff point, I bet I will play this role.

Final statistical prediction

O’Connor’s versatility, speed and pre-audit ability will be a huge asset to the Canucks this season, and Suter signed with the St. Louis Blues, who may end up being his replacement. During his two seasons in Vancouver, Suter became the valuable Swiss Army Knife of the coaching staff, and O’Connor had all the same things throughout his first season with the team. While I won’t be bold enough to predict that he reaches 25 goals, I can see him in his career-high 16 goals, especially if he has the chance to reunite with Chytil in the second line.

Other Add-ons 2025-26 Players Preview