The Vancouver Canucks are struggling without Pius Suter, who left for the St. Louis Blues after a career-best season. His absence has impacted their offense and penalty kill, amid ongoing injuries. Suter's strong start with his new team highlights the gap left behind.
Pius Suter thrived as the Vancouver Canucks' top-line centre last season following injuries to Filip Chytil and Elias Pettersson. He posted career highs of 25 goals and 46 points, often playing over 20 minutes per night in all situations. Despite his versatility, the Canucks did not re-sign him, and he joined the St. Louis Blues on a contract with a $4.125 million average annual value.
Nineteen games into the 2025-26 season, Suter has five goals, tying him for second on the Blues, and 10 points, tying for fourth. He leads Blues forwards in penalty-kill time at 1:24 per game, maintaining his elite two-way play. In contrast, the Canucks' penalty kill, which ranked third in the NHL at 82.6 percent last season led by Suter and Teddy Blueger, has fallen to last at 66.1 percent this year. Blueger has played only two games due to injury, logging just 5:45 on the penalty kill.
The Canucks' centre depth is thin with injuries to Blueger, Chytil, Quinn Hughes, and Thatcher Demko sidelined for weeks. They recently signed David Kampf to a one-year deal to bolster the bottom six and penalty kill, though his career-high of 11 goals suggests limited offensive upside. President Jim Rutherford noted a 'miscommunication on term' in negotiations, stating the team was willing to exceed the two-year deal Suter signed in St. Louis.
In a recent 4-3 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, Elias Pettersson scored a short-handed goal and added a power-play assist, while Kevin Lankinen made 34 saves. Max Sasson also scored, but the game underscored the team's resilience amid injuries. Analysts suggest re-signing Suter could have kept Vancouver above .500, given his dual impact on special teams and scoring.