Canucks name six alternate captains, leave captaincy vacant

The Vancouver Canucks have set their leadership structure for the 2026-27 season, confirming Tuesday that they will open the year without a captain while assigning alternate captain roles to six players. The announcement comes ahead of their season opener on the road against the Edmonton Oilers.

Home and road leadership split for Canucks

On home ice, defenceman Filip Hronek and forwards Linus Karlsson and Drew O’Connor will serve as alternate captains. When the Canucks are the visiting team, defenceman Zeev Buium and forwards Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson will wear the ‘A’. The setup gives the club three designated alternates in each situation, sharing leadership duties across a broader group.

Boeser is the longest-tenured player in the group, entering his 10th season with Vancouver after being selected 23rd overall in the 2015 NHL Draft. He has already held an ‘A’ since the 2024-25 season. Pettersson was first given an alternate letter in 2023-24, while Hronek took on the role last season. For Buium, O’Connor and Karlsson, this is the first time they have been officially part of the team’s leadership group.

Captaincy remains open after Quinn Hughes trade

The captain’s position in Vancouver has been vacant since December 2025, when then-captain Quinn Hughes was traded to the Minnesota Wild. The star defenceman’s departure left the ‘C’ unassigned, and the Canucks have opted to continue without naming a successor for the start of this season.

Buium was one of the pieces coming back from Minnesota in the Hughes deal and has quickly become central to the Canucks’ long-term plans on the blue line. Earlier in September, the 20-year-old signed an eight-year contract extension worth $75.04 million, committing his future to Vancouver and underscoring his importance within the organization.

New faces step into leadership roles

By elevating Buium, O’Connor and Karlsson alongside established figures like Boeser, Pettersson and Hronek, the Canucks are blending veteran presence with newer additions in their leadership core. The six-alternate model allows coaches and management to distribute responsibilities while keeping flexibility if they decide to name a captain later on.

Vancouver will debut this new leadership structure Tuesday night when they visit the Oilers in Edmonton, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. MT. The opener will offer a first look at how the expanded group of alternates helps guide the team once the regular season begins.