Canucks shore up forward group with additions of DeBrusk, Heinen, Sprong

After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is examining where each team stands in preparation for the 2024-25 regular season, which starts Oct. 4. Today, the Vancouver Canucks:

2023-24 season: 50-23-9, first in Pacific Division; lost in Western Conference Second Round

Key arrivals

Jake DeBrusk, F: The 27-year-old signed a seven-year contract July 1 and is expected to start on a line with center Elias Pettersson, though he could also end up alongside J.T. Miller. Either way, he's being counted on to add speed and scoring to the top six after having 40 points (19 goals, 21 assists) in 80 games last season and averaging more than 23 goals over the past three seasons with the Boston Bruins. ... Danton Heinen, F: The versatile 29-year-old signed a two-year contract July 1 after he had 36 points (17 goals, 19 assists) in 74 games for Boston last season. … Vincent Desharnais, D: The 28-year-old signed a two-year contract July 1 after he had 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) in 78 games with the Edmonton Oilers last season, all NHL career highs. … Derek Forbort, D: The 32-year-old signed a one-year contract July 1 after he had four assists in 35 games with the Bruins last season. He likely will play on the third defense pair and also kill penalties. … Daniel Sprong, F: The 27-year-old signed a one-year contract July 20 after he had 43 points (18 goals, 25 assists) in 76 games with the Detroit Red Wings last season. … Kiefer Sherwood, F: The 29-year-old signed a two-year contract July 1 after setting NHL career highs in games (68), goals (10), assists (17), points (27) and plus-minus (plus-17) with the Nashville Predators and should add a physical edge to the bottom six. … Jiri Patera, G: The 25-year-old signed a two-year contract July 1 and despite having eight games of NHL experience, could push 23-year-old Arturs Silovs for the backup job behind No. 1 goalie Thatcher Demko.

Key departures

Elias Lindholm, F: Signed a seven-year contract with the Bruins on July 1. Lindholm was acquired in a trade with the Calgary Flames on Jan. 31 and had 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 13 playoff games after having 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 26 regular-season games with them. … Nikita Zadorov, D: Acquired from the Flames on Dec. 3, he had 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 54 regular-season games and eight points (four goals, four assists) in 13 playoff games before signing a six-year contract with the Bruins on July 1. … Ian Cole, D: The veteran defenseman signed a one-year contract with the Utah Hockey Club on July 1 after scoring 11 points (two goals, nine assists) and having a team-high 166 blocked shots in 78 games. He also was an effective penalty killer on Vancouver's third defense pair. … Ilya Mikheyev, F: Traded to the Chicago Blackhawks on June 26, Mikheyev had 31 points (11 goals, 20 assists) in 78 games last season. … Sam Lafferty, F: Traded to Chicago on June 26, Lafferty signed a two-year contract with the Buffalo Sabres on July 1 as an unrestricted free agent after setting an NHL career high with 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists) in 79 games last season. … Casey DeSmith, G: Signed a three-year contract with the Dallas Stars on July 1 after going 12-9-6 with a 2.89 GAA and .896 save percentage as Demko's backup.

On the cusp

Arturs Silovs, G: Despite playing more NHL games in the 2024 playoffs (10) than in the regular season over the past two years (nine), he proved he can handle pressure moments, including a First Round series-clinching 28-save shutout in a 1-0 Game 6 win over the Nashville Predators, and has the inside track to back up Demko this season. ... Jonathan Lekkerimaki, F: The 15th pick in the 2022 NHL Draft is coming off a breakout season in Sweden's top professional league with 31 points (19 goals, 12 assists) in 46 games with Orebro HK, and was voted tournament MVP at the 2024 World Junior Championship, scoring seven goals in seven games for Sweden. The 20-year-old played six games with Abbotsford of the American Hockey League at the end of the season, with one goal and one assist, and likely will spend majority of the season there. … Linus Karlsson, F: The 24-year-old made his NHL debut and had no points in four games with the Canucks last season, but had 60 points (23 goals, 37 assists) in 60 AHL games and made enough of an impression to get into two games in the second round of the playoffs. ... Cole McWard, D: The 23-year-old has played six games with the Canucks since signing at the end of the 2022-23 season as a free agent out of Ohio State University. He had 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) in 57 AHL games last season and Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said he has a chance to earn a spot on the team out of training camp.

What they still need

The roster appears mostly set, even if it's unclear exactly how all the pieces fit, but the Canucks might still need an upgrade on defense that improves their ability to transition the puck out of their own end. Allvin indicated they may try splitting up Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek to aid in that effort but said the simple structure in place under coach Rick Tocchet should help the defensemen they have make a fast first pass.

They said it

"We felt we need to be a faster team in the transition game and by having (Kiefer) Sherwood, (Danton) Heinen and (Jake) DeBrusk, they all can skate. Continue to be a strong defensive team, which we were this year and (Derek) Forbort's ability to kill penalties and the potential upside in Vincent Desharnais, too. … So absolutely, I'm very pleased with the identity of our team and I think that also makes it easier to attract players to come in." -- general manager Patrik Allvin

Fantasy focus

DeBrusk adds to their top-six forward group, having scored at least 40 points in three straight seasons, including an NHL career-high 50 points (27 goals, 23 assists) in 64 games in 2022-23. He has solid individual fantasy potential if he plays on a line with either Miller or Pettersson and will benefit from being part of a strong Vancouver offense that ranked sixth in the NHL last season in goals per game (3.40). DeBrusk also has upside if he gets time on the Canucks power play (tied for 10th in the NHL last season; 22.7 percent). -- Anna Dua

Projected lineup

Nils Hoglander -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser

Jake DeBrusk -- Elias Pettersson -- Daniel Sprong

Dakota Joshua -- Teddy Blueger -- Conor Garland

Danton Heinen -- Pius Suter -- Kiefer Sherwood

Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek

Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers

Derek Forbort -- Vincent Desharnais

Thatcher Demko

Arturs Silovs