Canucks Now Forced to Use Waiver Wire As Only Way to Upgrade Their Roster for the 2025-26 Season

While a variety of different options have been linked to the Canucks to help boost their thin center depth, the options remaining available on the UFA market are few and far between.

With so few high quality options available either on the trade market or as a UFA, it might be worthwhile for the Vancouver Canucks to take a swing on a youngster with some remaining potential - and there could be a few interesting options this year.

The player on this list who is most likely to fall victim to the numbers game, the 22nd overall pick from 2020 is set to be waiver eligible for the first time in his career.

He has amassed 84 NHL games with the Washington Capitals, and while splitting time between the AHL and NHL this past season, was a point per game player with the Hershey Bears.

If he doesn't impress enough to earn a spot in camp, Lapierre will likely be one of the best players on the waiver wire, so it might require some luck for him to fall to the Canucks.

With 51 NHL games under his belt, Alexandrov played all of last season in the AHL - scoring 49 points in 48 games.

A 2nd round pick from 2019, Alexandrov has developed into a decent player, but has seemingly been leapfrogged by other prospects in the St. Louis Blues system.

He'll have to clear waivers this season, and could be an intriguing option with remaining upside.

Drafted 22nd overall in 2021, Xavier Bourgault has been one of a handful of first rounders from that COVID year whose development has seemingly gone off the rails.

He is relatively young for a waiver eligible player, but that's due to already spending three lackluster seasons at the AHL level.

Being a former first round pick there's still some hope for upside with Bourgault, but it's waning.

Still, the chance to turn a former Edmonton Oiler bust into a player could be worth a claim for the Vancouver Canucks.

Source: 8 centres with upside the Canucks could look to pluck from preseason waivers