The Canucks enter 2026-27 with a crease problem that could shape the whole season, and Nikita Tolopilo sits right at the center of it. He is no longer just depth; he is part of a three-way decision that may force Vancouver to choose between patience, planning, and a trade.

A Season That Revealed Both Flaws and Upside

Tolopilo’s 2025-26 year was a constant shuffle between the AHL and NHL, and that instability showed in the results. He split time across both levels, posted uneven numbers, and spent more nights fighting volume than controlling it.

The raw production was rough, but it did not erase the useful parts of his season. Against strong opponents, he had stretches that suggested he could hold NHL shots for long enough to matter.

• In the AHL, he finished with a 3.07 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage.
• In the NHL, he carried a 3.61 goals-against average and an .881 save percentage.
• He had 14 starts where he allowed three or more goals, which shows how often games got away from the team in front of him.

The Games That Kept His Name Relevant

Not every start told the same story. A few performances were strong enough to keep the organization interested, even if the larger sample was uneven.

Late January became his most memorable window. He strung together three starts and allowed only four total goals, which included a 32-save performance in a 2-0 win that was nearly a shutout. That result slipped away because he briefly entered concussion protocol, and the technical scorekeeper’s decision went against him.

He followed that with a 39-save effort in a 3-2 shootout loss to Toronto, highlighted by an overtime stop on Auston Matthews during a penalty shot. Those are the kinds of moments that make a goalie harder to dismiss.

The finish to his season was less tidy, but he still managed one more bright spot on April 12, stopping 24 of 27 shots in a win over Anaheim.

Why Vancouver’s Depth Chart Is So Uncomfortable

This is not a simple battle for a backup job. Vancouver is carrying more goaltending talent than it can comfortably house, and that creates pressure on every part of the roster.

Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen bring veteran value, but they also make Tolopilo harder to place. Vancouver does not have enough runway to keep three NHL-caliber goalies in permanent rotation, and the team’s broader timeline makes that even harder to justify.

Tolopilo’s age matters here. At 26, he fits a retooling club better than a veteran on the wrong side of the curve, and he can still be moved as an asset rather than treated like a sunk cost. That gives him a different kind of value than the names above him.

What Camp Needs to Prove

Training camp will not be about talent alone. It will be about use, timing, and whether Tolopilo can make management uncomfortable enough to change its plan.

He has a few possible ways to help himself:

• Show enough in camp to make a veteran trade unavoidable.
• Raise his value high enough that another team views him as a real tandem option.
• Stay steady enough that Vancouver cannot justify moving him down the ladder.

If he simply survives camp without flashing more, he risks becoming the easiest name to shuffle. If he stands out, the Canucks have to decide whether they want to commit to a crowded rotation or cash in one of their goalies while the market is still open.

What 2026-27 Could Look Like

The most likely outcomes are fairly clear. If Tolopilo remains in Vancouver, he probably settles into a shared workload with roughly 30 to 35 starts. That would give him enough games to matter without fully stabilizing the crease.

If he is traded, the path changes fast. A team seeking a 1A/1B partner would likely give him a bigger role, and a 40-plus start season would be within reach depending on the situation.

What should not happen is a quiet trip to the AHL. His value is too high for that kind of squeeze, and Vancouver would be taking unnecessary risk if it tried to stash him there.

The Most Likely Ending

Tolopilo is not the Canucks’ top goaltender, but that may not matter. He is the goalie whose timeline lines up most naturally with the team’s direction, and that alone makes him a serious factor in how Vancouver handles the next few months.

The simplest answer is also the most practical one: his future probably depends on whether Vancouver can turn excess depth into a better fit. If not, Tolopilo may be the one who ends up standing in the crease when the dust settles.