Canucks sign Schenn, Cotter, Thomas, Fix-Wolansky to one-year contracts
The Vancouver Canucks made a flurry of signings on Wednesday, inking veteran defenseman Luke Schenn as well as left winger Paul Cotter, forward Akil Thomas and blueliner Trey Fix-Wolansky to one-year deals.
Schenn and Cotter bring significant NHL experience to a group expected to be contending for the best odds in the NHL Draft Lottery at the bottom of the regular season standings. Thomas and Fix-Wolansky, meanwhile, bring depth with the potential to earn a spot as part of the solution on Canada’s west coast.
Schenn’s contract is for $2.25 million for the 2026-27 season, while Cotter’s is for $2.15 million for the same period. Both are one-way deals, as well. Thomas, meanwhile, has a two-way, two-year deal that will pay him $900,000 in the NHL and $375,000 in the minors, and Fix-Wolansky will make a similar $900,000 in the NHL and $525,000 in the AHL.
Schenn, now 36, comes back to Vancouver for a third spell after first playing with the team in 2018-19 and from 2021 to 2023, as part of a journeyman career that has seen him suit up for the Canucks, Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Arizona Coyotes, LA Kings and Philadelphia Flyers. In total, the veteran blueliner has played 1,122 NHL regular-season games and has scored 45 goals and 167 assists for 212 points and has won the 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cups with the Lightning.
Last season, the six-foot-two right-handed blueliner played 50 games split between the Jets and Sabres, scoring a goal and seven points across the two spells.
Meanwhile, Cotter also brings Stanley Cup-winning pedigree to Vancouver, having helped the Vegas Golden Knights to the title in 2023. He has 47 goals and 82 points in 296 career games between Vegas and the New Jersey Devils, and will look to be a key contributor to Vancouver after netting nine goals and 15 points in 79 regular-season games last season.
Thomas played in 25 NHL regular-season games with the LA Kings in 2024-25 but spent last season in the minors, scoring nine goals and 16 points in 39 AHL games with the Ontario Reign and Springfield Thunderbirds. Fix-Wolansky, 27, has spent the majority of his career in the AHL, but has four goals and two assists in 26 NHL games.
Neither Schenn, Potter, nor Fix-Wolansky is likely to play a key part for the Canucks beyond the 2026-27 season, as the team looks to its prospects in a full tear-down and rebuild under new general manager Ryan Johson and co-presidents Henrik and Daniel Sedin, but Thomas could be part of the solution.