Paul Cotter Has Six Points in Four Canucks Games and Has Moved Onto Vancouver's Top Power Play

Paul Cotter was signed to be a bottom-six forward. Four games into the season, he is the most productive winger on the Vancouver Canucks. Cotter scored on the power play in Sunday's 3-2 home loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, his 300th NHL game, and extended his season-opening point streak to four games with four goals and two assists. With Jake DeBrusk out sick for a second straight game, Cotter filled DeBrusk's spot on the top power-play unit and converted a Filip Hronek feed late in the first period.

The streak makes Cotter only the seventh player in franchise history to score four goals in his first four games as a Canuck, per team-focused coverage of the milestone. More importantly for fantasy managers, he has climbed from a fourth-line assignment on opening night to the second line, centering Liam Ohgren and Brock Boeser in Sunday's projected lineup. Vancouver now leaves on a six-game road trip, and its goaltending, with Thatcher Demko still sidelined, is just as important to sort out for DFS players.

From a cheap July signing to a top-six role

Vancouver signed Cotter on July 1 to a one-year deal carrying a $2.15 million average annual value, after New Jersey declined to qualify him as a restricted free agent. General manager Ryan Johnson described him at the time as a versatile forward who would add to the bottom six. His recent production fit that billing: 22 points in 79 games with the Devils in 2024-25 and 15 points in 79 games in 2025-26.

The start has changed the conversation. Cotter scored twice in the season opener, including the overtime winner in a 6-5 victory in Edmonton, then scored again and set up a Brock Boeser goal in Thursday's 9-7 home-opening loss to the Oilers. He added an assist in Saturday's 4-1 comeback win over Calgary before Sunday's power-play goal.

Head coach Manny Malhotra has rewarded the production. Sunday's projected lineup had Cotter between Ohgren and Boeser, behind a top line of Marco Rossi, Elias Pettersson and Linus Karlsson. Pettersson has his own four-game point streak (two goals, four assists), so Vancouver's top six is producing even with DeBrusk and Filip Chytil (shoulder) out of the lineup.

The DeBrusk question decides the power-play share

Cotter's top-unit role exists because DeBrusk is sick. Malhotra said before Sunday's game that DeBrusk would miss a second straight game with an illness and was day to day, and the Canucks expect him to join the road trip that opens Thursday in Carolina. When DeBrusk returns, he is the natural candidate to reclaim his net-front spot on the first unit, which would push Cotter back to the second power play.

That matters for valuation. Three of Cotter's four goals came in two wild games against an Edmonton team that has allowed goals in bunches all week, and his shooting luck will cool. The even-strength role is the more durable part of the profile: a second-line job next to Boeser on a team that has scored 19 goals in four games is real fantasy value in deeper formats, especially in leagues that count hits and faceoff wins, where Cotter's physical style adds category help.

Vancouver's crease: Lankinen and Merilainen with no Demko until winter

The Canucks are hoping Demko returns from January hip surgery before Christmas, according to co-president Henrik Sedin, who said there is no firm timeline and that the club wants him fully healthy first. Until then, Kevin Lankinen and Leevi Merilainen, claimed off waivers from Ottawa on Sept. 25, are sharing the net.

The early returns are mixed. Lankinen was pulled midway through the second period of Thursday's 9-7 loss after making 13 saves on 20 shots, and Merilainen stopped 10 of 11 in relief. Merilainen then made 23 saves in his first Vancouver start, Saturday's 4-1 win over Calgary. Lankinen answered with a 25-save performance against Vegas on Sunday, a clear bounce-back even in a loss. Neither goalie has separated, and the schedule practically guarantees a rotation.

What to do in your league

Paul Cotter: He is worth a pickup in deeper leagues and multi-category formats with hits, and he is a reasonable streaming option in standard leagues while DeBrusk is out. Do not pay for the goal pace. Treat him as a second-line winger whose upside depends on whether he keeps a power-play role once DeBrusk is back.

Kevin Lankinen: He looks like the slight favorite for starts, but not by enough to roster him as anything more than a streamer. He is a fine DFS value goalie only when he is confirmed and the opponent is weak offensively.

Leevi Merilainen: He belongs on watch lists in deep leagues. One good start against a Calgary team that has scored twice in two games does not establish a role, but another strong outing on the road trip would turn this into a true split.

DFS note: Vancouver plays Oct. 10 at New Jersey and Oct. 11 at the Rangers on consecutive days, so expect each goalie to start one of those games. Wait for confirmed starters before locking in either goalie, and favor Canucks skaters in stacks only when Cotter or DeBrusk is confirmed on the first power-play unit.

The Verdexed take

Vancouver's early identity is a team that can score but cannot yet keep the puck out consistently, and that shapes both fantasy and betting views. A road trip through the defending Cup champions in Carolina, three New York-area games and back-to-back stops in Florida and Tampa Bay is a stiff test for a tandem without its starter. Bettors should be wary of trusting Vancouver as a road side until one goalie shows he can string starts together, and game totals involving the Canucks deserve a look given how often their games have opened up. For the model's view on individual Canucks games, see the NHL predictions page.

Cotter is a classic early-season decision: the production is real, the role is improving, and the underlying talent is closer to a 30-point player than a 40-goal one. The managers who win with him will add him now and move on quickly if DeBrusk's return pushes him off the top unit.

What's next

Watch Thursday's morning skate in Raleigh for DeBrusk's status and for which goalie leaves the ice first. If DeBrusk is back on the top unit, temper Cotter expectations; if Cotter stays there, his value rises another tier for the length of the trip.