Who's In: Ryan Shannon, W (ANA) Jim Sharrow (ATL), Brad Isbister, W (FA-NYR), Byron Ritchie, C (FA-CGY), Curtis Sanford, G, (FA-STL), Aaron Miller, D (UFA-LA)
Who's Out: Jason King, LW (ANA), Jesse Schultz, C, Jan Bulis, W, (RUSSIA), Rory Fitzpatrick, D (UFA-PHI), Lee Goren, W, Josh Green, LW, Tommi Santala, C, Bryan Smolinski, C (MTL) and Brent Sopel, D (DET).
What's Changed: After a breakthrough season, in which the Canucks transformed into a defensive-oriented team and made the playoffs, GM Dave Nonis retained almost the exact same roster over the summer, save for a few tweaks here and there. With many of the core players already under contract for another season, Nonis decided against blowing up the roster or making any drastic changes, opting to hope the Canucks would get better seasons from players such as Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison, who both fared poorly under coach Alain Vigneault's tight-checking system.
What was puzzling to most fans and analysts was the fact that Nonis did almost nothing to improve the Canucks' biggest weakness: a lack of goal scoring.
Apart from trading for the diminutive Ryan Shannon (from the Cup-winning Ducks), and signing minor league retreads such as "Buffet Brad" Isbister, Nonis seemed extremely reluctant to patch an enormous hole in the lineup. Only eight clubs had fewer goals last season, and the Canucks have scored only 12 goals in five preseason games.
Opting for a differing strategy, Nonis decided to play to the Canucks' strength and bolster up the defense corps and goaltending. If the Canucks are excellent at keeping the puck out and winning games because of that, Nonis must be thinking, why not ensure the Canucks do an even better job defensively this season? The signing of veterans Aaron Miller and Curtis Sanford, along with the try-out of Dan McGillis, will help give the Canucks the deepest and stingiest defense/goalie combos in the NHL.
Who's In: Scott Hannan, D (FA-SJ), Ryan Smyth, LW (FA-NYI), Jeff Jillson, D (FA), Dale Purinton, D (FA) 
