VANCOUVER – Somewhere there’s a 13-year-old minor-hockey player who could be the return in the Vancouver Canucks’ trade Wednesday of Marcus Pettersson to the New York Rangers.

How is that for a reality check on the timeline for the Canucks’ rebuild?

Vancouver liquidated its second-best defenceman for a first-round draft pick in 2030. If the Canucks retain and use that pick, which is top-10 protected and could be pushed to 2031, it will likely be 6-8 years before the team sees any on-ice benefit from the deal that highlighted a hectic 2026 Canada Day for the organization.

Pettersson, 30, will be replaced in the meantime by Jamie Oleksiak, a rugged, dependable 33-year-old who signed a two-year, $10-million contract Wednesday to join the Canucks as a free agent from the Seattle Kraken.

It will be years before new general manager Ryan Johnson fully rebuilds the team.

But the re-construction of the Canucks’ culture is well underway.

Two days after the zero-cost acquisition of Montreal Canadiens veteran Brendan Gallagher, 34, the Canucks earlier Wednesday repatriated 36-year-old defenceman Luke Schenn, bringing the universally-respected leader back to Vancouver for the third time in eight years on a one-year contract signed shortly after NHL free agency opened.

None of Schenn, Gallagher or Oleksiak is expected to be around whenever the Canucks are championship contenders again, but they’re here to help set that bold trajectory by shaping culture as they mentor and shape their much-younger teammates.

Along with hard-hitting, 215-pound fourth-liner Paul Cotter, added Wednesday as a free agent from the New Jersey Devils, Oleksiak, Schenn and Gallagher will make the Canucks tougher and harder to play against, even if wins may be as scarce next season as they were this past year during the steep fall to last place as the team pivoted towards this rebuild.

It was an expectedly busy day for Johnson and his staff under new Canucks........

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