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Michael DiPietro

Latest On Michael DiPietro

at CDT | by 12 Comments

The Vancouver Canucks recently gave young netminder Michael DiPietro and his agent Darren Ferris permission to seek a trade, and Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV reports that one source believes that there is interest and a deal that “could make sense” for the Canucks.

DiPietro, 23, was a third-round pick of the Canucks in 2017 and quickly became a top goaltending prospect, despite his relatively small stature. He was included as the third goaltender for Canada at the 2018 World Championship before ever playing professional hockey and earned his first NHL minutes while still playing in the OHL as an emergency call-up.

It was his performance at the 2019 World Juniors that vaulted him to “goaltender of the future” status though, as Canucks fans got to see him dominate to the tune of a .952 save percentage. He would join the AHL affiliate the following year and put up decent numbers, but now a few years later and his path to NHL relevance is basically completely blocked.

With Thatcher Demko entrenched as the Vancouver starter, Spencer Martin signed to a cheap deal as the backup, and Collin Delia in place as a viable third-string option, it’s hard to see DiPietro ever getting the net for the Canucks. Thus the trade request and search, though general manager Patrik Allvin is not under much pressure to make a deal.

Not only is he under contract for the upcoming season but DiPietro is also still waiver-exempt this year, meaning he can be sent down without issue. It’s a tough spot for a netminder who hasn’t quite taken the step forward that many expected, and posted just a .901 save percentage in 34 appearances for Abbotsford last season. There is obviously potential there but at this point in the summer, most teams already have their NHL and AHL tandems in place. Expending an asset to acquire DiPietro might seem unnecessary, when he may well go unqualified by the Canucks next summer, if he’s still with the organization.

Pacific Notes: DiPietro, Morehouse, Labanc

at CDT | by 1 Comment

While he works to help facilitate a trade for his client Michael DiPietro, Quartexx’s Darren Ferris voiced some frustration to Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province about how the Canucks have handled the young goaltender so far:

There are occasions where they’ve dropped the ball on his development. The truth of the matter is that the bulk is more on the organization that (sic) it is on the player in this instance. Hopefully, we can get him in the right position.

The 23-year-old basically had a lost season in 2020-21 as his presence on Vancouver’s taxi squad for most of the year limited him to just four games played, hardly ideal for development.  Last season, he lost playing time to Spencer Martin (who’s now Thatcher Demko’s backup) while the Canucks brought in Collin Delia to partner up with Arturs Silovs with AHL Abbotsford next season, making DiPietro the odd man out.  He accepted his qualifying offer earlier this month that will pay $840K in the NHL and $70K in the minors.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • The Sharks are expected to announce the hiring of Chris Morehouse as their new Director of Amateur Scouting next week, reports Corey Masisak of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 35-year-old has spent the last nine years in various scouting roles and had been with the Rangers for the last two seasons as their North American Director of Scouting where he would have likely crossed paths with Mike Grier, now the GM in San Jose.
  • Still with San Jose, Grier told reporters, including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News, that he gave no consideration to the idea of buying out winger Kevin Labanc when the second buyout window opened up recently. The 26-year-old has two years remaining on his contract which carries a $4.725MM AAV.  Over the first two years of that deal, Labanc has just 15 goals in 76 games and was limited to just 21 games last season due to a shoulder injury.  A buyout would have freed up nearly $4MM in extra cap room this summer and next but instead, he’ll look to rebound under new head coach David Quinn.

Snapshots: Tkachuk, Alberta Hockey Hall Of Fame, DiPietro

at CDT | by 7 Comments

With Johnny Gaudreau’s departure from the Calgary Flames organization, all eyes have turned to superstar Matthew Tkachuk and his future with the team. Currently, Tkachuk sits on the RFA market after unsurprisingly receiving a $9MM qualifying-offer from the Flames last week. Not much update has come since then on the 24-year-old’s situation until now, when it was revealed that Tkachuk declined to file for player-elected arbitration ahead of today’s deadline.

In light of the decision not to file, Flames Nation’s Ryan Pike believes the Flames will not elect arbitration on their end before tomorrow’s 5:00 pm ET deadline for teams to elect. Pike cites the fact that by doing so, the Flames would have to offer in arbitration, at the very least, the $9MM qualifying offer. Even still, the arbitrator in Tkachuk’s case could award a number higher than $9MM, perhaps the number Tkachuk were to file at, making arbitration all the more unpredictable at this point for Calgary. Not filing for arbitration will also keep the offer-sheet avenue open, which could pave the way to a long-term resolution for both player and team.

  • Two familiar names are set to be inducted into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame this evening. Former NHL Head Coach Ken Hitchcock and former NHL goaltender and current Columbus Blue Jackets President of Hockey Operations John Davidson will join alongside Cassie Campbell-Pascall, Bill Bucyk, Bob Clark, Dr. Randy Gregg, Jamie Macoun and the 1974-75 Lethbridge Native Sons.
  • According to CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal, the Vancouver Canucks have given goaltender Michael DiPietro and his agent, Darren Ferris, permission to talk with other teams to help facilitate a trade for the goaltender (link). Once a heralded goaltending prospect out of the OHL, DiPietro has yet to live up to the expectations set for him when Vancouver drafted him in the third-round in 2017. The goaltender had a strong 2019-20, his first full pro season, but dealt with injuries and limited playing time in 2020-21. He would rebound in 2021-22, but still hasn’t been able to pull himself back to the blue-chip status he once had. Even if DiPietro could make a full turnaround, he’ll find the net in Vancouver considerably blocked by that of 26-year-old star netminder Thatcher Demko, who is signed through 2025-26. A key distinction with this permission to talk to other teams is not to negotiate a contract, much like Anthony DeAngelo was allowed to do earlier this offseason, but to help find a trade to a destination that will work for DiPietro, with the goaltender having already accepted his qualifying offer yesterday.

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