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Thatcher Demko

Canucks Activate Thatcher Demko

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The Canucks are about to get a key player back in their lineup.  The team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Thatcher Demko has been activated from Injured Non-Roster status.  He’s expected to serve as the backup goaltender tonight against Columbus.

It has been a long road back for the 28-year-old.  Demko last played in the opening round of the playoffs where he suffered a popliteal muscle injury.  Since then, there have been multiple times when they hoped Demko was nearing a return but instead, his ramp-up had to be slowed down.  Now, it appears he’s in good enough condition to at least serve in the second-string role against Columbus.

Demko had his best season in 2023-24, posting a 2.45 GAA, a .918 SV%, and five shutouts in 51 starts for Vancouver.  That performance made him the Vezina Trophy runner-up to Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck.  However, he only suited up once in the postseason before being unable to play through the injury.  His return will certainly be a welcome one with the Canucks sitting in the middle of the pack in the Pacific Division.

For the moment, at least, Vancouver has three goalies on its active roster with Kevin Lankinen (starting tonight) and Arturs Silovs (who eventually became the starter in the playoffs once Demko was injured) being the other two.  Silovs is off to a particularly rough start (he has a 4.11 GAA and a .847 SV%) in his first seven outings and is waiver-exempt, making him an easy choice to send down to AHL Abbotsford at some point.

That said, if the Canucks want to ease Demko in, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Silovs stay up for the time being to dress as the backup at times or to lighten the workload at practice.  With the team recently moving Filip Hronek to LTIR and sending Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Cole McWard down after doing so, Vancouver has ample roster and cap space to keep all three on the active roster if they decide that’s the route they want to take.

Pacific Notes: Gibson, Hinds, Demko

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It’s been an open secret for over a year that the Anaheim Ducks are looking to trade netminder John Gibson. Thanks to the emergence of Lukáš Dostál as a legitimate starting option, the timing has never been better to move on from Gibson. Because he believes a trade is on the horizon, Pierre LeBrun writes in The Athletic (Subscription Required) about a couple of teams that may be interested in Gibson’s services.

He initially lists the Colorado Avalanche as an option. The Avalanche have gotten dismal goaltending this year sitting dead last in the league with an .854 SV% split between Alexandar Georgiev, Justus Annunen, and Trent Miner. However, LeBrun believes Colorado is hoping for a Georgiev rebound given that the goaltender outplayed Connor Hellebuyck and nearly outplayed Jake Oettinger in last year’s playoffs. Still, especially if the Ducks are willing to retain some salary, Gibson’s $6.4MM salary as a starting goaltender is becoming a bargain with the increasing salary cap which may appeal to the cash-strapped Avalanche.

LeBrun also mentions the Carolina Hurricanes as a logical landing spot. The organization has gotten solid goaltending from Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov this season but the former’s ability to stay healthy has become a concern. Gibson’s current contract runs in line with Kochetkov’s and LeBrun believes he may provide more stability than Andersen who’s becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.

Other Pacific notes:

  • The Anaheim Ducks have reassigned defenseman Tyson Hinds to their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls after the young prospect failed to make his NHL debut over the last two days. Hinds, originally drafted by the Ducks with the 76th overall selection of the 2021 NHL Draft, has played with the AHL Gulls for the last two years. He’s scored four goals and 12 points in 84 career AHL contests.
  • Sportsnet’s Randip Janda provided a positive update regarding the injured netminder for the Vancouver Canucks, Thatcher Demko, this afternoon. While speaking with Demko after practice, Janda quoted the goaltender saying, “I feel really good. This is the best I’ve felt in 7-8 months. I finally see a little light at the end of tunnel, for sure, and have a lot of direction in what we’re trying to accomplish”. Demko has yet to play this season due to an injury dating back to last year and the Canucks sit 22nd in the league in save percentage with a .884 mark.

Injury Updates: Canucks, Brossoit, Romanov

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The Canucks will be without winger Brock Boeser tonight against Edmonton as he’s still being evaluated for the upper-body injury he sustained on Thursday, shares Sportsnet 650’s Brendan Batchelor (Twitter link).  After a breakout performance last season that saw him score 40 goals and 33 assists in 81 games, the 27-year-old is off to a nice start offensively this year with six goals and five assists in his first dozen games.  It’s a contract year for Boeser so he’ll certainly be hoping to avoid any long-term absence.

Meanwhile, Canucks GM Patrik Allvin shared some updates on a few other players to Batchelor and other reporters.  The team is hopeful that forward Dakota Joshua will make his season debut at some point on their current home stand as he continues to work his way back from testicular cancer.  Goaltender Thatcher Demko still has no timeline to make his season debut as his knee injury continues to keep him out of the lineup.  Lastly, prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki (a speculative recall candidate following the Daniel Sprong trade), tweaked something and won’t be available for AHL Abbotsford tonight which takes him out of the potential recall equation for the time being.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson told reporters including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link) that there is now no timeline for when goaltender Laurent Brossoit will make his debut. Brossoit is dealing with a meniscus injury, one that he was supposed to be back from weeks ago.  Richardson likens the injury to Demko’s situation in Vancouver in that it’s going to be difficult to pinpoint a potential return time for him.  Brossoit signed a two-year, $6.6MM contract with Chicago in July after a strong season as the backup in Winnipeg.
  • While Islanders blueliner Alexander Romanov isn’t expected to play tonight, he will accompany the team on their upcoming Western Canada road trip, relays Ethan Sears of the New York Post (Twitter link). The 24-year-old has missed the last week with an upper-body injury but did skate today.  With the Isles already down Adam Pelech and Mike Reilly, they’ll certainly be looking forward to getting Romanov back sooner than later.  He’s logging over 21 minutes a night and has a pair of assists in eight games so far this season.

Canucks Notes: Demko, Forbort, Joshua

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The Canucks have waited a long time to see Thatcher Demko return to practice since exiting their first-round series against the Predators last season with a mysterious knee injury, and it finally came to pass yesterday, the team relayed. Vancouver has received expert goaltending from late-summer pickup Kevin Lankinen in the meantime (.923 SV%, 2.09 GAA), but getting last year’s Vezina Trophy runner-up back in the fold is still top of mind.

It’s the most demonstrable step toward a return that Demko has taken in months, although his return to practice has been on the horizon for the past week. He began working off-ice with goalie coach Marko Torenius last Friday and had an appointment to earn his medical clearance to practice earlier this week.

Demko told reporters during training camp that the specific injury was to the popliteus muscle in one of his knees. This small muscle in the back of the leg plays a key role in stabilizing the knee and allowing it to flex. Instances of popliteal injury in professional sports are rare, even more so in hockey, leading to much uncertainty around his return timeline over the past few months.

Demko, who will be 29 next month, had a career-best 35 wins, .918 SV%, 2.45 GAA, five shutouts, and 21.2 GSAA last season. In addition to finishing second in Vezina Trophy voting, he was selected to the 2024 NHL All-Star Game and was a Second-Team All-Star.

There’s more on the Canucks:

  • Injury news isn’t as positive regarding defenseman Derek Forbort, who could be sidelined for over a month with the knee injury he sustained in practice Monday, reports Irfaan Gaffar of Daily Faceoff. Forbort missed Tuesday’s win over the Ducks with the injury and missed most of October due to personal reasons, limiting him to just one appearance since Oct. 15. Since signing a one-year, $1.5MM contract in Vancouver in free agency, he has one assist and a -2 rating in four appearances while averaging 16:30 per game. The physical left-shot defender has registered just one hit and has controlled 51.8% of shot attempts and 33.3% of expected goals at even strength.
  • Dakota Joshua is still close to returning after undergoing surgery to remove testicular cancer over the offseason but won’t do so today versus the Kings, head coach Rick Tocchet told Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre. Tocchet said his absence from yesterday’s practice and unavailability today isn’t indicative of a setback but instead of the team’s cautious approach to his recovery. Joshua has missed all 11 Canucks games this season after signing a four-year, $13MM extension to stay in Vancouver a few days before the start of free agency.

Pacific Notes: McDavid, Demko, Forbort

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There’s growing optimism within the Edmonton Oilers organization that captain Connor McDavid could return sooner than expected. Tom Gazzola of Edmonton Sports Talk reported video of McDavid skating on his injured ankle earlier this morning adding he hasn’t ruled out playing this upcoming weekend.

The Oilers originally believed McDavid would miss two to three weeks with an ankle injury but two weeks may be the maximum. The fact that McDavid is already back skating on the ice is a positive step in the right direction regarding his recovery timeline.

McDavid hasn’t played since Edmonton’s blowout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 28th. The Oilers have done as well as possible in his absence securing wins against the Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames but have two difficult games this week against the New Jersey Devils and Vegas Golden Knights. Should McDavid return this weekend in the Oilers’ contest against the Vancouver Canucks he will have only missed a total of four contests.

Other Pacific notes:

  • Another Pacific Division team with positive news on the injury front is the Canucks. The Athletic’s Rick Dhaliwal reported earlier that goaltender Thatcher Demko is on the last step before being medically cleared to practice although his timeline is still up in the air. Vancouver could certainly use a reinforcement in the crease. Free agency pickup Kevin Lankinen has held down the fort with a .919 save percentage through seven starts but backup netminder Arturs Silovs has struggled to a .797 SV% mark in three.
  • Staying in Vancouver, Harman Dayal of The Athletic reported defenseman Derek Forbort got shaken up during a practice drill and left early. Dayal noted that Forbort appeared to favor a leg as he left the ice but the team didn’t update his status after the practice. If Forbort is unavailable in tomorrow night’s action against the Anaheim Ducks expect one of Vincent Desharnais or Noah Juulsen to suit up on the bottom pairing.

West Notes: Demko, Stone, Hague, Hartman

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Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko has taken another important step back in his recovery from a popliteus muscle injury.  Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province reports that the netminder worked on the ice today with goalie coach Marko Torenius before practice today; it’s believed this is his first day back on the ice after working out on his own over the last few weeks.  Demko has yet to play this season due to the injury, one that took him out early in the first round of the playoffs back in the spring.  That resulted in Vancouver signing Kevin Lankinen early in training camp, a move that has worked out well as he has posted a 2.29 GAA with a .920 SV% in his first six starts.

More from the West:

  • Golden Knights winger Mark Stone missed practice today for personal reasons, the team announced (Twitter link). The 32-year-old is off to quite the start to his season, leading the league in scoring with five goals and 14 assists in 11 games.  Stone has dealt with lingering back issues for the past several years but fortunately for Vegas, this absence isn’t injury-related.  It’s unclear if he will be available for their next game Saturday versus Utah as his wife is ready to give birth to their second child.
  • Still with Vegas, the team also noted (Twitter link) that defenseman Nicolas Hague was back at practice today. He has been dealing with an upper-body injury that has kept him out of the lineup for three straight games but he wasn’t moved to injured reserve.  The 25-year-old was off to a slow start before the injury, notching one goal, 11 blocks, and nine hits in eight games so far.
  • With the Wild back at home for the first time in nearly three weeks, they will indeed welcome Ryan Hartman back to the lineup tonight against Tampa Bay, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo (Twitter link). That was the expected outcome after Liam Ohgren was returned to the minors yesterday.  Hartman missed the last five games with an upper-body injury after scoring twice in his first four outings.

Vancouver Reassign Three To AHL, Place Two On SOIR

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The Vancouver Canucks are gearing up to announce their opening night roster for the 2024-25 NHL season. The team has made a few transactions in that effort announcing Arshdeep Bains, Erik Brannstrom, and Jiri Patera have been assigned to their AHL affiliate with Thatcher Demko and Dakota Joshua being placed on the season-opening injured reserve.

None of the moves are surprising with Vancouver trading for, and waiving, Brannstrom yesterday in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche. Patera was also placed on waivers yesterday by the Boston Bruins and the Canucks can send him down without waivers since they were the only team to place a claim.

Bains played eight games for Vancouver last year but came away scoreless. He should be a relatively frequent call-up depending on the Canucks’ injury outlook with Bains scoring 16 goals and 55 points in 56 games for AHL Abbotsford last year.

The two injured reserve assignments, Demko and Joshua, are the most unsurprising designations among the transactions. Demko continues to work his way back from an injury suffered in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs without any concrete timeline for his return.

According to The Athletic’s Rick Dhaliwal, there is more positivity with Joshua, who has returned to the ice and is only a few weeks away from joining the team. Joshua missed all of training camp for the Canucks after undergoing surgery for his testicular cancer diagnosis. He’s expected to fully recover and join Vancouver’s roster in a few weeks.

Snapshots: Ehlers, Demko, Zelenov, Buium

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Earlier in the offseason, there was a fair amount of trade speculation surrounding Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers although a move never materialized.  Now in the final season of his seven-year, $42MM contract, the 28-year-old is now extension-eligible leading some to wonder if the fact he wasn’t traded could mean there are positive signs towards a new agreement.  That doesn’t appear to be the case, however, as GM Kevin Cheveldayoff told Thomas Drance of The Athletic (subscription link) that they are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to contract talks for Ehlers.  While he allowed for the possibility of in-season discussions, he noted that they might wait to address it until after the upcoming season.  Ehlers had 25 goals and 36 assists in 81 games last season, his best offensive performance since when he was on his entry-level contract.  It appears Cheveldayoff may be wanting to wait to see if that will be repeatable under new head coach Scott Arniel before beginning extension talks.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • The Canucks don’t have a target date in mind for Thatcher Demko to return from his knee injury, head coach Rick Tocchet told Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre. However, the bench boss acknowledged that the netminder is excited about how his recovery is progressing and that he has been improving over the past two to three weeks which is certainly a positive sign.  Vancouver has been looking at free agents to see if there’s a viable option to bring in as insurance but as of yet, they haven’t been able to reach an agreement with one.  Arturs Silovs, who took over the starting job in the playoffs, is in line to open the season as Vancouver’s starter assuming Demko won’t be ready to play by then.
  • Sabres prospect Vasili Zelenov has committed to play for Wisconsin, reports Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal (Twitter link). The 18-year-old was a seventh-round pick in June, going 204th overall after a strong season in Austria that saw him record 37 points in 40 games. Zelenov is set to suit up for USHL Green Bay this season and will likely look to make the jump to Wisconsin for the 2025-26 campaign.
  • Red Wings prospect blueliner Shai Buium was injured today after taking a shot off the ankle, relays Max Bultman of The Athletic (Twitter link). The team is hopeful that he will be able to take part in Detroit’s training camp but it’s too early for that to be known just yet.  Buium is getting set for his first professional season after spending the last three years at the University of Denver.  He finished up his college career on a high note with 36 points in 43 games last season before making his debut with AHL Grand Rapids for one game.

Pacific Notes: Demko, Silovs, Lekkerimaki, Vladar

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It doesn’t appear that Vancouver Canucks’ president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford is overly confident about the team’s goaltending situation heading into training camp. He recently engaged in an interview with Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet where the two spoke at length about goaltending and his expectations for the organization in the upcoming season.

It’s already come to light the team is considering Antti Raanta on a professional tryout agreement to serve as a short-term stopgap for the team as they buy time for Thatcher Demko and Arturs Silovs. When asked about his goaltenders Rutherford said,

“As you know, I don’t talk directly about potential injuries or the perception of where players are at (health-wise). I feel good about our goaltending. Where that is for the start of training camp and the start of the season, I don’t even know myself right now. We haven’t even done physicals yet. But I know our goalies are working hard and working towards being ready for the start of the season. As an organization, that’s what we’re hoping for“.

Both regular netminders for Vancouver are dealing with knee injuries that are taking longer than expected to recover from. The team shot out of the gates last season with an 11-3-1 record through their first 15 games which helped propel them to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2020. The Canucks have a short window to address their goaltending if they hope to start as well as they did last season.

Other Pacific notes:

  • Staying in Vancouver — Dan Rosen of NHL.com recently wrote in a mailbag that Canucks’ prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki has an outside chance of making the team if he has a strong training camp. Vancouver’s first-round selection of the 2022 NHL Draft recently wrapped up his first season with the SHL’s Örebro HK where he scored 19 goals and 31 points in 46 games; becoming one of Vancouver’s top forward prospects. It will still be difficult for Lekkerimaki to crack the roster despite his strong efforts overseas. The Canucks overhauled their bottom-six this summer which may not be a positive starting point for the offensive-minded Swede.
  • Daniel Vladar of the Calgary Flames is progressing well from offseason hip surgery says TSN’s Salim Nadim Valji. Vladar will be entering the 2024-25 NHL season in an interesting spot as the Flames don’t have a concrete direction this season in between the pipes. Calgary is expected to name Dustin Wolf their starter this year but could pivot to Vladar quickly if the young phenom has a slow adjustment to the NHL. Vladar has never played more than 27 games in a single season but could see that number rise to 35+ if the latter hypothetical becomes a reality.

Canadian Notes: Robertson, Perfetti, Demko

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Toronto Maple Leafs winger Nicholas Robertson has emerged as a top name on the trade market headed into training camp, following reports that he’s still hoping to start the year on a new team. But Sportsnet’s Luke Fox shared he isn’t expecting the recent momentum to spark a trade before the Leafs kick off camp, citing Robertson’s lack of much negotiating power.

Robertson’s name has floated around trade rumors since last season’s Trade Deadline and peaked with a formal trade request at the start of free agency. But nothing has come together yet, placing Robertson in a mix of young, shoot-first wingers on the trade market, alongside the likes of Arthur Kaliyev (link) and Connor McMichael (link).

Robertson played in his first full NHL season this year, though it only resulted in 56 games and a third-line role. He showed flashes of strong play, ultimately scoring 14 goals and 27 points. That brings his career totals up to 34 points, split evenly, in 87 games – commendable production for a former second-round pick and in line with Kaliyev and McMichael. That lack of distinction might make Robertson a tougher sale so close to the season. That is if the Leafs even choose to fulfill his trade request – which seems growingly unlikely as the team’s brass continues sharing excitement over Robertson’s potential in a growing role.

More notes from around the league:

  • The Winnipeg Jets are one of many teams still negotiating with top RFAs, needing to work out a deal for winger Cole Perfetti after he managed a stout 29 goals and 75 points in 140 NHL games on his entry-level contract. The Athletic’s Murat Ates took to projecting what Perfetti’s next deal could look like given his minimal experience in Winnipeg’s top-six. Ates drew a strong comparison to Ottawa’s negotiations with Shane Pinto, which ultimately ended in a two-year, $7.5MM bridge contract. Pinto also has 140 games of NHL experience and 70 total points, earned while planting his feet as Ottawa’s third-line center. That’s proven a more reliable role than Perfetti’s earned up to this point, though Ates reasoned that the two are comparable enough to earn Perfetti a similar bridge deal.
  • Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko has reportedly returned to the ice, shares CHEK Sports’ Rick Dhaliwal, who added that the starting goaltender could be healthy enough to participate in training camp. The Canucks were previously prepared for Demko to sit out of the team’s opening camp as he recovered from a groin injury taking longer than expected to heal. That’s certainly a timely update, with Vancouver recently sharing that Arturs Silovs – Demko’s presumed backup – is also bearing through a lower-body injury. The Canucks have been connected to free agent goaltenders like Kevin Lankinen but could be waiting out Demko’s early steps back before they make any signings official.

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