Photo credit: John Russell/Nashville Predators
Insider says the Vancouver Canucks are still in the mix for Kevin Lankinen despite Sunday's PTO signing of Dylan Ferguson.
The Vancouver Canucks finally addressed their goaltending situation on Sunday night as they signed former Vegas Golden Knights and Ottawa Senators goaltender Dylan Ferguson to a professional tryout contract (PTO). Ferguson will join the Canucks for training camp later this week and appear in preseason games, which begin for Vancouver on September 24th against Seattle.
Vancouver's goaltending situation is a tricky one to say the least. Thatcher Demko's recovery from back-to-back knee injuries six weeks apart continues and it's still unclear if he'll be able to participate in training camp at all. Arturs Silovs is coming off of knee ligament inflammation that he sustained while practicing with Latvia ahead of the Final Olympic Qualifiers, although it's expected that he'll be good to go.
As the Canucks head into training camp, assuming Thatcher Demko is unable to participate, these will be the goaltenders in the mix for a spot on the opening night roster - Arturs Silovs, Jiri Patera & Dylan Ferguson. But could Patrik Allvin still bring in another netminder? Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman believes so.
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On Monday's edition of 32 Thoughts, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman said that the Vancouver Canucks are still in talks with unrestricted free agent goaltender Kevin Lankinen, but have been unable to agree on a dollar figure.
"Dylan Ferguson's PTO in Vancouver ensures the Canucks have enough goalies for the pre-season. There's still a dance with Kevin Lankinen, but the two sides are not in agreement on compensation." Friedman said.
If the Canucks are unable to agree on salary with Kevin Lankinen, it's safe to say that they'll more than likely stand pat with Dylan Ferguson, along with their in-house options, rather than pursuing another goaltender on the market.
Last season, Ferguson, a native of Lantzville, British Columbia, appeared in 23 games for the KHL's Dynamo Minsk where he had a record of 9-9-0 with a 2.51 goals against average and a .904 save percentage. If he's able to have a strong showing at training camp, that'll be a big bonus for the Canucks, who could then sign him to a one-year, two-way deal and he would be an option in both the NHL and down in Abbotsford.
