If losing Thatcher Demko to injury during the playoffs was a massive wake-up call for the Canucks and their contending window, today’s reports from Rick Dhaliwal about his availability next month have only sounded more alarm bells.
If their star goalie is still hurt at the start of training camp, the Canucks have a lot of variables to consider.
They’ve already seen how a lost summer can affect Demko’s readiness and confidence when points are on the line, but the roster and depth chart in goal the team has today seems more ready to weather a potential storm. So, what direction does the team go to handling his rehab this time around?
Assuming that Demko won’t be ready in time for puck drop and potentially beyond then, the Canucks will need to figure out two key components: who they can trust to replace him in the interim and how to bring Demko back into the fold as his health progresses.
As far as temporary replacements go, the in-house options available to the Canucks are obvious. Arturs Silovs is fully equipped to start games at the NHL level, even if he’s still got some work to do before facing a 50+ game workload. But the Canucks can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that Silovs can not only not be a negative against top-flight NHL teams, but he can also be a net positive (play on words fully intended) for Vancouver in a victory.
Depending on when Demko is ready to go, they’ll still need a backup to shoulder part of the load. Both newcomer Jiri Patera and Nikita Tolopilo could do in a pinch, but with their limited experience at the top level – Patera already had fewer NHL games under his belt than Silovs did before the postseason – giving them more than a game or two would be a serious audition for them.
Tolopilo is the most interesting of the two options. The Belarussian 24-year-old had nearly identical numbers to Silovs in Abbotsford last season and actually won four more games than his counterpart in just one extra game. Tolopilo should get a few opportunities to showcase his work in the preseason, and that might turn into an extended look if Demko is still on the shelf to start the regular season.
Depending on how far into October Demko’s status is still a mystery, a trade for a backup could also be on the table. But as Rick Dhaliwal reported, the Canucks are actively in the goalie market looking for a more established backup option. A few veterans remain without a contract – Antti Raanta, Kevin Lankinen, and North Van native Martin Jones are all still unsigned and could be willing to sign a PTO for the preseason to fill the gap.
But finding temporary fixes is frankly the easy part. Managing Demko’s return to the ice is going to be a far more crucial aspect for the Canucks to be planning for.
As mentioned before, when Demko’s 2021-22 ended with a knee injury in the final week of the season, it completely derailed his start to 2022-23. Avoiding a repeat of that has to be top of mind for Canucks management, which means not rushing him back into action before he’s 100%. The rise of the team’s young crop of netminders has made the need to accelerate Demko’s recovery time a lot less crucial, but that doesn’t mean they’ll wait forever, either.
The best option for the Canucks will be to ease Demko back into the workload as a backup for Silovs, giving him as much time to reacclimatize to NHL action without being thrust into the heat of the season underprepared. The onus of avoiding a goalie controversy will fall to Rick Tocchet, requiring him to be upfront with his goalies about the expectations and how the workload will be split up until Demko is back at full health. However, and most importantly, he’ll need to be clear that the net is still Demko’s to take.
