Canucks going with three goalies after latest call-up
The Vancouver Canucks are shaking things up in the crease.
As expected, it’s been a rough season for the rebuilding Canucks. The team is dead last in the NHL with a dismal 3-17-1 record and is currently on a seven-game losing streak. A lot of things are going awry in Vancouver, but goaltending may be among the most pressing issues.
With Thatcher Demko sidelined with injury, the tandem of Kevin Lankinen and Leevi Meriläinen has not been up to the job. Lankinen ranks last among NHL goalies with a -15 goals-saved above-expected, and the team is running Meriläinen into the ground, starting him in nine of the team’s last 11 games.
Something needed to change, and GM Ryan Johnson decided on Sunday that calling up Nikita Tolopilo from the AHL to form a three-goalie NHL rotation was the next step.
General Manager Ryan Johnson announced today that G Nikita Tolopilo has been recalled from Abbotsford (AHL).
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) November 15, 2026
According to CHEK TV’s Rick Dhaliwal, Tolopilo is expected to get a start for the Canucks sometime soon, though a specific game was not mentioned.
This will be the 26-year-old Belarusian’s first NHL appearance with Vancouver this season. He played in 21 games with the Canucks last season, where he amassed a 6-11-2 record and .881 SV%. It seems that he is off to a decent start down in the AHL, where he has been Abbotsford’s starting goalie and is off to a 7-2-2 record with a .897 SV% through 11 games.
The buck will be passed to Tolopilo in the Canucks net (Bob Frid/Imagn Images)
It might seem obvious that the team should send Lankinen down to the AHL amid his struggles, but the no-movement clause in the Finnish goaltender’s contract prevents the team from doing so without getting his permission.
The Lankinen contract has continued to age poorly over the last season and a bit. Vancouver initially inked him to a five-year deal with a $4.5 million cap hit back in 2025 amidst a breakout season that saw him capture 25 wins. However, the results since then haven’t panned out nearly as well, and the Canucks are still on the hook for three more seasons after this one.
Kevin Lankinen has been basically unplayable for the Canucks this season (Blake Dahlin/Imagn Images)
Whether or not Tolopilo can help settle the crease remains to be seen, but Vancouver is desperate for any type of good news.