Vancouver Canucks have interest in signing young goalie from Russia: report
The Vancouver Canucks have a lot of uncertainty at the goaltending position.
Thatcher Demko can’t stay healthy, and Kevin Lankinen hasn’t enjoyed the same success that he showcased early in the 2024-25 season.
Not only that, but management traded away Artūrs Šilovs during the offseason for pennies on the dollar.
While Jim Rutherford expressed confidence in their goaltending pipeline, the surest bet among their prospects, 18-year-old Alexei Medvedev, is years away from making an impact.
Perhaps all of this explains a recent report from Sports Express in Russia, who wrote that the Canucks are interested in signing KHL goaltender Maxim Motorygin.
Last season, the undrafted netminder was one of the KHL’s top goaltenders, with his .928 save percentage ranking fifth-overall in the league. He followed that up in the playoffs with a respectable .914 save percentage.
Statistically, he’s taken a bit of a dip this season, but his .918 save percentage ranks fifth for goaltenders under the age of 25. He also broke a Moscow Dynamo club record this season for a shutout streak of 227 minutes. Motorgyin had three straight shutouts in those games.
The young Russian goaltender, who just turned 23 in December, has been applauded for his quickness and for being technically sound in the crease. One of the theories as to why he went undrafted was the fact that he’s undersized for a modern NHL goalie, standing at just 6-foot-1.
That's using your head, Maxim Motorygin! #DYN pic.twitter.com/65PgcrFi5f
— Hockey News Hub (@HockeyNewsHub) March 15, 2025
Patrik Allvin did have some luck last time he signed an overseas goaltender. Back in 2023, he signed hulking Belarusian Nikita Tolopilo after a strong campaign in Sweden’s second-best hockey league.
That signing seemed to have worked out, as Tolopilo has earned some call-ups to Vancouver, going 3-3 in six career NHL starts. He’ll make his seventh-career start for the Canucks against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night.
Elsewhere in the Canucks goaltending pipeline, 22-year-old Aku Koskenvuo and 21-year-old Ty Young have both struggled during limited minutes with the Abbotsford Canucks this season.
And, if Demko’s struggles to stay healthy have taught the Canucks anything, it’s that having extra bodies in the goaltending pipeline isn’t a bad thing.
Netminder Jiri Patera is also a free agent at the end of this season. He’s been Abbotsford’s most commonly used goalie this season. If Demko continues to miss time, the Canucks will surely be looking to give Abbotsford a bit of a boost.
Back in November, Motorygin was rumoured to be among the top available European free agents after the conclusion of the 2025-26 season. He’s under contract with Moscow Dynamo until May 31, 2026.