Vancouver Canucks sign veteran goalie Chris Driedger to a PTO
It’s a tiny sign that the NHL offseason is soon coming to an end.
On Thursday, the Vancouver Canucks announced the signing of veteran goaltender Chris Driedger to a professional tryout contract.
The move comes after general manager Ryan Johnson said that there’s no timetable for Thatcher Demko’s return, despite the fact that he has been training in Vancouver all offseason.
If Demko is unable to go, the goaltending depth chart gets relatively thin after Kevin Lankinen and Nikita Tolopilo.
There’s logic in bringing in a veteran like Chris Driedger during training camp, but could he be more than just an extra body to help stop pucks?
The 32-year-old has a dazzling .917 career save percentage in the NHL across 65 games. During his first 32 career NHL games with the Florida Panthers, he posted a remarkable .931 save percentage across two seasons.
Chris Driedger with an unreal desperation save pic.twitter.com/QORlzXp34K
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) April 14, 2021
That led the Seattle Kraken to sign him in free agency right before their inaugural season in 2021-22. At one point, he was expected to be the starter until the team signed Philipp Grubauer.
Driedger didn’t have the same success in Seattle, but still posted a respectable .900 save percentage.
If there’s one primary reason he wasn’t able to stick in Seattle, it was because of injuries. Driedger suffered two separate injuries in the season’s first month and played just 27 games total. After the season ended, he suffered a knee injury while representing Canada at the 2022 IIHF World Championship. It kept him out until February of the following year.
So Driedger and Demko could have some trauma bonding to do at Canucks camp.
Huge save by Chris Driedger to keep it tied.
First NHL game in 605 days and he's looking sharp. pic.twitter.com/9UgV2HQcep
— Emerald City Hockey (@EmeraldCityHky) December 28, 2023
Driedger has played just two NHL games since the end of the 2021-22 season, and he’s primarily been in the AHL.
The 6-foot-4 goaltender played in the KHL with Chelyabinsk Traktor last season, alongside former Canucks Josh Leivo and Vitali Kravtsov. However, Driedger had his contract mutually terminated in November.
Some speculated that he would join the Winnipeg Jets, his hometown team, as the contract termination happened around the time that Connor Hellebuyck was sidelined. However, it doesn’t appear as though he has played any pro hockey games since leaving the KHL.
Canucks training camp gets underway on Sept. 17 in Penticton.