Demko insurance: Should the Canucks sign a free agent goalie?
If the Vancouver Canucks are going to sneak into Stanley Cup Playoffs next season, they’re going to need excellent goaltending.
And that extends beyond Thatcher Demko.
Demko, when healthy, has proven that he can be among the very best goaltenders in the National Hockey League. But what happens when he needs a rest, or heaven forbid, gets injured again?
The 27-year-old netminder started just 32 of 82 games the Canucks played last season, due to injury. The Canucks were probably doomed anyway, but their playoff hopes were completely dashed the minute Demko went down with a serious injury in December.
Demko shouldered a big workload in 2021-22, starting 64 games, and very nearly dragged his teammates into the playoffs, but again he was injured late in the season.
Resting Demko would seem like a prudent move for the Canucks to make, but that’ll be hard to do if the drop-off between starter and backup is too great, particularly with a team that’ll need a lot to go right to get into the playoffs.
The Canucks can ill-afford to lose points because of their backup, nor can they afford to allow Demko to get fatigued or injured.
So what’s the answer?
Vancouver hasn’t upgraded its backup goalie this offseason, at least not with an external option.
Arturs Silovs may be ready, though he only has five NHL starts and 55 AHL appearances on his resume. Despite a sparkling performance at the World Championship, the 22-year-old may need more time in Abbotsford.
Does Spencer Martin warrant another shot? After an impressive .950 save percentage in six starts in 2021-22, Martin lost the backup job last season, following a .871 save percentage in 27 starts.
The Canucks signed Zach Sawchenko, a 25-year-old goalie with seven games of NHL experience that posted worse numbers in the AHL last season than both Silovs and Martin.
Nikita Tolopilo is a bit of a wild card, given the 23-year-old Belarussian goaltender has never played in North America. Tolopilo posted a .924 save percentage in 45 games last season, though he did that in the second-best pro league in Sweden. The Canucks will probably need to be patient with the 6-foot-6 netminder.
That leaves a lot of uncertainty between the pipes heading into the season and perhaps gives the club reason to look to free agency for some added depth.
It’s slim pickings in free agency, but there are a couple of unsigned goaltenders left that could provide the team more confidence heading into next season.
The Canucks don’t have cap space to burn, so any backups signed would need to be cheap enough that they can bury the contract in the minors. The maximum salary that can be buried entirely in the AHL next season is $1.15 million.
Would Martin Jones welcome playing for his hometown team? The 33-year-old North Vancouver native isn’t the reliable starter he used to be with the San Jose Sharks, but he did appear in 48 games with the Seattle Kraken last season.
Jones’ save percentage was a career-low .887 last season, but perhaps he’s due for a bounce-back in a reduced role.
Alex Stalock is also available. The 35-year-old was the Chicago Blackhawks’ nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy, following an incredible comeback 2022-23 season. Stalock missed most of the 2021-22 season due to myocarditis but posted a .908 save percentage in 27 games backstopping an undermanned Blackhawks team.
After Jones and Stalock, the options get even more iffy, with the likes of a pair of 38-year-olds in Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott, as well as Michael Hutchinson and Aaron Dell, who are probably more well-suited for AHL jobs.
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