Canucks and Kevin Lankinen: Excellent news for Thatcher Demko
It was a shock when the news broke that even with a whole summer's worth of rehabilitation, Thatcher Demko would not be ready to participate in the team's training camp and maybe even miss the season opener.
An injury as rare as it gets
The extent and name of his injury were revealed earlier,Demko suffered a one in a million injury, especially since no other goaltender had ever been diagnosed with this injury. Some were concerned that, per their usual, the Canucks would try and rush Demko back to the game. However, their most recent acquisition suggests otherwise, and the NHL insider Elliotte Friedman confirmed it on Donnie and Dhali earlier today:
Even after Silovs issued a clear message,stating he wasn't interested in being in the AHL for another season, the Canucks may have to recourse to that strategy given the team's contractual situation.
While Lankinen will most likely not be challenging Thatcher Demko's job, he'll be on track to take Arturs Silovs' spot. The fact that Silovs can be sent down at will, might make it harder for him to remain in his current spot, alongside Demko.
The fact that the Canucks felt the need to acquire another goaltender sure seems like Demko is still ways from returning. The first reports suggested that the Canucks' 35 could be returning in Late October, would the Canucks acquire an experience goaltender only to play him for a month?
| POLL | ||
Do you believe we'll see Demko before Christmas? | ||
| Yes | 103 | 62.8 % |
| No | 61 | 37.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
