CONFIRMED | Four teams have called on Demko and the Canucks' response will displease the fans

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Felip Gosselin
February 8, 2023 (1:55 PM)

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The Canucks' season hasn't been going the way everybody had hoped, from defensive failures, to goaltending performances, a handful of things led us to the position we're facing today.

The Canucks have decided to opt for a "retool" and have moved their former captain Bo Horvat. A new and surprising name has now been floating around the trade rumours lately as Thatcher Demko has gathered interest from other teams. Considered to be one of the team core pieces along Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes and Andrei Kuzmenko, nobody ever thought the Canucks would consider moving their franchise netminder.

Per ESPN Emily Kaplan's report, four teams have inquired about Demko's availability and the Canucks did not say no:

"Per sources, at least four teams have called Vancouver asking about Demko's availability -- and the Canucks haven't said no to any of those teams."

From her perspective, if the Canucks are serious about a retool/rebuild, Demko probably is the asset that could fetch the biggest return. A goalie just entering his prime years with extremely affordable $5M AAV for the next three years.

Demko is about a week and half away from a return and if he were to come back to his dominant self from last year, that number of four teams could definitely go up. From the previous report, it was believed that the Los Angeles Kings, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres would be on top of the goaltending market.

Former NHLer Martin Biron joined Jay on SportCentre to discuss this situation:

"If the Canucks were ever to consider trading Demko, they would to get a master of a return. Right?"

Goaltenders of his stature are hard to come by and whenever you think about trading one, that must be kept in mind. Though if the Canucks are considering a full retool, trading him at the peak of his value is something that needs to be considered.

Rutherford and Allvin initially had them at a competitive level by 2025, should they hold on to Demko until then? Or should they cash out on him and build another goaltender up during that span? The Ducks had to deal with this same issue with John Gibson and they opted to keep the goaltender. What's the Canucks' best play here?