Canucks trade for goalie Louis Domingue, what it means

With Jacob Markstrom injured, the Vancouver Canucks swung a trade for New Jersey Devils backup goalie Louis Domingue. Here’s what it means.

In a completely unexpected turn of events, the Vancouver Canucks acquired backup goalie Louis Domingue from the New Jersey Devils, with fellow netminder Zane McIntyre heading the other way.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie broke the news.

Shortly after the trade was announced, Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province reported that No. 1 goalie Jacob Markstrom has a knee injury, and that the 30-year-old “is out an indeterminate amount of time.”

It unfortunately sounds like Markstrom could miss up to a month of action:

Obviously, general manager Jim Benning had to act quickly here, without overpaying for a short-term backup. Fetching a capable and proven backup in exchange for their minor league goalie was a savvy move here.

With Markstrom sidelined, 24-year-old Thatcher Demko will have to hold down the fort as the No. 1 goalie. Demko is 10-6-2 with a 3.03 goals against average and a .905 save percentage.

Domingue struggled behind a New Jersey team that figures to compete for the No. 1 overall pick again. He’s 3-8-2 with a 3.79 goals against average and a save percentage of .882. But again, Vancouver didn’t have to give up much to acquire Domingue, who will only see a handful of starts until Markstrom returns.

The Canucks have nothing to lose with this move, even if Domingue doesn’t perform well.

Before landing with New Jersey, Domingue had spent the last two years with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He did a serviceable job backing up Andrei Vasilevskiy, going 37-28-8 with a .910 save percentage and a 2.88 goals against average in two seasons with the Bolts.

Domingue should fare better on a Vancouver team that’s in good position to end a five-year playoff drought. If Markstrom is indeed out for three to four weeks, Domingue will be key in helping this team lock down a postseason berth.

But he acted quickly to find some insurance for Demko, who has his chance to shine as the No. 1 goalie for the first time in his professional career. And boy, do the Canucks ever need Demko and Domingue to be at their very best.