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The Canuck Way Mailbag: Holtby, the defence, free agency, more

By Matthew Zator

EDMONTON, ALBERTA - AUGUST 30: Tyler Toffoli #73 of the Vancouver Canucks is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period in Game Four of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on August 30, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
EDMONTON, ALBERTA - AUGUST 30: Tyler Toffoli #73 of the Vancouver Canucks is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period in Game Four of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on August 30, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Thatcher Demko prepares for game action in pregame warmup (Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports).
Thatcher Demko prepares for game action in pregame warmup (Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports). /

With Holtby as his new mentor, I think Demko is going to learn a lot from the former Vezina Trophy winner and Stanley Cup champion. He will get to play a lot more than he did when Markstrom was his partner, as I think Travis Green will split the starts pretty evenly between the two of them. Unless one of them goes on an insane streak, that is.

The key part of the signing was the term, as two years gives Demko some time to acclimate to the job and then become the full-time starter probably in 2021-22. If Holtby does not get claimed by the Seattle Kraken, it could be extended to 2022-23. As Jannik Hansen mentioned on Sportsnet 650, this feels a lot like when Ryan Miller was signed to be a mentor to Markstrom, and I think that worked out pretty well.

MacKenzie Weegar would be a good target for the Canucks, seeing that he’s a younger defenceman at 26-years-old and has the potential to replace a bit of Tanev’s shot-blocking and penalty killing presence. He also has mobility and is a right-hand shot, which should be a deciding factor in any trade for a defenceman at this point.

For the Canucks to get their hands on Weegar, a combination of Jake Virtanen, draft picks, or even a mid-range prospect like Kole Lind likely has to be part of the deal. Whatever the case, they need to do something to make the defence better, especially on the right side, before the 2020-21 season gets underway.

The free-agent market is very thin on right-side defencemen, so the Canucks will have to go the trade route instead. Trading Tanner Pearson or Jake Virtanen could get them a quality defenceman but I still believe draft picks or mid-range prospects will need to be added to get any sort of deal done. Targets like Damon Severson, Vince Dunn, Aaron Ekblad, Colin Miller, or the aforementioned Weegar could be good fits on a blueline that really needs more mobility and NHL experience.

That concludes yet another edition of The Canuck Way mailbag! Hopefully, by this time next week, we are talking about an acquisition that makes the Canucks blueline more formidable for 2020-21. With all the losses we endured in the past few days with Tanev, Stecher, and Markstrom leaving for different addresses, it would be great to get some good news regarding some additions rather than subtractions.

Next. Canucks: Latest on Holtby, Markstrom, Virtanen, more. dark

Until then, follow @FSTheCanuckWay on Twitter and keep your eye out for the tweet announcing next week’s mailbag!

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