More Mailbag Q&A
Out of these two, who is your favourite ex-Ottawa Senator turned Vancouver Canuck: Pavol Demitra or Sami Salo
— Third Line Plüg Senscast (@thirdlineplug) November 20, 2020
Shout out to the Third Line Plug Senscast for the excellent question. Both Pavol Demitra and Sami Salo were fan favourites during their time in Vancouver. Demitra was a fine top-six addition at the time, and although his time here was somewhat short as he was nearing the end of his career, he put up points and was a very solid contributor. It was too bad that he wasn’t a part of the Canucks Stanley Cup run in 2011.
But as awesome as Demitra was (rest in peace), Salo takes the cake here by a long shot. He spent nine seasons with the Canucks and even though his career was a nonstop trainwreck of injuries, he had one heck of a slapshot when he was healthy and he knew how to drive it home. He was a fantastic point-man for the man-advantage. A very underrated player who was well respected.
How do you think the split in net will look? Would it be close to 50/50?
— Bill Huan (@bill_huan) November 21, 2020
When you consider the fact that the Canucks signed Braden Holtby to a two-year deal, you get the idea that the organization believes in Thatcher Demko soon becoming the number one starter in Vancouver. Yes, Holtby is a Vezina winner and Stanley Cup champion, but his best days are likely behind him if not numbered.
I see Holtby’s accomplishments and trophy room getting him the net when the season gets underway, but he’ll be on a short leash with Demko nipping at his heels for starts. It’ll be more of a 1A/1B situation in my opinion, but the hope is that Demko steals the crease by the second half of 2021. More or less, it’ll be a 50/50 split between Holtby and Demko.
Where are the Holtby tortoises now?
— Independentzen (@independent_zen) November 20, 2020
Have they made it across the border with our goaltender.
For those of you that haven’t heard, Holtby is a proud owner of two pet tortoises. They were recently slowed down at the border when they were on their way to Vancouver because Holtby didn’t have the proper paperwork. Thankfully, Honey and Maple have now made it into Canada along with the Canucks newest goaltender.
That wraps it up for the mailbag this week! As we do our best to stay indoors over this COVID-19 Christmas, be sure to stay on top of the mailbag. Follow us on Twitter @FSTheCanuckWay to get involved and have your questions answered.