In truth, a lot remained unclear about Thatcher Demko's injury situation even after he spoke to the media on Thursday. However, one thing which did seem to emerge from it all, was the likelihood he won't be in net for the Vancouver Canucks when they begin their regular season at home versus the Calgary Flames.
As such, the Cancucks -- as they have done for a number of weeks to be fair -- continued to look for goalie help. And on Saturday they finally got their man, with the announcement that Kevin Lankinen had been signed to a one-year contract.
Lankinen is someone who the Cancucks had reportedly been pursuing for some time, so this speak volumes about how much they value him. On that subject though, the organisation did really well to get him to agree to a deal worth $875,000.
In this respect, the reason it took so long for the 29-year-old to sign in Vancouver, was his apparent insistence that he could get more than the Canucks were offering. We did note though that at some point, earning something was better than sitting for the entire season just based on a perceived belief you were worth more.
Canucks trying their best to avoid LTIR
From the Canucks' perspective, it was about getting a deal agreed with Lankinen -- or whoever -- that would not involve them having to utilize Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) in some way. To be clear, general manager Patrik Allvin acknowledges the organisation will have to use LTIR at some point this coming season, but he would prefer to wait until around the trade deadline if possible so they can accrue some invaluable cap space.
This all said, the Canucks still have some financial maneuvering to perform regardless. As a result of signing Lankinen even on a team-friendly deal, they are $694,000 over the salary cap for the 2024-25 season at the time of writing.
In the absence of utilizing LTIR at this stage, the Canucks will have to consider assinging a player to the AHL. However this comes with some risk as, for example, if they select Nils Aman, he would have to first clear waivers.
Short-handed for the beginning of the 2024-25 season?
What is clear is that the Canucks will likely need to begin the regular season with a 22-man roster rather than 23 men, again with their insistence on not using LTIR yet. Another possibility is attempting to complete a beneficial trade between now and Oct. 9.
One thing which will be interesting is what the Canucks do, once Demko is ready to return. In theory Lankinen should be the odd man out, given Arturs Silovs' talent, young age and long-term potential.
However, the reality is that it will probably be Silovs who ends up going down to Abbotsford. He has one more season of waiver exemption remaining, so it makes sense to send him to the AHL under those circumstances.
Overall, this is not exactly an ideal situation between the pipes for the Canucks, as they prepare for the new season. Yes they've come up with a short-term solution, but they really do need Demko back and healthy, if they are to build on an extremely successful 2023-24 campaign.