Canucks News N Notes 25-26

[Cousin Strawberry]

I hear we are interested in more middle 6 forwards. Hearing the Canucks are kicking tires on Bjugstad and Maccelli. Can’t have enough middle six. We lead the league.

The return datsyukgretzky Pettersson is nigh Chef. He's coming back to drag his snag back and forth across Mëds & Jason Bruff's foreheads

[Todd Bersnoozi]

But if you still care about how this season turns out and hope it leads to a Quinn extension, trading Demmer now is about the riskiest, dumbest moves you can make.

It's a gamble either way, no doubt. Don't get me wrong, I like Demmer and all, but I always had doubts about his durability. I feel like I have seen the show too many times that whenever we needed him most, he was injured (ie: last year's playoffs).

I'd rather just go with the horses I know that will show up on the track and give it all they have. One of the horses is a little unproven, but has shown he can be competitive for good stretches. The other horse is young, but proven he can deliver in big moments in lower tiers. To me, what's the point in having a thoroughbred when it's stuck in the barn all the time and has a history of being unreliable.

[Nuckertuzzi]

Demko's 29, not 36. He's got a lot of hockey left. Is it so hard to imagine that he can't get back to being a regular and put his health issues behind him for good? It's not like he's always absent. I know it seems that way but that's not the case. Until last year, he was able to play over 32 games a season since given the starter's job and still managed to get in 23 last year in what was by far the most challenging of his career.

There are a lot of players who go through rough patches of injuries then come out the other side better than ever. The example I'll use again is one we're all familiar with. Tanev. Much like Demko he was another injury prone guy many here got tired of due to his unreliability and were ready to move on from. Since then he's been loved and lauded everywhere he's been. Many tout him as one of the most underrated, best defenders in the league for good reason. And look, durable and reliable pretty much every year. For my money one of the biggest mistakes this franchise has made. Quinn would tell you the same. It took a few years and cost a ton to find his replacement in Hronek.

I don't want to see a repeat with Demko. It's a far bigger gamble to let him go and flail away for years expending major resources searching for the next Demko. One good year from Lank and some minor league brilliance from the young guy is not enough evidence to convince me that's the better gamble. And who's to say these guys are less immune to injury. Could happen to anybody.

[Chef Boi RD]

I hear we are interested in more middle 6 forwards. Hearing the Canucks are kicking tires on Bjugstad and Maccelli. Can’t have enough middle six. We lead the league.

The return datsyukgretzky Pettersson is nigh Chef. He's coming back to drag his snag back and forth across Mëds & Jason Bruff's foreheads

Speaking of Brough who are the two goofs that come after Halford and Brough? The 9 to 11 slot? Jack asses, especially the gravelly voiced douche bag. Halford and Brough are saving that station, the other clowns are hopeless.

[JelloPuddingPop]

Conor Garland at 6x6mil - good piece, decent PK, 1st on pucks etc. But for six more years?

Hopefully they find some size to go with him, with some of these players signed to long term contracts it is going to be tough to get bigger/faster etc. for when they are competitive to make the playoffs each year.

[theman]

Conor Garland at 6x6mil - good piece, decent PK, 1st on pucks etc. But for six more years?

Hopefully they find some size to go with him, with some of these players signed to long term contracts it is going to be tough to get bigger/faster etc. for when they are competitive to make the playoffs each year.

If Joshua has fully recovered and gets back to his form 2 seasons ago, that point may solve itself.

[JelloPuddingPop]

Conor Garland at 6x6mil - good piece, decent PK, 1st on pucks etc. But for six more years?

Hopefully they find some size to go with him, with some of these players signed to long term contracts it is going to be tough to get bigger/faster etc. for when they are competitive to make the playoffs each year.

If Joshua has fully recovered and gets back to his form 2 seasons ago, that point may solve itself.

After missing most of the summer prior's training due to cancer treatment, and notes are he dealing with a hip issue from that collision in January which cost him a few weeks - might delay his training again this summer. Two summers of little/no training, for a 30 year old player - not sure I see the rebound coming this year...

[Nuckertuzzi]

Two summers of little/no training, for a 30 year old player - not sure I see the rebound coming this year...

I quite like DJ and would afford him all the patience in the world to get fully healthy and find his game...such a rare package and an important player for Gar. But if it's not looking too good for him this summer or preferably a few months into the season, I hear TO's always had interest. May have to sell low tho.

Kane could/would actually be the ideal line mate for Gar if not for the gaping holes above them.

[Meds]

Demko's 29, not 36. He's got a lot of hockey left. Is it so hard to imagine that he can't get back to being a regular and put his health issues behind him for good? It's not like he's always absent. I know it seems that way but that's not the case. Until last year, he was able to play over 32 games a season since given the starter's job and still managed to get in 23 last year in what was by far the most challenging of his career.

There are a lot of players who go through rough patches of injuries then come out the other side better than ever. The example I'll use again is one we're all familiar with. Tanev. Much like Demko he was another injury prone guy many here got tired of due to his unreliability and were ready to move on from. Since then he's been loved and lauded everywhere he's been. Many tout him as one of the most underrated, best defenders in the league for good reason. And look, durable and reliable pretty much every year. For my money one of the biggest mistakes this franchise has made. Quinn would tell you the same. It took a few years and cost a ton to find his replacement in Hronek.

I don't want to see a repeat with Demko. It's a far bigger gamble to let him go and flail away for years expending major resources searching for the next Demko. One good year from Lank and some minor league brilliance from the young guy is not enough evidence to convince me that's the better gamble. And who's to say these guys are less immune to injury. Could happen to anybody.

Demko is headed into his 9th season with the Canucks. He has played 60+ games only once and 50 + games only once. The other 6 seasons he has played 35 or fewer games.

His injury history is insane. He came out of college and had surgery on his hips.

In 2018-19 he missed 23 games due to a concussion and then 9 games because of a knee injury.

In 2019-20 he missed 6 games due to a concussion.

In 2020-21 he played 35 games and only missed 1 due to a lower body injury.

In 2021-22 he played 64 games and was relatively healthy, however he missed the last 3 games of the year due to an undisclosed injury.

In 2022-23 he missed 35 games due to a groin injury.

In 2023-24 he was listed as questionable multiple times and then missed 14 games due to a knee injury and subsequently all but the first playoff game.

In 2024-25 he missed 24 games to a knee injury, then 2 games due to a back injury, and then 15 games to a lower body injury.

That is not the injury record of an under-30 player with a "lot of hockey left". That's the track record for a guy who is almost 30 and will almost certainly miss at least 25% of the games he is projected to play over the remainder of his career.

[2Fingers]

Good post Mëds, exactly.

There is little to show in his history that he can go a full season without a significant injury. Just say no and trade for some good assets to a GM that is desperate for a injury free Demko.

[dangler]

Time to either carry 3 goalies or sell high on Demko.
He might be top 3 when he's on form, but how often did we see that last season? 1 or 2 games?
He was either injured or shaking the rust off.
Lankinen ended up getting overworked because of it.

[Nuckertuzzi]

What I find interesting is you're ready to replace a 29 year old guy who has a history of missing games with a 30 year old who has a history of not playing enough. Until last year Lankinen's most was 37 and that was five years ago. Granted Saros had something to do with that but the point is at 30 he's just too much of an unknown.

It was just said Lankinen playing 51 games last year was 'overworked'…and you're ready to hand over the reigns to him??

The numbers from Demko I care about are 64 and 51 games played two of the past four seasons and averaging 42.5 over that span. That's decent for any goalie let alone an injury prone one (Lank never played more in one year until last season). One of the main reasons he gets injured is we never had good enough backups to support him and ease his load. Maybe now we do.

Look, I don't enjoy knocking Lankinen to make a point because I really do like the guy and am happy to have him here. I just can't place enough importance in what goaltending means to this team. Those of you who want Demmer out of here just might find out the hard way if/when you get your wish.

[Hockey Widow]

I'm curious if the Canucks would trade Braeden Cootes for Marco Rossi?

[dangler]

The reason he was overworked was not only because of the 51 games played, it was because it was too many games in a row.
Demko being injured, Lankinen not playing that many games in a season before,and Tocchet not trusting Silovs led to the situation.
Whoever the goalies are, they need to balance the workload.

[Chef Boi RD]

I'm curious if the Canucks would trade Braeden Cootes for Marco Rossi?

Would Minnesota?

Minnesota’s price is high for Rossi, apparently - word on the street.