- Canucks sign veteran goaltender Chris Driedger to a professional tryout
- GM Ryan Johnson says Vancouver has never operated on a timeline with Thatcher Demko
- Read below for what the signing means behind Kevin Lankinen in the Vancouver crease
The Canucks just bought themselves some goaltending insurance.
Vancouver announced Thursday that general manager Ryan Johnson signed Chris Driedger to a professional tryout agreement, a day after Johnson refused to put any kind of date on Thatcher Demko’s return from hip surgery.
Johnson was asked about where Demko’s recovery stands with camp a few weeks out, and he wasn’t in the business of naming a month.
“I’ve said all along with Thatcher, we’ve never really been operating on timelines. When you come this far with something, why not make sure you take the last final steps? He’s had a great summer physically and mentally.”
That patience comes with a contingency plan. Johnson told Patrick Johnston of The Province that the organization has to be covered for “whatever timeline’s needed,” adding, “We’re ready for anything.”
Demko had season-ending hip surgery in January and has been skating since late June, rehabbing in Vancouver with the team’s training staff. He played 20 games last season and 23 the year before, a long way from the 51-game run in 2023-24 that made him a Vezina Trophy finalist. Our earlier look at Demko’s recovery landed in the same place.
Driedger gives them a body who has actually done this at the NHL level. The 32-year-old Winnipeg native owns a .917 save percentage and a 2.45 goals-against average across 67 games with Ottawa, Florida and Seattle.
Take a look at the kind of save that made him a story in the first place:
Getting here took a detour. Driedger spent last season with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL, going 8-9-2 with a 3.05 GAA and an .897 save percentage in 23 games before both sides mutually terminated the deal in November. He hasn’t played a pro game since.
He has walked back through a door like this before. Watch his first NHL game in 605 days back in 2023:
Kevin Lankinen runs the crease until Demko is cleared. The drop behind him is steep, though, because Nikita Tolopilo went 6-11-2 with an .881 save percentage in 21 starts last season when Vancouver needed him.
Now Tolopilo has to win the backup job instead of inheriting it. Canucks camp opens Sept. 17 in Penticton, and Driedger arrives with a real chance to turn a tryout into a contract.
