Canucks' Rutherford coy on status of goaltenders Demko, Silovs
Published
Uncertainty remains around the status of Vancouver Canucks goaltenders Thatcher Demko and Arturs Silovs, who are both coming off knee injuries.
Reports have indicated that Demko will not be ready for training camp as he continues to recover from an injury he suffered in the playoffs, while Silovs was unable to compete for Latvia in Olympic qualifying play last month due to injury.
Canucks president Jim Rutherford offered little peace of mind to fans of the team when asked about the situation by Postmedia's Patrick Johnston.
“Fair to say that we will wait until they get their training camp physicals,” Rutherford said of making a determination on either netminder.
The Latvian federation said last week that Silovs was dealing with knee inflammation that could threaten his availability for the start of the NHL season. Latvia managed to qualify for the 2026 Olympics despite losing his services just before their first of three games.
The 23-year-old netminder went 3-0-1 in four games with the Canucks last season, posting a 2.47 goals-against average and a .881 save percentage. He started 10 games for the Canucks in the playoffs, going 5-5 with a 2.91 GAA and a .898 save percentage as Demko and Casey DeSmith both suffered injuries. The Canucks re-signed Silovs on a two-year deal in July after DeSmith joined the Dallas Stars in free agency.
There have been no official updates on Demko, who made just one start in the playoffs before being sidelined by the injury. He indicated after the Canucks were eliminated in the second round that he expected to be ready for the Western Conference final, had the team advanced.
Demko was a Vezina Trophy finalist last season after putting up a 35-14-2 record during the regular season with a .918 save percentage and 2.45 goals-against average. The 28-year-old is signed through the 2025-26 season at a cap hit of $5 million.
Canucks looking to avoid LTIR
If the Canucks are forced to make a signing to help fill in at goaltender, Rutherford is hoping he can do it without exceeding the salary cap.
Vancouver currently has just $190,883 in cap space, according to PuckPedia, but Rutherford does not want to start the season with a player on long-term injured reserve in order to accrue more cap space over the year.
The Canucks spent all of last season with defenceman Tucker Poolman's $2.5 million cap hit shelved. Poolman, who has suffered from migraines, has not played since Oct. 2022 and is entering the final season of his current contract.
“What we want to do is start the season without someone on LTIR,” Rutherford told Johnston.
The Canucks will reveal more than injury situation when training camp begins later this month. The team will play their first preseason game on Sept. 24 against the Seattle Kraken and face the Calgary Flames in their regular-season opener on Oct. 9.