Another Canucks goalie sidelined with injury, now connected to signing Finnish goalie
Photo credit: Canucks Army
Earlier today, the Vancouver Canucks received more troubling news about their goaltending situation when Arturs Silovs was revealed to be dealing with an injury.
Silovs will not be playing for his country Latvia in Olympic qualifying games due to a knee injury, according to a new report from the Province. He should be ready and available for training camp, but it's cause for concern that both Canucks goalies are heading into the season coming off of injuries. Recently Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal reported Thatcher Demko isn't progressing as well as the team hoped.
Both goaltenders are projected to be back and healthy for game one of the season, but it could be a significant risk to assume they'll be back at 100% after being unable to properly train in the summer. For that reason the Canucks have been in talks to bring in another goaltender, and now Oilers insider Jason Gregor is suggesting Kevin Lankinen as a candidate for the Canucks.
The 29 year old Lankinen has broken into the NHL with 112 games in the last four seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators. He's posted mediocre results of a 3.05 Goals Against Average and a .905 save percentage on his career, but he's a capable backup goalie that the Canucks could have use for. They could likely bring Lankinen in on a one year contract for league minimum, or perhaps a tryout contract.
The Canucks took a major step last season under the leadership of coach Rick Tocchett, and took the Oilers to 7 games in a playoff series without their elite starting goalie Thatcher Demko. If the Canucks can continue their run of quality play and keep their netminder healthy, they may be able to make a real run in the playoffs.
Source for all player stats: PuckPedia - Vancouver Canucks
| POLL | ||
29 AOUT | 226 ANSWERS Another Canucks goalie sidelined with injury, now connected to signing Finnish goalie Do you think the Canucks will ever beat the Oilers in the playoffs? | ||
| No, Canucks will always be behind Oilers | 138 | 61.1 % |
| Yes, they can beat them | 81 | 35.8 % |
| See Results | 7 | 3.1 % |
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