Anyone feel that coming on for the Vancouver Canucks? Time to shut down Thatcher Demko for the rest of the season like the Habs did with Carey Price after five games last season?
Different circumstances of course; but the Canucks would hope for similar results.
The Habs stunk last season and went on to win the top overall pick in the NHL Draft.
It’s pretty clear that losing and tanking has been on the mind of Canucks management for quite awhile.
With 27 games to play and Vancouver just nine points above the worst point total in the NHL, why not go for broke. Or is it ‘broken’, in this case?
The Canucks have plenty of time to fall that far, especially if they’re using AHL goaltending each and every night.
That’s what they’re looking at if some video on social media from practice on Thursday is accurate. Demko appears to “shake a leg” in discomfort after a save and then is seen leaving the ice.
Soon after the practice at UBC, Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet says he didn’t have any reports of an injury. He said Demko was out for 30-minutes of work prior to the 15-minutes he spent at practice.
“Especially coming back from injury, you don’t want him staying out too long,” Tocchet said, “and he’s been working really hard.”
The coach said he hadn’t heard anything at that point from the trainer.
“Uh oh.” Or will it be more like, “Gee, what a shame.”
Meanwhile, Vancouver will be without veteran defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson for at least the next game.
It’ll be interesting to see if Jack Rathbone gets a call-up. He had a goal on eight shots in Abbotsford’s 4-2 win over the Calgary Wranglers on Wednesday.
Canucks NHL Draft Lottery Odds
Only the bottom eleven teams in the NHL have a crack at the top overall pick. This year that would be North Vancouver native Connor Bedard, now playing for the Regina Pats in the Western Hockey League.
This isn’t like last season, where long-time potential number-one pick Shane Wright slipped to fourth-overall; this is Bedard going number-one as a lock.
Here are the lottery ball odds depending on how poorly you finish the season. Obviously the worst team in the NHL, presently the Chicago Blackhawks, have the best chance at winning the pick. This chart doesn’t factor in games-in hand; purely lowest point totals at the moment.
The Canucks have slipped to the fifth spot and are slowly gaining ground.
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Lottery Odds |
| 1. | Chicago Blackhawks | 16-32-5 | 37 | 25.5% |
| 2. | Columbus Blue Jackets | 17-34-4 | 38 | 13.5% |
| 3. | Anaheim Ducks | 17-32-6 | 40 | 11.5% |
| 4. | San Jose Sharks | 17-28-11 | 45 | 9.5% |
| 5. | Vancouver Canucks | 21-30-4 | 46 | 8.5% |
| 6. | Arizona Coyotes | 19-28-8 | 46 | 7.5% |
| 7. | Montréal Canadiens | 23-28-4 | 50 | 6.5% |
| 8. | Philadelphia Flyers | 22-24-10 | 54 | 6% |
| 9. | St. Louis Blues | 26-25-3 | 55 | 5% |
| 10. | Ottawa Senators | 26-24-3 | 55 | 3.5% |
| 11. | Nashville Predators | 25-21-6 | 56 | 3.0% |
