The Canucks have had some serious injury woes this season, but they’ve managed to make it most of the way with two healthy goaltenders. Jacob Markstrom and Anders Nilsson have split every start for the Canucks this season, though Richard Bachman was called up for a few days in February to back up Nilsson when Markstrom had a minor injury.
On Friday, however, the Canucks recalled Thatcher Demko from the Utica Comets under “emergency conditions,” which means that one of their goaltenders is unavailable to play.
It turns out that it's not an injury: Nilsson is sick. A bug is going through the Canucks dressing room — Jake Virtanen missed Thursday's game and Sam Gagner was reportedly throwing up earlier in the day — and it means the Canucks need a goaltender. I guess Scott Foster wasn't available.
An emergency recall comes into effect when a team is no longer able to have the required minimum of 2 goaltenders, 6 defencemen, and 12 forwards on their active roster. As an emergency recall, Demko won’t count against the four recalls that an NHL team is allowed after the trade deadline.
Demko has been the Utica Comets’ MVP this season and is one of the big reasons they’re headed to the playoffs. Thankfully, they’ve already clinched a playoff berth, so Demko getting recalled won’t do any damage, even if it might hurt their chances of catching the Rochester Americans in the standings.
The Comets have games on Friday and Saturday, but then don't have another until April 5th. That means Demko will miss at least two games with the Comets, but will presumably be back in Utica for the rest of the season. The question is, will Demko get a chance to play in Vancouver?
Unless Nilsson's illness lasts for a week, Demko will only be in town for one game, Saturday's tilt against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Will Travis Green give Demko the start, even with Markstrom playing some of his best hockey of the season? That seems doubtful. Still, it will be a nice financial bonus for Demko to get paid his NHL salary for a few days.
If Nilsson is still sick next week, Demko could conceivably get a start on Tuesday against the Las Vegas Golden Knights or Thursday against the Arizona Coyotes, but the terms of an emergency recall mean he has to return to Utica as soon as Nilsson is healthy.
Demko’s .921 save percentage is eighth in the AHL among goaltenders with at least 20 games played and he faces a ton of shots — second most in the AHL behind Anders Lindback, who has played 11 more games. He’s also among the youngest goaltenders in the AHL and the youngest in the top-20 in save percentage.
