The Canucks may have to explore every avenue as they try to improve their core from a playoff contender to a Stanley Cup contender, should trading your Vezina Trophy nominee Thatcher Demko be taken into consideration?
Arturs Silovs led the Canucks through the majority of the first round and played the entirety of the second round as opposed to the Stanley Cup Finalist Edmonton Oilers and their superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The emergence of the 23-year-old does spark one conversation, and it now looks pretty evident that he'll be Thatcher Demko's heir, which makes us wonder whether it'd be more valuable to the Canucks as a trade bait or as their actual starter?
Stephane Roget, from Canucks Army, highlighted four points that brought out the pertinence of possibly parting ways with the American star goaltender.
1. Demko is coming off a season in which he was nominated for the Vezina Trophy. In doing so, he's solidified his place among the elite echelon of NHL goalies.
The odds of Demko ever being more valuable than he is now are low.
2. He's one year away from UFA status himself. The year after, he's presumably signing a long-term extension at 30. Value-wise, this has got to be his peak.
3. A LOT of teams out there looking for a goalie of value right now. That list includes some prominent would-be contenders like the Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, and Colorado Avalanche.
A trade of this sort could be an exciting opportunity for the Canucs to do three specific things. A chance to refill the future assets bank with elite talent and top-round picks. Trading away Demko would also mean the Canucks would have an additional $5M to play on either free agency (Jake Guentzel), or perhaps re-sign some of their players (Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Filip Hronek, Dakota Joshua).
At the end of the day, there is some sense to a possible Demko trade. However, since true number-one goaltenders are a rarity these days, they shouldn't be on the trade block unless the trade offer is mind-blowing or if your heir is ready to take on the load, which, despite Silovs' strong outings in the playoffs, doesn't he can take a full 50 to 60 NHL games load.
The good thing about this all is that the Canucks have options; if you were in Allvin's chair and a suitable offer came along, would Demko be packing his bags?
