It's no secret that the Vancouver Canucks are going to be sellers at the NHL's March 3rd Trade Deadline. The extent to which they are expected to strip their team down is a topic of debate, however.
It's been reported that the only untouchables on the Canucks' roster are
Elias Pettersson and
Quinn Hughes. But what about
Thatcher Demko? The 2014 2nd round pick is considered a franchise-level goaltender, so will they really consider shopping Demko?
Elliotte Friedman thinks it's more likely than not.
The real questions are, when will Vancouver opt to trade him and what kind of return will they seek?
Vitek Vanecek yielded Washington a 3rd round pick last summer when he was traded to New Jersey, and their stats are fairly comparable.
Demko: 151GP, 70-63-13 record, 2.94 GAA, .909 SV%
Vanecek: 111GP, 62-27-12 record, 2.57 GAA, .910 SV%
Since Demko is injured for at least another three weeks, that leaves a narrow window in which the Canucks can strike a deal. Also, given the current goaltending market, it wouldn't be wholly surprising to see Vancouver land a higher-than 3rd round pick in exchange for Demko's services.
