The Vancouver Canucks are shaking up their roster, calling up defenseman Victor Mancini from their AHL team in Abbotsford. The move comes as star goalie Thatcher Demko heads to injured reserve.
Demko’s been dealing with a tough break. He left last week’s game against Toronto after just 10 minutes with a lower-body injury, and now he won’t be joining the team on their five-game road trip.
The timing couldn’t be worse for the 28-year-old netminder.
This season’s been rough from the start for Demko. He didn’t even get on the ice until December 10th because of injuries from last year’s playoffs. When he has played, the numbers haven’t been great – just 6 wins in 17 starts with a .891 save percentage.
It’s a far cry from last season, when Demko was absolutely on fire. He was the main reason Vancouver made it back to the playoffs, putting up incredible stats: 35 wins, a .918 save percentage, and saving more goals above average than in all his other seasons combined.
But here’s where things get interesting.
The Canucks just signed Kevin Lankinen to a five-year deal on Saturday. Lankinen’s been playing better than Demko this year, and now he’s locked in long-term while Demko’s contract runs out much sooner.
As for Mancini, he might get his shot with the big club tonight. The young defenseman came over in the J.T. Miller trade with the Rangers and has picked up one assist in five games with Abbotsford.
He’ll probably be competing with Elias Pettersson for playing time, especially if Quinn Hughes can’t go tonight. While Pettersson’s shown some solid defensive skills, Mancini’s got better offensive numbers with a goal and four assists in his 15 games with New York this year.
