The Vancouver Canucks have announced some housekeeping moves before the deadline to finalize their roster.
Thatcher Demko and Dakota Joshua have been placed on the season-opening injured non-roster while Arshdeep Bains, Erik Brännström and Jiri Patera were all assigned to AHL Abbotsford, the team announced Monday.
Demko, 28, didn’t suit up for the Canucks in the pre-season and questions about lingering injuries to the goaltender were top of mind at training camp.
Earlier in the off-season, it was reported that Demko wouldn’t be ready for training camp and pre-season after suffering a setback while rehabbing a knee injury. However, just over a week later, CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reported and Sportsnet confirmed that the goaltender had returned to skating.
The 28-year-old first suffered the injury in March and was sidelined for 14 games. He returned in time to finish out the regular season but was injured in the Canucks’ first playoff game and missed the remainder of their post-season run.
Joshua, 28, has been recovering from testicular cancer over the off-season. In a statement shared by the team in September, Joshua wrote that doctors discovered a lump over the summer and were successfully able to remove the tumour.
The six-foot-three, 206-pound forward had a career-high 18 goals and 14 assists in 63 games for the Canucks last season and signed a new four-year, US$13-million deal with Vancouver at the end of June.
Bains, 23, made his NHL debut with the Canucks last season but didn’t tally any points over his eight games. In 59 games with AHL Abbotsford, he had 16 goals and 39 assists. He went undrafted but signed an entry-level deal with the Canucks in 2022.
Brännström, 25, was acquired in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche for Tucker Poolman and a 2025 fourth-round pick. He was immediately placed on the waivers by Vancouver but went unclaimed. The Eksko, Sweden, native had three goals and 17 assists in 76 games with the Ottawa Senators last year.
Patera, 25, was re-claimed by the Canucks on Monday after being waived by the team last week and being claimed by the Bruins, who proceeded to waive him once again. The goaltender appeared in six games for the Vegas Golden Knights last season, recording a .893 save percentage and a 3.98 goals-against average.
The deadline to finalize rosters was at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT on Monday.