The Vancouver Canucks signed goaltender Chris Driedger to a professional tryout agreement on Thursday.
The move comes after general manager Ryan Johnson was noncommittal on whether netminder Thatcher Demko will be ready to start this season after undergoing hip surgery in January.
Driedger is returning to North America after spending last season in the KHL with Traktor Chelyabinsk, going 8-9-2 with a .897 save percentage and a 3.05 goals-against average.
The 32-year-old Winnipeg native spent the 2024-25 season playing in the AHL with the Charlotte Checkers and Manitoba Moose. He last played in the NHL during the 2023-24 campaign, dressing in two games with the Seattle Kraken.
Over 67 career NHL games with the Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers and Kraken, Driedger has a 31-24-5 record with a .917 save percentage and a 3.05 GAA.
Vancouver also announced the addition of Sean Finn as an amateur scout on Thursday. Finn brings seven years of experience from work with three different clubs in the KHL.
Driedger will compete in Vancouver for a role behind Demko and Kevin Lankinen.
Demko was limited to 20 games last season after playing in just 23 games in 2024-25 and Johnson said the team will not rush the 30-year-old netminder back on to the ice.
“I’ve said all along with Thatcher, we’ve never really been operating on timelines,” Johnson told Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province. “When you come this far with something, why not make sure you take the last final steps? He’s had a great summer physically and mentally.”
Johnston reports that Demko has been skating since late June and spent the summer in Vancouver, rehabbing under the watchful eye of the Canucks training staff.
Carrying three goalies into the season seems like it could be an option with Demko’s status in question.
“We’re ready for anything,” Johnson said. “We still have some time here before camp opens. But I’ve got to make sure, as an organization, we’re covered and prepared for whatever timeline’s needed to allow him to not just get back, but make sure it’s sustainable.”
Demko posted an 8-10-1 record last season with an .897 save percentage and 2.90 goals-against average, missing close to a month in the fall with a separate injury before being shut down in January.
In his last fully healthy season in 2023-24, Demko was an All-Star and was second in Vezina Trophy voting after finishing the year with a .918 save percentage and 2.45 GAA in 51 games.
The San Diego native remains signed through the 2028-29 season at a cap hit of $8.5 million, the second-largest salary on the team behind centre Elias Pettersson ($11.6 million).
The Canucks will open their preseason on Sept. 19 against the Seattle Kraken and start their regular season on Sept. 29 in Edmonton against the Oilers.
