Heading into the free agency, the Vancouver Canucks had a solid number-one goaltender in Thatcher Demko and an up-and-coming prospect in Arturs Silovs. What they didn't have was a backup goaltender.
Journeyman goaltender Spencer Martin stumbled last season when thrust into a larger role. Collin Delia was a little bit better, but he left in free agency, signing with the Winnipeg Jets. As for Silovs, his development is likely best served by playing major minutes in the AHL with the Abbotsford Canucks rather than getting spot starts in the NHL as Demko's backup.
On the first day of free agency, Patrik Allvin added another goaltender to the mix, signing Zach Sawchenko to a one-year, two-way contract with a cap hit of $775,000 at the NHL level.
Sawchenko has minimal NHL experience, appearing in just seven games in the 2021-22 season with the San Jose Sharks, where he posted a .901 save percentage. He spent all of last season in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves, where he had an .895 save percentage in 41 games.
Those are not the most promising numbers but there's something to be said for the 25-year-old's persistence in getting to the NHL in the first place.
Sawchenko went undrafted despite a solid draft year with the Moose Jaw Warriors in the WHL and an appearance with Team Canada at the World Under-18 Championship. He then took the unusual route of foregoing his final year of junior hockey to go to university, playing Canadian college hockey at the University of Alberta, which is rarely a path to the NHL.
"When I left junior, I was just tired with the game, I kind of fell out of love with it. It was becoming more of a job for me than I was really enjoying it as much as I would have liked,” said Sawchenko to the Edmonton Sun. “So, when I left junior, I went to school to focus on school and hockey kind of took a back seat.”
Then he won a national championship in his freshman year with the University of Alberta Golden Bears, reigniting his love of hockey. That ultimately led to an AHL contract with the San Jose Barracuda. Then, after splitting time between the AHL and ECHL, he earned an NHL contract with the San Jose Sharks.
That determination to work his way up from the bottom likely appeals to goaltending coach Ian Clark, who prizes a competitive nature in his goaltenders.
The signing of Sawchenko does not answer the question of who will back up Demko next season, however. Presumably, Sawchenko will battle with Martin and Silovs for the role, with the remaining two playing in the AHL. There's also the wild card of Nikita Tolopilo, a 6'6" goaltender who excelled in Sweden's HockeyAllsvenskan, who the Canucks signed back in March.
None of those four goaltenders is a proven NHL backup, so it will be interesting to see how many starts Demko gets next season.
