Canucks recall Patrick Wiercioch and Thatcher Demko

Ahead of their Tuesday game against the Minnesota Wild, the Canucks have recalled defenceman Patrick Wiercioch and goaltender Thatcher Demko. The full press release from the organization is below:

Wiercioch is being recalled as Troy Stecher was injured in the game on Sunday against the Red Wings. He isn’t expected to draw into the lineup tomorrow but provides the Canucks with another option going forward. At this moment, Alex Biega is expected to play tomorrow.

Thatcher Demko’s recall is more of an eyebrow raiser simply because both goalies were present at practice and no injury was reported. That would lead us to believe that there is something more to the recall and that is likely due to the Canucks being very close to the salary cap limit with their injuries. By recalling Demko, the Canucks have 23 healthy bodies on the roster which gets them as close as possible to the upper limit of the salary cap. This then activities the LTIR for the organization to ensure that they maximize their new upper limit the most possible.

Capfriendly does a good job explaining the situation here.

Although trade speculation is funny, that likely isn’t the case here as the Canucks are just ensuring that they do some housekeeping now so that they aren’t hamstrung later in the season.

Demko will be on the roster for a day or two, which means he will collect some of that NHL salary. Which given his start to the season is a nice reward for the young net minder.