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GM Johnson says Meriläinen was a ‘target’ for Canucks if placed on NHL waivers

Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

By Jacob Fraser

Sep 25, 2026, 19:39 EDT

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The Vancouver Canucks used their top waiver priority to claim goaltender Leevi Meriläinen from the Ottawa Senators.

The 24-year-old Finnish goaltender has played 34 career NHL games with the Senators and has split time between the NHL and AHL over the past two seasons.

Following the transaction, Canucks General Manager Ryan Johnson spoke to the media to discuss the team’s most recent addition. Johnson said Meriläinen was someone they had a lot of interest in, if he were to hit waivers:

“It’s something we’ve been planning for months now, just as far as any position, if we had an opportunity to take on somebody that we thought very well of,” Johnson said. “Leevi was somebody that we had looked at as you’re going across teams across the league that may have to make some tough decisions. He was a guy that we had targeted; if he was available, we were going to take a serious look at it.

“So when he did, understanding that there’s moving parts around it, we just felt it was something with where we were at, with his pedigree, and where he’s at in his process, that it fit with where we were as an organization.”

A former third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Meriläinen came to Ottawa with serious pedigree. During the 2024-25 season, Meriläinen posted a .925 save percentage while allowing just 1.99 goals against average, leading the Senators to an 8-3-1 record through his 12 starts. He also posted a .913 save percentage and a 2.37 goals against average in the AHL over 37 games.

This past season, however, didn’t go as well in the NHL, which led to him being sent down to the AHL once again.

Since adding Meriläinen to the Canucks roster, the team now has five goaltenders remaining, with the team only able to keep a maximum of three after the September 28th roster deadline.

With Demko on injured reserve for now, the three remaining goalies are Kevin Lankinen, Nikita Tolopilo, and Chris Driedger, who is still on a PTO. Johnson was asked about the Canucks current goaltending situation, specifically where the addition of Meriläinen leaves both Tolopilo and Driedger. He said the team has yet to make a decision regarding the two goaltenders and that the group will make their decision sometime following tomorrow’s preseason finale against the Seattle Kraken.