Welcome back to WDYTT, the only hockey column on the internet that trades in tirades.

Speaking of trades, it’s been a relatively quiet start on that front for GM Ryan Johnson and Co. Since taking over the Vancouver Canucks, Johnson has completed just four trades, and only one since July, that being the trade of Aatu Räty to Toronto in exchange for Jacob Quillan and Brandon Buhr.

But that won’t be the last trade of the 2026-27 season. The Canucks are a team built to lose, and lose a lot. They’re already out to one of the worst starts in franchise history. That all may be according to plan, but it’s the kind of thing that takes a toll on a roster, and almost demands some degree of shuffling – even if it is just the deck chairs on the Titanic.

There are probably a handful of players on the roster right now who will be traded at some point this year. But who’s it going to be next? That’s the question at hand.

This week, we’re asking:

Let it be known in the comment section.

You answered below!

Unfortunately, I think Leevi will be moved at the deadline as long as Demmer is healthy. I would prefer a way to get off of Lank’s contract and have the younger Leevi split games.

Doubt that will happen.

Leevi has clearly been the better goalie, however Lankinen still has some benefit in that we are tanking, and he can shield Leevi so he is not completely thrown to the wolves. Unfortunately, I don’t see a situation where he becomes tradable, even after his full NMC is removed.

Lankinen has never established himself as a starting goalie. His best performances seem to come after several days off. As a backup, his ability to put in high quality starts after lengthy periods of time off was one of his strengths.

Time to stop pretending he can be a starting goalie. I don’t think anyone knows how well Meriläinen will hold up to a starter’s workload, but it’s time to find out and accept the fact the Lankinen contract was a mistake.

Lankinen should not play more than a game a week. If there concerns about Meriläinen’s workload, call Tolopilo up for the odd game.

Since we’re in a rebuild, I want to see them give Leevi the majority of the starts. We need to see where he’s at and find out if he can be our future number one or a reliable backup going forward.

The key is making the right decisions to determine if Meriläinen can be part of the long-term future

If Demko gets healthy, the Canucks should carry three goalies, and Lankinen can sit in the press box. Those two should be one part of a 50/50 with Meriläinen.

Demko and Lankinen unfortunately have no trade value and seem very unlikely to find any. You may have to look at retention as an option should a trade of value come along at some point over the next few years

Lankinen can be banished to the AHL starting next season.

Meriläinen is clearly the goalie of the future right now, so his development should take precedence and Lanky can fill in as needed.

I am not saying overplay Meriläinen, just give him more than half the games…aiming for 50 to see how he handles the workload…so no long stretches of games but at least two per week…maybe three in a four-game week.

He has earned it and is by far the better player right now.

I think we’re stuck with the status quo for the duration of the season.

The most important part of this season for the goaltenders is going to be managing Meriläinen’s workload and developing him properly, he looks like he could become a very solid player for the future and a nice surprise edition to the younger core.

Use him sparingly but enough to manage his game time and not overload him, Lankinen can handle the hard minutes and the workload for now.

When Demko returns, we’re probably best to carry three goalies for a bit to make sure Demko’s health has stabilized, though losing Lankinen to waivers isn’t terribly likely and recalling him from Abbotsford is a good option when the inevitable Demko injury relapse happens.

This is my opinion. I think we should run with Meriläinen as a starter and use Lankinen as a backup. If, and only if, we start on a winning streak, get Lankinen in to control our wins. Right now, to trade Lankinen, it would have to have retention in salary or draft picks or prospects in the deal. Next year, put Leakagain in Abbotsford.

Demko and Lank are untradeable and will be a massive problem moving forward, we have the cap space, but will steal roster spots from upcoming goalies.

Leevi has shown he might be a long-term solution to at least being a backup and is worth keeping around.

The AHL and ECHL goalies have not shown enough to keep around and don’t project to have NHL potential. They should all be replaced with college and euro free agent signings as soon as possible.

Keep drafting goalies as high up as possible in the draft rounds two to three.

For the goalies, I would want Demko and Lankinen to become tradeable assets in the future. For Demko, he needs to get healthy and get back to form even if he only plays <20 games this year. It would be a good foundation for next year.

For Lankinen, he needs to be a solid back up. Let him play 1/3 games and get his form back.

Don’t think we’re trading either of them till next season at the earliest.

For Meriläinen, I would like him to be the starter. Doesn’t need to do anything different. Continue to play as he has been playing.

Canucks are in an impossible spot here, if Demko comes back do the run with three goalies or waive Leevi?

Lankinen should be demoted in this instance based on play, but a genius gave this career backup a no-movement clause for some reason.

Demko and Leakinthemin are both pretty much unmovable for varying reasons, so they will be stuck with them and be forced to run with three goalies. Given this, they need to pull every string to move one of Demko or Lankinen as long as they can do so without sacrificing a key asset.

I think Canucks need to be careful with how they deploy Meriläinen. If you go back 36 years ago, there was a young 23-year-old goalie named Troy Gamble who filled in for an injured Kirk McLean and his first seven starts’ stats in 1990 were practically identical to Meriläinen’s. Gamble was posting blistering numbers right up until his 18th start and then he started going into a downward spiral as teams started to figure him out. He never recovered after that, and became a fixture in the minor leagues after that season. The current Canucks are a bad team, they don’t need to throw Meriläinen to the wolves with too many starts. Let the veteran Lankinen take the majority of the starts and shelter Meriläinen. If Demko comes back healthy, then the Canucks can just have three goalies on the roster. They’ll need to protect Demko’s minutes anyways. In the off-season, the Canucks can make their own decisions on what to do with their goalies since Meriläinen will be an RFA then.

Pretty easy:

Just alternate Lanky and Leevi game by game for now.

Then alternate the three of them once Demko is back.

Try to move one in the offseason.

Without tipping my hand as to what I really think, I checked Puckpedia, and it costs $833K for six years (plus signing bonus) to buy out Lankinen next year.

On the other hand, he is the perfect goalie for the tank…. and you thought I wouldn’t have anything nice to say about him…

Trade Demko and Lankinen (if possible). Roll with Leevi and trade for a cheap veteran backup.

Leakinen has picked up where he was last year…letting five goals in almost every game. I’d rather see us bring in another goalie like Leevi and they can tag-team until Demko returns. Hopefully at the deadline, ship both Demko and Leakinen out and get a decent vet goalie.

The goaltending has deteriorated since Ian Clark stepped away. I think the best investment the Canucks can make is on some good psychologists to maintain the goalie’s sanity during the tank. Maybe they should go on a three goalie rotation to limit their exposure to the losses to come.