The Canucks may begin the season without the services of Vezina runner-up Thatcher Demko.

In the post-free agency episode of the Sleepers and Keepers podcast published on July 8, we noted the signing of 25-year-old minor leaguer Jiri Patera amid quiet rumblings that Canucks netminder Thatcher Demko, who finished second in Vezina voting last season, would not be ready for the start of the 2024-25 season.

It had just been speculation at that point. During the Canucks' playoff run, Demko played just one game before getting replaced by Casey DeSmith and Arturs Silovs, but there was speculation Demko would potentially be available if the Canucks advanced to the conference final.

But there are now reports Demko may indeed miss training camp and the preseason due to the lower-body injury he suffered in the playoffs. This just adds more fuel to the fire and, if true, will undoubtedly hurt the Canucks' chances of repeating their surprisingly successful 2023-24 campaign. 

It's serious enough that fantasy managers must now adjust their goalie rankings heading into the 2024-25 season and add both Silovs and perhaps Patera to their draft lists.

In an era where elite No. 1 goalies have become rarer, Demko's injury will make that list even shorter. 

For fantasy managers who insist on drafting a goalie in the early or early-middle rounds, this development is not good. Demko had been one of the league's most reliable goalies in recent seasons, and his career trajectory was on a steep upward trend. He was talented, he was a workhorse and the Canucks were very good; Demko was easily a top-10 goalie in fantasy. 

For fantasy managers who follow the zero-G strategy, their draft pool suddenly got bigger with the inclusion of Silovs and Patera. 

The truth is, zero-G enthusiasts may have had Demko on their "do not draft" lists already. Demko's injury history is already quite lengthy; he's had hip surgery in the past, groin issues and it's been speculated the injury he suffered in the playoffs was a torn ACL. 

After taking over for Demko, Silovs was particularly impressive. He easily displaced DeSmith, whom the Canucks trusted for jsut two games, as their starter even though Silovs had played just four games during the regular season. According to naturalstattrick.com, Silovs' .917 SP at 5-on-5 barely trailed Cup winner Sergei Bobrovsky (.919), was far better than Stuart Skinner (.895) and ranked 13th out of 27 goalies in total goals saved above expected in the playoffs. 

Silovs is the most likely candidate to replace Demko as the Canucks' starter in their season opener. With a strong team in front of him, Silovs fits the bill as an excellent zero-G option. He's still relatively unknown (at least outside of Latvia, where he's already a national hero), ranked 356th on Yahoo's pre-season rankings, and he's got the potential to be really good on a very good team. 

The one question is workload. For an organization that doesn't seem to like rushing goalies, would Silovs prove to be the exception to the rule? Will the Canucks, who have Cup aspirations after coming one game shy of making the conference final, trust Silovs for 50-plus games? Can Silovs even last 50-plus games before breaking down?

When Patera was signed, he was seen as a short-term insurance policy. He was a proven goalie in the AHL but has even less experience than Silovs with only eight games of NHL experience.

That's prompted speculation that the Canucks have Finnish goalie and Juuse Saros' backup over the past two seasons, Kevin Lankinen, on their radar. 

Lankinen would certainly be a huge improvement over the unproven Patera, and also provide some mentorship to the young Silovs. However, the Canucks don't have much cap space to play with, and locking themselves into a contract with Lankinen now may impede their cap flexibility down the road. 

As it stands, we assume the Canucks will go with Silovs and Patera, with prospect Nikita Tolopilo developing in the AHL. The only other goalie signed in the Canucks' system current is 19-year-old Ty Young. Depth is an issue, but the Canucks may not have a better option at the moment.

Silovs' body of work has been impressive but it's also been quite small, and it's difficult to extrapolate what kind of fantasy value he'll have over the course of the 2024-25 season as the Canucks continue to figure out their goalie situation. 

As the incumbent starter following their playoff run, Silovs is well ahead of Patera on the depth chart. I don't see a 50-50 split between Silovs and Patera, but I imagine the Canucks will be cognizant of the pressure and workload placed on Silovs and give him ample time to rest should he appear fatigued. Should the Canucks sign Lankinen, he has a better chance than Patera of eating into Silovs' playing time.

Either way, for fantasy managers who subscribe to the zero-G strategy, Silovs has certainly jumped up the top of the list. The path to the crease is clear, unlike the Wild's Jesper Wallstedt, the Sabres' Devon Levi, the Panthers' Spencer Knight and the Red Wings' Sebastian Cossa. 

The two biggest challengers to Silov's potential upside in fantasy value among up-and-coming goalies are Yaroslav Askarov, recently acquired by the Sharks, and the Flames' Dustin Wolf, but neither team will come close to as winning as many games as the Canucks. 

Will you be drafting Silovs in this upcoming fantasy season?

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