Canucks Live: Demko returns as team needs winning run; Hughes to Capitals rumour pops up

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If you’ve wished about seeing a full-strength Canucks team in the flesh, Thursday may be your best bet. The Sabres are coming to town, it’s the last Canucks home game before Christmas, and Thatcher Demko is supposed to be back in net after missing the last 12 games. Nils Hoglander has been back for a couple of games now and Elias Pettersson looks like he may return after missing the last couple of games with an injury.

Unfortunately the biggest news in Canuckworld these days is still the future of Quinn Hughes. Every day there’s a new rumour. It seems most of the connections involve of course New Jersey because of Hughes’ brothers who play there. Coincidentally the Canucks play the Devils this weekend so expect those stories to crank up. Detroit is also a well-known suitor. A new one that’s not really popped up, but actually makes sense, is Hughes to Washington where there’s thinking they want to load up for one last playoff run for Alexander Ovechkin. Sportsnet “Insider” Elliotte Friedman did an appearance in Washington media and spoke extensively about it.

Elliotte Friedman floated the Washington Capitals specifically as a potential landing spot during Tuesday’s episode of NHL Network’s First Shift Podcast with Mike Kelly and EJ Hradek.

“One team I’ve wondered about a little bit, and I think there was some noise around them on social today, was Washington,” Friedman said. “This is a special time for the Capitals. Who knows how much longer Ovechkin’s going to be playing? They’re a team I could see say, ‘You know what, we’ll take our chances,’ potentially, if they can make a deal. So that was one team I thought of. I think if he gets traded, it’s most likely [to the] East.”

Hughes is signed to his current contract through next season (2026-27) at a $7.85 million cap hit with no trade protections. The Capitals currently have $3.34 million in cap space, although they could easily free more up by placing Pierre-Luc Dubois ($8.5 million AAV) on long-term injured reserve.

According to PuckPedia, the Capitals are also set to have $10.25 million in trade deadline space. Friedman shed more light on what the Canucks could be looking for during the eventual bidding war and negotiations.

“What I’m looking at are teams that have a centre and [Vancouver is] probably going to want a D to replace Hughes,” Friedman said. “So, you go up and down the prospects. You look over the young NHL players. Washington, I think it depends on how you feel about some of their players. I always assume, guys, that there’s someone out there that you’re not thinking about. Until someone sent me a note today about Washington, I hadn’t thought about them.”

The Capitals do have the premier prospects and young players that would fit those needs. Down the middle, the team has prospect names like Ilya Protas and Milton Gästrin and slightly older, NHL talent like Connor McMichael, Justin Sourdif, and Hendrix Lapierre. On defence, the most obvious prospect name would be Cole Hutson, who, like Hughes, is a left-handed offensive defenceman, but the club also has the 25-year-old Sandin, as well as recent high draft picks Leon Muggli and Ryan Chesley.

The Athletic did an interesting take on NHL attendance. Season ticket numbers for the Canucks are still healthy but there were loads of tickets available for Monday’s game against the Red Wings for less than $40 a seat. Still to this point the Canucks have a 99 per cent capacity percentage at the moment.

Vancouver will be an interesting market to watch moving forward. The Canucks’ early attendance has been robust, but apathy is hitting the fan base as the club has plummeted down the standings, with the dark cloud of Quinn Hughes’ uncertain future looming. The Canucks have recently offered more discounted “Student Rush” tickets than usual, suggesting demand is starting to soften, even if it hasn’t affected attendance totals yet.

The Winter Olympics in Italy are just seven weeks away, but the deadline for rosters is December 31. ESPN has done a roster projection and there’s not a ton of Olympic content. Despite the Canucks being littered with American players, in the projection Quinn Hughes is the only one who makes it. No one in consideration for Canada, obviously. And Elias Pettersson being picked as a winger for Sweden. Kevin Lankinen is in goal for Finland, Filip Hronek is in, Filip Chytill (!!!) in ‘consideration’ along with David Kampf. The lack of Canucks content on Canadian teams over the years has never been strong, outside of Roberto Luongo, but I think Canuck fans will just be hoping for any players who go there to come back healthy and for everyone else to get a good rest and reset.

Elias Pettersson is one of the players at the heart of this conversation. He faced questions at the start of the season about whether he would be a better fit at center or on the wing, considering his offensive struggles along with Sweden’s additional options down the middle. Pettersson came into Dec. 8 averaging 0.79 points per game, while on a team that is in the bottom third of the NHL in goals per game. He also missed the Canucks’ past two games with a lower-body injury.

Filip Chytil, who has had his career interrupted by injuries, sustained an upper-body injury this season that has kept him on IR since Oct. 20. He resumed skating in mid-November but a timeline has not been given for his return. Jiri Kulich remains out indefinitely with blood clots, while Tomas Nosek continues to recover from a knee injury with the expectation he will miss the Olympics. Czechia’s front office is also monitoring Michal Kempny’s status after he sustained an injury on Nov. 27 while playing in Sweden, with no reported timetable for his return.

Chytil and Kempny are included on my roster because there appears to be enough of a runway for them to prepare for the Olympics. If not, that would leave Czechia seeking another forward to fill its top nine while also losing one of its top six defencemen. 

Check back for more Canucks news throughout the day …