Canucks' losing trend is a happy accident

The Canucks may not be intentionally tanking but since Rick Tocchet took the coaching reins in Vancouver, the team continues to lose games. 21-year-old goaltending prospect Arturs Silovs recorded his first NHL win against the Flyers in just his second big-league game and some are suggesting the Canucks should shut first-choice goalie Thatcher Demko down for the season after he suffered a setback in his injury recovery.

Video Transcript

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Before today began, I learned that the Arizona Coyotes, by like 1%, have a better points percentage than the Vancouver Canucks.

SAM CHANG: And the Coyotes keep winning.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Yep, they've been good.

SAM CHANG: That's my dream. I want the Coyotes to keep winning. I need the Blackhawks to keep winning. And I need the Canucks to keep doing whatever they've been doing, which is playing Arturs Silovs, which is a great story. He got his first NHL win.

I was totally fine with that. Canucks have been losing a ton of games that they probably should have been winning. Rick Tocchet seems to really understand the tanking assignment. I think when they were playing the Rangers the other night at the end of the first period, the Canucks time-on-ice leader was Riley Stillman.

OMAR: There we go.

SAM CHANG: And the end of the first period, it was great. They sent Spencer Martin down. They're playing Colin Delia and Arturs Silovs. And Silovs was fantastic. He's like their top goaltending prospect. He's going to be very good. He was a steal in the sixth round. But they played him against the Rangers. He put up a decent show. And then, he beat the Flyers. So it was, like, you didn't take his confidence. You got him a couple of starts. But he's not going to get them any unnecessary wins thankfully.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Is Rick Tocchet doing this better than I thought he was?

SAM CHANG: Demko was supposed to come back. Demko was supposed to come back on Saturday to back up against Philly. And then, he apparently tweaked something and set back his injury comeback.

OMAR: Oh. Oh. O. That triggers my Loo flashback.

SAM CHANG: I think they should shut Demko down for the season.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Yeah.

OMAR: I mean, yeah. Why not?

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I mean, I don't think there's any issue with that. If you're putting yourself in a position where you seem to be-- your tank awareness seems to be getting better and better by the day.

SAM CHANG: I think if they actually shut him down, and this is not like my own idea, but Cody [? Sieverts ?] and Canuck's Army suggested to me that he would believe that the Canucks were deliberately tanking if or when they shut Thatcher Demko down for the season. And I think that's right. But I think until then, it's kind of like accidental on purpose still.

OMAR: And then maybe if the trade situation is still going on there, maybe move him at the draft. You get some more picks, maybe you come up with some more and more assets. Look at that.

[INTERPOSING VOICES]

SAM CHANG: If they move Miller, Demko, Boeser, and Schenn.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: That's tidy business.

OMAR: Yeah.

SAM CHANG: That's tidy business.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Patrik Allvin redeems himself.

SAM CHANG: And frankly, even if they move three of the four and they kept Demko, it would be fine.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Especially if you get some team throwing out a first round pick for Luke Schenn which--

SAM CHANG: Do you even know how good he's been?

JULIAN MCKENZIE: He's been good.

OMAR: And he's really cheap.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Someone might do it.

SAM CHANG: He's been really good. In my ideal scenario, because he's really good with Quinn Hughes, my ideal scenario, he goes as a rental to some cup contender. He wins, what? His third cup in four years? And then, he just signs with the Canucks again.

AVRY LEWIS-MCDOUGALL: That'd be sick.

OMAR: I love when teams do that.

SAM CHANG: That's what I want.

OMAR: It's good asset management.