Vancouver is evaluating the 32-year-old netminder during training camp, seeking depth in goal amid ongoing concerns about Thatcher Demko’s health.
Published Aug 31, 2026 • Last updated 29 minutes ago • 4 minute read
Chris Driedger is joining the Vancouver Canucks in pursuit of long-term employment, and he is clearly approaching the opportunity with optimism.
“I had a good talk with him. He seems like a great guy,” the 32-year-old netminder said Monday regarding Canucks goalie coach Marko Torenius. “He’s Finnish. My wife (Milla) is Finnish. I’ll have to use the handful of Finnish words that I’ve learned on him. One hundred per cent I’m going to do it.”
The Canucks signed Driedger to a professional tryout agreement last week, and his positive attitude is understandable. He has accumulated 67 NHL games across stints with the Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers, and Seattle Kraken, though he has not appeared in the league since January 2024.
He began last season with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL, but he and the organization mutually agreed to terminate his contract in November. Before his departure, he posted an 8-9-2 record with a 3.05 goals against average and an .897 save percentage.
Vancouver is evidently seeking additional security in the crease, particularly given lingering uncertainty surrounding starter Thatcher Demko, who turns 30. Injuries restricted Demko to just 20 games last season and 23 the previous year.
Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson told Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston recently that Demko has enjoyed a “great summer physically and mentally,” while also emphasizing that “we’ve never really been operating on timelines,” in relation to when Demko will be ready to resume a full workload.
Johnson further discussed the organization’s need to ensure that Demko’s return to play is “sustainable.”
The club already has an established backup in Kevin Lankinen, 31, but the depth chart becomes considerably younger and less proven beyond him. The organization also has Nikita Tolopilo, 26, Ty Young, 21, and Aku Koskenvuo, 23, in its goaltending pipeline.
“I know what I’m capable of and it seems like there is an opportunity with the Canucks,” Driedger said. “I’m just really excited to get things started. It’s been a pretty long off-season for me.”
“It’s a little bit of that underdog mentality for me, and I think I’ve always played my best with that underdog mindset. It’s not usually the smoothest transition to come back from Russia to North America and I knew that it would probably be a situation on a contract where I’d have to prove myself. I’m looking forward to that. I’m good fighting for every opportunity.”
Much of Driedger’s potential role with the Canucks will depend on the performance and availability of the team’s other goaltenders, particularly Demko. Driedger insists he is working to set that consideration aside.
“When I just go in and play, that’s typically when I’ve had my most success,” said Driedger, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 210 pounds. “Those external factors are not for me to spend my mental energy worrying about.”
“It seems like there’s an opportunity and that’s what I’ve been told and that’s why I took the offer. I’m just going to go in and play with a free mind and see what happens, and that’s exciting. There’s no sense in worrying about what’s going to happen here or what’s going to happen here. The next thing you know you’re thinking about it on the ice when you should instead be thinking about the next puck.”
Throughout his NHL career, Driedger has compiled respectable statistics, including a 31-24-5 record with a 2.45 goals against average and a .917 save percentage.
He credits 20-year NHL veteran Craig Anderson with helping him develop in Ottawa, and 16-year NHL veteran Sergei Bobrovsky with doing the same during his time in Florida.
“I was breaking into the NHL and playing great and he was struggling a little bit at the time. I was taking some starts away from him and he was so supportive,” Driedger said of Bobrovsky. “I remember coming in after a game and him saying ‘It’s so fun to watch, man. Keep it going.’ And it was like my seventh NHL game or something like that. It was so cool to have that support from him.”
Driedger believes that mentorship is now an integral part of his role at this stage of his career.
“Talking with young players and giving them some guidance is something that’s really been rewarding for me and I really enjoy it,” said Driedger, a native of Winnipeg.
“This is a young man’s game these days. Coming in as a veteran guy, there’s limited spots and if you want to stick around you have to be willing to help develop the young guys. It’s become one of the most rewarding parts about playing.”
Vancouver’s training camp is scheduled for Sept. 17-20 in Penticton. Players on professional tryout agreements face long odds to earn roster spots, though there have been notable success stories. Winger Alex Chiasson signed five PTOs during his 11-year career and converted three of them into NHL contracts, including one with the Canucks in 2021-22.
Driedger was selected by the Senators in the third round of the 2012 NHL Draft, following his first of three Western Hockey League seasons with the Calgary Hitmen. He originally debuted in the WHL with the Tri-City Americans in 2010-11.
