If Demko remains healthy, DeSmith could be a good add. He seems to do fine when he's the backup, getting backup workload. But he becomes dogshit when he's a starter for a prolonged stretch.
And there's just something about how he looks in net that he plays so tiny. When he's on, it's because he's making acrobatic saves. But if the timing is off, he's terrible because his technique sucks and he plays small so he's not "blocking" many shots with his frame.
This is what the Canucks really need anyway. He's proven with the Pens that he can provide really solid backup goaltending in that true backup role. There's something to be said for guys who embrace that role and can come in cold, or in those intermittent spaced out starts and give you a good chance to win those games.
Demko is obviously going to get the bulk of the work. But this allows them to do
a little bit of load management to keep him a bit more fresh and healthy.
And ultimately...if Demko
doesn't stay healthy, it's probably not DeSmith taking over the start role anyway. He's probably just asked to keep on truckin' with the backup gig, and Arturs Silovs would be brought up and take over as the de facto "starter" anyway.
The only real reason Silovs isn't just the expected backup in the NHL this year, is that he's probably better served getting a ton of game action down in the AHL and continuing to work with Clark, probably even getting some brief callups during Canucks home stands, etc.
So DeSmith seems pretty perfectly suited to what the Canucks need out of their backup. Whereas Spencer Martin stinks and can't be relied on for anything, which would've put stupid pressure on them to run Demko into the ground.
