Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period was on TSN Radio in Montreal and was asked about the Vancouver Canucks, not so much the rift in the locker room, but can this team be a threat to win in the playoffs as they get healthier and could they add another piece along the way.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Host: “The last thing I want to ask you is about the Vancouver Canucks, and obviously, they’re not off to the start, or they’re not at the point that they were at last season, but this is still a good team. They’re still fourth in the Pacific, four points (two points) behind the Los Angeles Kings.
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Do you think the having Thatcher Demko back will propel this team to the heights, obviously, maybe not regular season wise, because they have a little bit of ground to make up for, but in terms of threat level, come playoff time, that Thatcher Demko can get them back to that?”
Dave Pagnotta: “Yeah, it’s definitely a factor. I mean not having Demko for good chunk of the season to minus the last 5 to 6 games, you lost (J.T.) Miller first because of his personal leave of absence for about a month, and since he’s come back, he hasn’t played at the level that many expect them to himself, included.
Elias Pettersson in the last little bit, hasn’t, especially, I don’t think he’s got a point in his last six games, he hasn’t played to the level that he’s accustomed to, either eventually these guys are going to get rolling, and then that, coupled with Demko being your number one, it gives Vancouver a lot of ammunition to work with and a lot to play with.
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And they’re out there looking to add to their roster. They want to add a top-four defenseman, even with (Filip) Hronek out. When he comes back; they still want to amplify that blue line and add another defender back there who’s capable of playing top-four minutes. They still believe you get into the postseason pretty much anything could happen. It doesn’t matter of positioning. If it’s a few points back, it could really go either way in terms of the teams ahead of them.
So from their perspective, they’re dealing with a little bit of, yeah, they’ve got an internal issue that they got to deal with, that they’re trying to deal with. It just gets polarized by the media, especially out there in Vancouver, and we’re seeing the frustrations of having to answer those questions.
But that aside, there’s still a lot of talent there, and they still know how to get to work and get the job done. I still have a lot of confidence in the Canucks. They’re a good team. I don’t think where they finish, quite frankly, within the playoff structure, matters to them, get in, get the job done, and go from there.
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And I think we’ll see better performances from Pettersson and Miller, and with that, along with one of the top goalie in the league in Demko, and I mean, he hasn’t even scratched the surface of his capabilities for this season because it’s only been a sample size, but they’re going to be dangerous in the second half of the season.”
