Canucks Coffee: Breaking down the Thatcher Demko sasquatch tape

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Thatcher Demko has become sasquatch.

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We’ve been reduced to searching grainy images of what may or may not be a goalie marching across a rubble field.

“Are those modern goalie pads, or just some sort of puffed-up street hockey set,” we ask.

We’ve heard rumours of Demko skating lately, references to “good days” that are supposedly coming one after another.

Well, we can now report on two-straight days of Demko sightings. Friday he was spotted on the ice before the Canucks headed out on their current road trip. Rick Tocchet didn’t say much about that.

Saturday, he was on the ice again, after the Canucks’ morning skate. Shout-out to The Hockey News’ Max Miller, who posted a video to THN’s website.

This time he was taking shots — from Dakota Joshua, himself returning from his own health challenge.

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What we saw was notable: Demko taking shots. That’s a good sign.

But there are still questions, like: He takes shots coming off the right post, but does he come off the left post?

The concern for Demko is the popliteus muscle in the back of his left knee … and we don’t see him driving it into the left post or using it to explode away from the post.

Because we weren’t there to observe, we don’t know if he did any of these things — and we’re back to sasquatch hunting. We’re just not sure what we’re looking at.

Kevin Lankinen, bargain hunter

The Canucks’ goalie really shouldn’t be here. He’s too good for this.

The NHL is ludicrous: Just look at Lankinen being on a deal that pays him under $1 million and he’s got all five Canucks wins this season.

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It never made sense that he was still a free agent that far into the summer. There are worse goalies who signed for more.

Again, if you’re the Boston Bruins or Dallas Stars, did it really make that much sense to sign your star goalies for as much as they did for as long as they didm when the advantage you get over a guy like Lankinen is pretty marginal?

He’s going to have to carry a load here.

Time heals (all) wounds

I thought a lot about Pavel Bure’s return to Vancouver for his jersey retirement in 2013 when I saw Vince Carter’s ceremony in Toronto on Saturday night.

Here’s a Raptors legend, no doubt. But he’s still a guy who forced his way out of town in pretty spectacular fashion and then was booed for years afterwards by the fans who had once adored him.

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The Raptors’ current leadership, the wisest of them all Masai Ujiri, pointed out that Carter basically made basketball a thing in Canada. His influence was outsized compared to his actual career.

Bure came back and was loved anew by the fans he’d abandoned. He also forced his way out of town — but the team was terrible and not of his doing when that happened.

He also was pretty media-savvy, his handlers recognizing, that told right, his story was compelling. The Canucks had mistreated him, for years, you see, and he made it clear. The Canucks didn’t really have any counter.

And that is the difference in the long run. Time can heal all wounds and, in Bure’s case, it seemed to. In Carter’s case, it has not. There’s still a lot of anger at him being so petulant in forcing his way, first by openly playing well beneath his ability then using and abusing his hand-picked general manager.

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The Raptors of the era were badly run. Carter wanted something new and found a way to get it himself.

His legacy should have been spectacular dunks and building up Canadian basketball. Instead it was also about heartaches, what-might-have-been and simple underachievement.

He’s still going to the hall of fame. Bure is already there.

The Gaudfather

Don’t look now, but a rejuvenated Adam Gaudette seems to be loving life again.

He has six goals in 10 games for the Senators. That’s on the back of 44 goals in the AHL for Springfield last year.

pjohnston@postmedia.com

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