Raty on Waivers, and the Goaltending Situation Gets No Simpler

The Canucks placed Aatu Raty on waivers Wednesday, a roster move that has nothing to do with goaltending on its face — and yet it lands on the same day the crease situation keeps churning. Thatcher Demko remains out. Kevin Lankinen has been struggling. Leevi Merilainen is getting his look, as I noted here a day ago.

The depth chart at goal tells the current story plainly: Nikita Tolopilo, Lankinen, and Merilainen are the three names, in that order by playing time. None of them is Demko, and none of them has done enough to make this feel settled. Merilainen's opportunity is real — the organization confirmed as much this week — but opportunity and stability are different things.

The Raty waiver claim is a separate matter and shouldn't be conflated with the goaltending carousel. It's a roster management decision, the kind of move a team makes when it's sorting through bodies late in a difficult season. Vancouver is 26-65 and playing its worst hockey of the year over the last ten games. Moves like this are part of the housekeeping.

What's worth watching in the short term is simply whether Merilainen holds the net or whether Vancouver keeps rotating. The organization has been through enough instability between the pipes this season that any steadiness there would be notable. Right now, they don't have it.