May 28, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford addresses reporters during media day before the start of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final at PPG PAINTS Arena.

Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

A new report out this week indicated that the Vancouver Canucks are showing interest in signing one of the top goaltenders in the Kontinental Hockey League this year.

Between the pipes, the Vancouver Canucks appear to be set for the future with goaltenders like Aleksei Medvedev of the London Knights, who they selected in the second round of last year’s draft, as well as Nikita Tolopilo, a free agent they signed out of Europe in the spring of 2023.

While the Canucks might not need to worry much about their long-term future in net, it’s always nice to have depth incase of injury, something we’ve seen countless times over the last couple of years with Thatcher Demko, and it appears the club might be turning to Europe once again to bring in another goaltender.

Vancouver Canucks reportedly interested in signing one of the KHL’s top goaltenders

Motorygin is currently in his third season in the KHL with Dynamo Moscow and he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent as of May 31st, according to Nosov.

Note: the following has been translated from Russian

“As SE has learned, Dynamo Moscow goalkeeper Maxim Motorygin is of interest to Vancouver.

The player’s contract with the white-blues runs until May 31, 2026. Motorygin was not drafted by an NHL club.” Nosov said.

Motorygin, 23, is having another solid season for Dynamo Moscow, sporting a 10-7-4 record along with a 2.35 goals against average, a .918 save percentage and four shutouts in 21 games.

The Voronezh, Russia native has a career 2.21 goals against average, a .921 save percentage and eight shutouts 91 games in the KHL and with numbers like that, it’s no surprise he’s garnering interest from the Vancouver Canucks.

With Motorygin not eligible to sign with the Canucks until the spring, it’s going to be very interesting to see what the the trickle down effect might be for other members of the organization.

One big question that would need answering is could the Vancouver Canucks possibly part with one of Thatcher Demko or Kevin Lankinen in order to bring up Nikita Tolopilo full-time while allowing Motorygin to develop in the American Hockey League, in a tandem with Ty Young or Aku Koskenvuo?

Previously on Vancouver Hockey Daily

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Vancouver Canucks reportedly making unexpected push toward signing top KHL goaltender

Do you think the Vancouver Canucks should sign Maxim Motorygin at the end of the KHL season?