On Tuesday, the Vancouver Canucks kick off their regular season with a matchup against the Edmonton Oilers.
After finishing last season at the bottom of the NHL standings, the Canucks will be aiming to start this campaign off with a victory.
Now, as Vancouver prepares for their season opener against the Oilers, they have officially parted ways with one of their training camp goalies.
Chris Driedger Released From PTO by Vancouver Canucks
According to CHEK TV’s Rick Dhaliwal, the Canucks have released goaltender Chris Driedger from his professional tryout (PTO) agreement with the club.
Driedger signed a PTO with the Canucks last month after spending the 2025-26 season in the KHL with Traktor Chelyabinsk. However, he has officially not earned a contract from Vancouver and will be looking to find a home elsewhere because of it.
The Canucks releasing Driedger from his PTO comes after they claimed goaltender Leevi Merilainen off waivers from the Ottawa Senators.
Looking at Driedger
Driedger posted an 8-9-2 record, an .897 save percentage, and a 3.05 goals-against average in 23 KHL appearances last season. This was after he spent all of the 2024-25 season in the AHL, split between the Charlotte Checkers and the Manitoba Moose.
Driedger last played at the NHL level during the 2023-24 season with the Seattle Kraken. In two appearances that season for Seattle, he posted a 1-1-0 record, a .917 save percentage, and a 2.51 goals-against average.
Driedger had his most success in the NHL with the Florida Panthers. He had a .938 save percentage in 12 games for Florida in 2019-20 and a .927 save percentage in 23 games for the Panthers in 2020-21.
It will now be interesting to see where Driedger ends up signing after being released from his PTO by the Canucks.
Vancouver Canucks Quickly Release 32-Year-Old Goalie Before Oilers Matchup