Nikita Tolopilo’s path to Vancouver’s opening-night crease has been cut off, at least for now. The goaltender cleared NHL waivers and is set to head to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks.
The move came after the Canucks placed Tolopilo on waivers Sunday, Sept. 27, the final day teams could do it. With the NHL roster deadline set for 2 p.m.
Pacific Time on Monday, the waiver wire was packed. According to Puck Pedia, 71 players landed on waivers Sunday.
Vancouver’s waiver claim of Leevi Meriläinen from the Ottawa Senators on Friday all but sealed Tolopilo’s fate. The Canucks are expected to place Thatcher Demko on injured reserve and open the season with Kevin Lankinen and Meriläinen as their two NHL goaltenders later today.
Tolopilo, 26, has played 90 games for Abbotsford and 23 NHL games with Vancouver since signing as an overseas free agent in 2023. Twenty-three of those 21 NHL games came last season, when Vancouver needed him to help absorb the loss of Thatcher Demko to multiple injuries after trading away Arturs Silovs to the Pittsburgh Penguins ahead of the 2025-26 season. In those 21 games, Tolopilo posted an .881 save percentage and a 3.61 goals-against average.
The Meriläinen claim gave Vancouver a younger, low-risk swing with a chance at a bigger payoff. Ottawa drafted him in the third round in 2020, and he split time between the AHL and NHL last season. His numbers were rough in 20 games - a 3.51 goals-against average and an .860 save percentage - but he also showed a much higher ceiling just two years ago, when he went 8-3-1 with three shutouts, a 1.99 goals-against average, and a .925 save percentage over a 12-game stretch.
For now, the Canucks are betting they can bring that version of Meriläinen back to life. Tolopilo, meanwhile, is headed to Abbotsford to get his season started there.
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