PTOs: The Canucks brought in Sammy Blais on an American Hockey League contract that includes an invite to training camp. With Podkolzin moving on, the club wanted to bring in some additional forward size to enhance its overall options. Cloverdale native Jujhar Khaira was also on the club’s radar for such a role. A couple of names still out there that the Canucks have not shown interest in: Nick Cousins and Milan Lucic.

The club is exploring its options and appears to be in the market for additional insurance in net. That’s understandable, given that Demko remains without a timeline as he progresses through his rehab, and is coming off of back-to-back knee injuries.

Multiple league sources have since indicated to The Athletic that Demko won’t be ready for training camp and preseason games. The club is hopeful that its Vezina Trophy finalist will be available to play on opening night — Oct. 9 against the Calgary Flames — but even that seems to be in question at this late stage of the summer.

There’s a bit of a cone of silence around exactly what’s occurring here. To this point, no one close to the situation will confirm whether or not Demko underwent a surgical procedure this summer.