One front-runner for potential Carey Price trade steps out of sweepstakes...

The idea of trading star goalie Carey Price is slowly gaining ground in Montreal and this scenario seems more and more likely with Jeff Gorton taking over as the Canadiens’ Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations and the possibility of a complete rebuild. There is no doubt that Price could be an intriguing trade chip for Gorton, especially if he wants nothing to do with a rebuild at 34 years old.

Ever since the possibility was mentioned by insiders, including Pierre LeBrun, there are three teams that immediately come to mind as front-runners to acquire Price: the Edmonton Oilers and the Colorado Avalanche, for obvious reasons linked to their uncertainty in between the pipes, and then the Vancouver Canucks as they are the nearest club to his birthplace, where he grew up in British Columbia.

However it now sounds like we must immediately forget the Canucks in future rumours linked to Price.

The Canucks underwent a similar cleanup in management and new president of hockey operations and interim general manager Jim Rutherford was introduced to the media on Monday after practice during a press conference.

When answering questions on possible moves to come on the roster, Rutherford was asked about young goalie Thatcher Demko’s future in Vancouver, and his answer was clear: he called a franchise keeper, nothing less.

While fans can easily understand why Price would prefer to be traded close to home and in Vancouver, the Canucks would never include Demko in a deal with the Canadiens for the veteran netminder. And on top, the Canucks have virtually no space on their payroll at the moment. This confirmation on Demko’s future with the team has pretty much taken Vancouver out of the running in a potential Carey Price trade.

Demko is there to stay. This makes it almost automatic for pundits to remove the Canucks from any speculation surrounding a possible trade of Price by the Canadiens…