Potential Return? Former Vancouver Canucks Goaltender Has Career Cut Short in the KHL
Photo credit: Jessica Alcheh-Imagn Images
A former Vancouver Canucks goaltender has been placed on the waiver wire overseas in Europe just two months into his first season outside of North America.
Former members of the Vancouver Canucks organization have had quite a rocky start to the 2025-26 season, especially overseas in Europe goaltender Louis Domingue having his contract terminated in the KHL in order to return to North America, while Nic Petan also had his deal terminated after starting the year in Switzerland's National League.
As the season continues to roll along, it appears that another former Vancouver Canucks goaltender might be looking for a new team of his own after his club made the difficult decision to place him on waivers this week.
Former Vancouver Canucks goaltender placed on waivers in Europe
In a press release on the Kontinental Hockey League's website on Wednesday, it was revealed that CSKA Moscow have placed Spencer Martin on waivers, 14 games into his tenure with the club.
Note: the following is translated from Russian.
"Also placed on the waiver list is goaltender Spencer Martin , who played 14 matches for CSKA, stopping 90.5% of shots and allowing an average of 2.69 goals per match." the KHL said.
"Also placed on the waiver list is goaltender Spencer Martin , who played 14 matches for CSKA, stopping 90.5% of shots and allowing an average of 2.69 goals per match." the KHL said.
Martin, a native of Oakville, Ontario, decided to leave North America this summer as he looked for a new challenge in his professional hockey career and landed a two-year deal with CSKA Moscow.
"Goaltender Spencer Martin has joined the CSKA Moscow team. The 30-year-old hockey player has signed a two-year contract." CSKA Moscow said in early July.
The 30-year-old was a third round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and has gone on to appear in 66 games with them, the Vancouver Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes between 2016-17 and 2024-25 before becoming an unrestricted free agent on Canada Day.
Martin spent parts of two seasons with the Vancouver Canucks organization, serving as the team's primary backup to Thatcher Demko during the 2022-23 campaign where he had a 11-15-1 record, a 3.99 goals against average and an .871 save percentage.
While it's unclear what comes next for Spencer Martin, if he's not claimed off waivers in the days ahead, it wouldn't be a surprise if he looked to terminate his contract to come back to North America rather than go to the VHL, which is Russia's equivalent to the American Hockey League.
Previously on Canucks Daily
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