Thatcher Demko’s Season Ends Early as Canucks Face Familiar Uncertainty in Net
For the second time in three seasons, the Vancouver Canucks are staring down the stretch without their No. 1 goaltender. Thatcher Demko, once again sidelined by injury, will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 NHL campaign after undergoing hip surgery.
The Canucks confirmed the news, with general manager Patrik Allvin stating that Demko’s procedure is unrelated to the injury that limited him last season. The 30-year-old is expected to be ready for training camp in September, but that’s little consolation for a team that’s had to navigate far too many games without its top netminder.
Demko’s latest setback came on January 10 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He allowed three goals on just six shots before exiting the game - a night that now marks his final appearance of the season. Through 18 starts this year, Demko posted an 8-10-0 record with a .897 save percentage - numbers that don’t tell the full story of a goalie who’s struggled to stay on the ice more than anything else.
When he’s healthy, there’s no question Demko is capable of anchoring the crease. In 2023-24, he appeared in 51 games and showed flashes of elite-level play. But over the past two seasons combined, he’s managed just 43 appearances - a troubling trend for a franchise that’s invested heavily in him as their long-term solution in net.
And that investment is only just beginning to kick in. Demko’s three-year, $8.5 million extension hasn’t even started yet. That’s part of what’s fueling the growing uncertainty in Vancouver - not about Demko’s talent, but about his availability.
Former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton, speaking on Daily Faceoff Live, put it plainly: “We know when he is in the lineup and he is healthy, he is one of the elite guys in the NHL. But that being said, if you’re not going to be available and you’re always succumbing to injury, it is very tough for a team to believe in you and to try to build around it.”
That’s the dilemma facing the Canucks. Demko’s upside is undeniable.
But the reality of goaltending in today’s NHL is that durability matters just as much as talent - maybe more. Teams can’t afford to build around a goalie who’s not in the lineup consistently, no matter how good he is when he’s there.
Hutton, who played nearly a decade in the league, knows firsthand how one injury can set off a domino effect. “I remember my last year when I hurt my ankle, then my hip was sore, and then I ended up hurting my knee,” he said.
“It’s like the chain of effect of one injury snowballs into another, and there’s really no time to catch up. Whether it’s practicing or playing, the NHL is a grind.”
That grind is especially brutal for goaltenders. The position demands not only physical resilience but also rhythm and repetition - both of which become harder to maintain when injuries keep pulling you out of the lineup. Even minor setbacks can throw off timing and confidence, and in Demko’s case, the cumulative toll is becoming a real concern.
Tyler Yaremchuk, co-hosting with Hutton, pointed to the timing of Demko’s extension and his age as additional layers of complexity. “Now he’s on the wrong side of 30 and his three-year, $8.5 million extension hasn’t even kicked in,” Yaremchuk noted. “When you’re a goalie and one thing goes wrong and maybe you don’t address it properly the first time, that can linger and turn into a whole bunch of other different issues.”
It’s a situation that leaves Vancouver in a bind. They’ve bet on Demko as their guy - and when he’s at full strength, that bet looks smart.
But with each new injury, the margin for error shrinks. The Canucks now face another offseason of waiting, hoping that this latest surgery is the last chapter in a frustrating stretch of setbacks.
For Demko, the road ahead is once again about recovery. For the Canucks, it’s about contingency - because as much as they want him to be the backbone of their team, they can’t afford to be caught off guard again.