The Vancouver Canucks still don’t have a date circled for Thatcher Demko’s return, and that leaves one of their biggest question marks hanging over the start of the season.
Team co-president Daniel Sedin said there is no timeline yet for the 30-year-old goalie to get back in the crease, stressing that the organization wants him fully healthy before he returns.
“Thatcher’s been at home working hard,” Sedin said. “Obviously there’s no timeline for him.
We want him to come back and be 100 percent, so when that happens, we’ll see. He’s worked really hard this summer, so it will be really fun to get him back and important for our group.”
Demko’s absence was a major factor last season, when Vancouver finished 25-49-8 and sat at the bottom of the NHL as the franchise moved deeper into a rebuilding stretch. He was limited to 20 appearances before the season was cut short in late January, when it was announced he would undergo hip surgery.
The Canucks are staring at an uphill climb if they want to get back into the playoff picture, but getting Demko back and performing at his usual level would change the conversation in a hurry.
A California native, Demko was drafted by Vancouver with the No. 36 overall pick in the second round of the 2014 NHL Draft. Last season, he went 8-10-1 with a .895 save percentage and 2.90 goals against average.
His availability has long been the issue. Demko has played more than half of a regular season just twice in his career, and both of those seasons ended with him finishing inside the top seven in Vezina Trophy voting.
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