Vancouver Canucks netminder Thatcher Demko told the media today, including Thomas Drance of The Athletic, that his hip surgery “is going to address everything [he has] dealt with in the past” as it relates to injuries. Demko has missed significant time over the last few years as the result of lingering injury issues, particularly regarding his hips. The 30-year-old has been limited to just 43 games played across the last two seasons. Demko’s persistently inconsistent availability over the last two years prompted Vancouver to invest in No. 2 netminder Kevin Lankinen, who secured a $4.5MM AAV contract extension from the club that runs through 2029-30.
Lankinen, 30, played in 51 games last season and got into 47 this year, with each mark leading the team. Heading into next season, the hope will be that what Demko has told the media comes to fruition, and he’s able to get into a regular starter’s workload of games for the first time since 2023-24. That year, Demko played in 51 games and posted a .918 save percentage. A .918 save percentage would be enough to lead the NHL in the statistic among goalies with at least 50 games played. If the Canucks can get a healthy Demko back on the ice, it would likely be a significant boost to the team’s hopes of remaining competitive on a nightly basis through their rebuild.
Other notes from British Columbia:
- Canucks defenseman Derek Forbort shed some light on the injury that sidelined him for all but two games of the 2025-26 season today, telling the media, including David Quadrelli of CanucksArmy, that he had surgery to fix a labral tear in his hip, and has since been rehabbing. The 34-year-old, when asked about the future of his playing career, said he would “like to try and maybe grind out a couple more [NHL seasons] depending how it feels.” The 6’4″ blueliner is a veteran of 552 NHL contests and has been a Canuck for the last two years, but is set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer.
- Vancouver’s president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford told the media today that assistant general manager Ryan Johnson was not asked to interview with other NHL clubs, denying a previous report that had indicated that the Nashville Predators requested to interview Johnson and were denied permission. Johnson is presumably a leading candidate to replace Patrik Allvin, who was fired earlier today, as Canucks GM. Johnson has served as GM of the Canucks’ AHL affiliates since 2017-18, and won the first Calder Cup in Abbotsford Canucks franchise history last season.