A big cog thrown into the wheels of the Vancouver Canucks’ playoff run last season was the early injury to goaltender Thatcher Demko after Game 1 of their first-round series against the Nashville Predators. The injury did not drown their season as they were able to advance past the first round and the Canucks were able to get to Game 7 of the second round with third-string goaltender Arturs Silovs in the crease. But had Demko been healthy enough to play, the Canucks could have gone farther than they did and might have had a real shot at winning the Stanley Cup. With training camps starting, Demko could finally speak to the media about his injury and where he is in the recovery process. His current state may lead the Canucks to find a temporary replacement.
Demko’s Current State
Demko told reporters that he was “frustrated” during the injury process, which is obviously understandable given the fact that he is a highly competitive person, but the biggest head-scratching moment of his media availability was how he described his injury. “It was such a unique injury,” Demko said when speaking to the Vancouver media at training camp in Penticton. “We didn’t really have a lot of readily available research or case studies or any information to have a concrete timeline [for a return.]”
Demko didn’t get into the specifics of what he injured, the only thing the public can go off of is the original reports from the playoffs where it was said that he sustained a “lower-body injury.” But the fact that both Demko and the Canucks did not have any knowledge of what the injury was at the time it was sustained should be a cause for concern. Demko even confirmed that he and the Canucks staff had to get information from specialists all over North America and even overseas to figure out what the injury is and how to recover from it.
But there are good signs that he is coming out of the injury. Demko has been taking part in training camp and has been on the ice taking shots from coaches, but he is still not able to take part in any activities with the three main groups. But the simple fact that he is on the ice working on his normal movements and taking shots from coaches is a great sign that he may be ready to play at some point this season. “These last couple of weeks on the ice I have been feeling a lot better,” Demko said. “There is definitely some light at the end of the tunnel for me now and I have full confidence that I will be back out there. When that will be, no one knows at this time because of the lack of knowledge people have on his injury.”
What Should the Canucks Do In His Absence?
The Canucks have a few options in the goaltending department at the moment, the most notable would be their surprise starter in the playoffs last season, Latvian Arturs Silovs. He was dependable and was not the reason that the team lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the second round. If anything, he was a huge reason that they were able to make it to Game 7. Both the Canucks organization and their players are familiar with Silovs and seem to have confidence in him as a starting goalie in the NHL. The unfortunate thing for Silovs is that he is also coming off of an injury that he was rehabbing during the offseason and the organization is unaware of whether he is able to return to his playoff form. A good sign for Silovs is that he has been taking part in training camp with all the starters and has been facing NHL-caliber shots.
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Outside of Silovs, the Canucks’ goaltending options are limited. The club has 24-year-old Nikita Tolopilo at their camp and he played 35 games with Abbotsford last season and recorded a .905 save percentage. For his first year in the American Hockey League (AHL), that is a good stat line but nothing that screams NHL starter or even NHL backup. The club also signed Jiri Patera in free agency. Last season he played the majority of his season in the AHL with the Henderson Silver Knights where he played 25 games and posted a .903 SV%, which again isn’t awful but doesn’t make an organization confident enough to bring him into their NHL team.
The Canucks also have 20-year-old prospect Ty Young who will be playing his first year of professional hockey this season and is nowhere near ready to start NHL games for Vancouver. They did bring Dylan Ferguson in on a professional tryout (PTO), but the team is also very interested in Kevin Lankinen who has plenty of NHL experience as a backup and some as a starter. The Finnish goalie had a good season in Nashville in 2023-24 as he played in 24 games and posted a .908 SV%. If the Canucks end up bringing in Lankinen, I think that he could be a great option for the time that Demko is gone.
Demko’s injury hurts Vancouver, but it should not ruin their chance at winning a Stanley Cup this season. The team has other good options at the goaltender position that can keep the team in playoff contention if they play up to their potential. Then once Demko returns, the Canucks should have a great tandem to use during the season and in the playoffs when needed.
