- Thatcher Demko visited Denver for a follow-up with doctors
- Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal reports no setback and no timeline for a return
- Read below for how this compares to Henrik Sedin’s pre-Christmas goal
Thatcher Demko still has no timeline to return, and the Canucks goalie just made a trip to Denver to see doctors.
Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal reported Wednesday that Demko was in Denver recently for a follow-up. There was no setback, but there is also nothing close to a return date:
That is a quieter tone than Vancouver struck a month ago. Co-president of hockey operations Henrik Sedin said in late September the goal was to have Demko in the lineup before Christmas, though he stressed there was no firm timeline.
Head coach Manny Malhotra struck a similar note after practice on Oct. 19, when Demko watched from the sideline. Malhotra said it was a slow process but that the goalie is improving daily, and the team is not rushing him.
Demko has not played since Jan. 10. He had hip surgery later that month and has started the 2026-27 season on injured reserve. He has appeared in just 43 games over the past two seasons.
He explained in April what had been going wrong. Demko said he played the last two years with zero degrees of internal rotation in his hip, so his back, knees and groin were all doing too much work.
The timing is rough for a team in a hole. Vancouver snapped a long losing streak with a 6-5 overtime win over Anaheim on Tuesday after trailing 5-2 in the third, but it was only their third win of the season. You can read how that streak ended here.
Kevin Lankinen has carried the crease while Demko heals, with Leevi Merilainen in the mix behind him. Until the doctors give a date, the Canucks are planning around the goalies they have.
