Following yet another loss in the NHL season, Elias Pettersson and the Vancouver Canucks got an update on Thatcher Demko. As the team senses the pressure, the ‘Nucks must get back on track with or without their starting goaltender.
Demko, Pettersson, and the Canucks simply can’t catch a break in the 2025-26 NHL season. During the 5-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets, the 29-year-old goalie exited the game with an apparent lower-body injury. If Vancouver wasn’t already facing an uphill climb, losing its netminder only made it steeper.
According to the latest reports around the league, Pettersson and company are in for a mixed bag of emotions after learning about Demko’s status going forward in the 2025-26 NHL season.
“Early indication is that Demko is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with a minor injury,” insider Frank Seravalli reported on X (formerly Twitter). “It’s unrelated to his previous knee injury and unrelated to why Demko took maintenance days last week.”
Thatcher Demko during a game
Goaltending room
Demko had started 10 games out of Vancouver’s 18 outings in the NHL season, registering a 2.80 goals against average (GAA) and .903 save percentage (SV%). With the starting goalie out for 2-3 weeks, Kevin Lankinen is expected to take over the reins in net.
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So far in the campaign, the Finnish goaltender records 9 appearances with only 3 wins. Moreover, Lankinen averages 3.57 GAA (second-worst among goalies with 8 or more appearances) and a .885 SV%.
With Demko out of business, Jiri Patera is next in line in Vancity. The former sixth-round pick in the 2017 NHL entry Draft has yet to make his season-debut. Moreover, Patera hasn’t played since March 26, 2024. The last time he was on the ice alongside Pettersson and company, Patera allowed 5 goals on 35 shots faced (.857 save percentage), as Vancouver lost 5-4 in overtime to the Nashville Predators.
Righting the ship
Up next, the Demko-less Canucks will take on the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Canes are 11-5-0, with four wins in their last five outings, and among the best teams in the NHL. As for Vancouver, Pettersson and company have actually performed better outside British Columbia this campaign, boasting a 5-4-0 mark away from home.
