NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman Calls Out the Vancouver Canucks' Injury Timeline for Thatcher Demko

The Vancouver Canucks were dealt some tough news earlier this week after goaltender Thatcher Demko, who had already missed two games over the weekend for maintenance reasons, was forced to leave Tuesday's game against the Winnipeg Jets after the first period.

On Wednesday, reports indicated that Demko is dealing with a groin injury and according to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, his timeline to return to the crease is roughly two-to-three weeks.

While making an appearance on Sportsnet radio in Toronto on Thursday, National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman said that the Vancouver Canucks aren't too worried about Thatcher Demko's injury as it isn't expected to keep him out on a long-term basis.

However, Friedman did push back on that two-to-three week recovery as mentioned by Frank Seravalli, saying that due to Demko's previous injuries and how tricky those timelines have been, it's hard to say when exactly he could be back between the pipes for the Vancouver Canucks.

With Demko on the sidelines, again, Adam Foote will roll with Kevin Lankinen and Jiri Patera as the team's tandem for the foreseeable future, with the latter likely to make his Vancouver Canucks debut on either Sunday or Monday, over 16 months after he signed with the club.

As Vancouver looks to keep their heads above water in a very difficult Pacific Division this season, there's no question that the club is in desperate need of their injured players to make quick recoveries including Teddy Blueger and Filip Chytil both of whom play key roles down the middle for Adam Foote's group.