Vancouver Canucks Decide Thatcher Demko's Workload for the 2025-26 season
Photo credit: Bob Frid - USA TODAY Sports
An NHL insider has recently shared what the Vancouver Canucks' potential plan is for Thatcher Demko's workload throughout the 2025-26 campaign.
For the first time since the 2023-24 season, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko will enter training camp at 100 percent health, which is a great sign for the organization as they look to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a down year in 2024-25.
Since April 2024, Demko has dealt with a number of injuries, the initial one - which he suffered in Game 1 of the Nashville series - kept him out of the lineup until early December, while he sustained another one in February that kept him out for six weeks.
With those injury issue hopefully behind him now and a new multi-year contract extension in his back pocket, Thatcher Demko is focused on getting back to his Vezina Trophy finalist form for the Vancouver Canucks and if he's able to do so, it'll go a long way in helping their chances of reaching the postseason.
NHL insider shared Vancouver Canucks' potential plan for Thatcher Demko's workload
In a recent article for The Athletic, insider Thomas Drance took a deeper look at what fans could expect for Thatcher Demko's 2025-26 season and how many games he could end up starting for the club this year.
Drance shared that the Vancouver Canucks believe Demko's injury issues are now in the past and that the team could be eyeing up about 50 starts for the American netminder, with Kevin Lankinen getting the other 32.
"The club is confident that Demko will put last season's injury nightmare behind him and once again perform like one of the NHL's premier puck stoppers. And the Canucks have already put their money where their mouth is." Drance said.
He added, "Vancouver enters this season with a significant investment in net, one that sets Demko up to be as rested as possible for the pointy end of the campaign when the games matter most. With Kevin Lankinen in tow on an expensive contract for a 1B netminder, the Canucks are hoping to manage Demko's minutes and keep him in and around the 50-start mark this upcoming season."
He added, "Vancouver enters this season with a significant investment in net, one that sets Demko up to be as rested as possible for the pointy end of the campaign when the games matter most. With Kevin Lankinen in tow on an expensive contract for a 1B netminder, the Canucks are hoping to manage Demko's minutes and keep him in and around the 50-start mark this upcoming season."
If Thatcher Demko is able to suit up for 50 games for the Canucks this season, that'll be massive as he's only appeared in 50+ contests in a single campaign twice - 2021-22 (64) & 2023-24 (51).
It wouldn't be much a surprise if at least for the first few weeks of the season that Adam Foote decides to rotate his netminders a bit, letting them both get into the groove of things and get some minutes under their belt, before turning to Thatcher Demko on a full-time basis.
With two back-to-backs and two instances of three games in four nights, expect to see a lot of both Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen in the first month of the NHL's 2025-26 season.
Source: The Athletic/Thomas Drance
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SEPTEMBRE 4 | 1413 ANSWERS Vancouver Canucks Decide Thatcher Demko's Workload for the 2025-26 season Do you think Thatcher Demko will play 50 games for the Vancouver Canucks this season? | ||
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