Vancouver Canucks Officially Decide Who Will Be the Starting Goalie for the 2025-26 NHL Season

After trading Arturs Silovs earlier this month to clear their logjam between the pipes, the Vancouver Canucks will officially enter the 2025-26 season with a solid goaltending tandem of Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen.

For the first time in a while, Thatcher Demko is back to 100 percent health following several injuries in the last 15 months, while Kevin Lankinen, who was outstanding at times last year, will play a crucial role once again starting this fall, but how many games will each netminder suit up for?

Even though Thatcher Demko is back at full health, it wouldn't too surprising if the Vancouver Canucks were to take things slow with him, at least to start the year, and the team would be more than comfortable doing that given the confidence they have in Kevin Lankinen.

However, it does look like there is much of an appetite from the Canucks on going into the 2025-26 season with a 1A/1B situation and they still view Thatcher Demko as their starting netminder, especially after they locked him up to a three-year extension earlier this month.

According to Thomas Drance of The Athletic, it looks like the plan is to have Thatcher Demko play around 50 games during the 2025-26 campaign, while Kevin Lankinen will play the other 32, however that could certainly change for a multitude of factors.

If Thatcher Demko is able to play 50 games for the Vancouver Canucks this coming year at the level he performed two seasons ago, it'll certainly bode well for the team's chances of returning to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a very disappointing 2024-25 campaign.

Source: Thomas Drance/The Athletic
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