Canucks’ Thatcher Demko to undergo surgery, out for season

Goaltender Thatcher Demko is out for the rest of the season, Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin announced in a press release on Tuesday.

Demko is set to undergo hip surgery.

“Thatcher will undergo surgery next week for an injury unrelated to the one that kept him out of action last season. Following his rehab, he will be ready for the start of training camp in September,” Allvin said.

The goaltender will miss the remainder of the 2025-2026 regular season after he was placed on injured reserve following a loss on Jan. 10 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Demko had allowed three goals on six shots before he was forced to leave the game due to injury in the second period.

Demko has been plagued with injuries ever since he started his NHL playing career.

The Canucks’ star goalie will have now played a combined 43 games in the past two seasons.

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He had previously played in 51 games in the 2023-2024 regular season, which resulted in Demko being a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, which is the award for the best goalie in the league. That season was cut short as well, with a knee injury forcing him to miss 14 regular season games and 12 playoff games.

Following his Vezina finalist season, Demko underwent surgery that kept him out of the first 24 games of the 2024-2025 season. He will now have only played 95 of 258 possible games over the past three seasons.

The 30-year-old goaltender is in the final year of his five-million-dollar-per-year contract.

On July 1, 2025, he signed a three-year extension worth 25.5 million, but that does not kick in until the start of next season.

Demko ends his 2025-2026 campaign with eight wins, a .897 save percentage and a 2.90 goals against average in 20 games played.

3:07 Canucks’ goalie Thatcher Demko out for Game 2 of playoffs with injury

For the Vancouver Canucks, the news comes amid other injury updates on the roster. Forward Brock Boeser and defenceman Zeev Buium were placed on the injured reserve on Monday. The Canucks now sit dead last in the NHL standings, eight points back of the closest team, with a 17-30-5 record for 39 points.

Kevin Lankinen, who has started in 26 games this season, is likely to get an increased workload with Demko out. Nikita Tolopilo, who was recalled from Abbotsford on Jan. 24, is expected to back-up the goaltender for the remainder of the season. Tolopilo has played eight NHL games in his career.