Thatcher Demko on Instagram saying he is back on the ice for 1st time since hip surgery in January.
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Thatcher Demko of the Vancouver Canucks.
The Vancouver Canucks have had very few positives over the past few seasons as the team have gone from genuine post-season contenders to hopeful NHL Draft lottery winners, but one thing they could always hold out hope for was veteran goaltender Thatcher Demko.
This past season, he showed off why many believe he’s a top-10 talent in the National Hockey League at the goaltender position, but unfortunately, the injury bug struck once again for the 30-year-old net minder. This has tragically been a theme throughout Demko’s career, and at 30-years-old, it’s safe to say that time could be running out on his potential as a full-time No. 1 at the NHL level.
GettyThatcher Demko of the Vancouver Canucks.
Across the first five full seasons of his NHL career with the Canucks, Demko was able to stay relatively healthy, with his career year coming in 2023/24 when he posted a 2.45 GAA and a .918 save percentage across 51 games played. In that year, the Canucks won the Pacific Division and appeared set to be genuine Stanley Cup contenders, and after years of potential, he finally put it all together.
Unfortunately, he has played in just 43 games over the past two seasons, and after a promising return in 2025/26, he went down with injury once again, being forced into hip surgery back in January, with many Canucks fans ready to give up on their once promising franchise goaltender.
Following this, there were question marks over when and if Demko could return to the ice this off-season, and on Wednesday, he put those rumors to bed with a positive social media post on Instagram.
Thatcher Demko on Instagram saying he is back on the ice for 1st time since hip surgery in January.
According to the post, Demko took the ice for the first time since the surgery back in January, and while he’s obviously got a long way to go before getting back to NHL intensity, it’s a great first step for a player that’s been heartbreakingly unlucky with injury throughout his career.
When he was healthy in 2025/26, Demko looked fantastic for the Canucks once again, posting a 2.85 GAA and an .897 save percentage across 20 games played. Unfortunately, this is all too familiar for Canucks fans, as Demko has always looked like an elite level goaltender, but until he can stay healthy across an 82-game campaign, there’s no reason to believe that he can be a player to lead a team to the Stanley Cup Playoffs as a genuine No. 1.
That’s why the Canucks extended Kevin Lankinen following a very good 2024/25 season in which he tallied a .902 save percentage and a 2.62 GAA, with the team hoping that they can both stay healthy and settle in as a solid tandem moving forward.
Ultimately, until Demko stays healthy for a full season, it’s tough for Canucks fans to get behind him and truly believe in him, or for the front office to potentially look to deal with him, but following a positive update ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft, the hope is that he can take the ice again when the 2026/27 NHL season begins in Vancouver.
Nathan Smith Nathan Smith is a writer with Heavy Sports covering the NHL and MLB. He brings a decade of experience covering sports in North America for digital platforms such as PFSN, Athlon Sports and FanSided. More about Nathan Smith
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