Thatcher Demko's injury is worse than expected for the Canucks

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Graham Montgomery
April 25, 2024 (10:50 PM)

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The Vancouver Canucks lost goaltender Thatcher Demko after game one against Nashville due to a lower-body injury. A new report revealed today that he may very well be out for the playoffs, sinking the Canucks' chances of a deep run.

The new report comes from Canucks reporter Irfaan Gaffar. The news he shared today will not sit well with fans of the team as they cannot rely on Casey DeSmith to be nearly as good as their number one netminder.

There is belief that even if the Canucks make the Western Conference final, it would be a stretch for Thatcher Demko to play

That being said, there are other conflicting reports about the goalie's status. NHL insider Rick Dhaliwal reported today that Demko could be back as early as late in the second round.

"A lot of this is still wait-and-see. He won't play in the Nashville series, but if they get to round two, Don, some feel he can play late in round two. People ask if Demko needs surgery. I'm not hearing he needs surgery. A lot of reports out there about the timeframe [say], 'Oh, it's serious, it's a serious injury, he could be out months and months' I'm not hearing that."

Hopefully for the Canucks' sake, Dhaliwal has the correct scoop here. Even then though, it may be a tough ask getting late into a second round matchup given how things have gone since DeSmith took over in net. Hopefully they will be able to pull off a Cinderella-like story with the backup coming up huge when the team needs him the most.