Canucks’ Thatcher Demko to make season debut against Blues on Tuesday

Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet confirmed that goaltender Thatcher Demko will make his highly anticipated NHL debut on Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues.

Demko has been sidelined with a knee injury that kept him out of action for the Canucks’ final 12 games of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs plus the first 24 games of the 2024-25 campaign.

Demko is coming off the best season of his career, where he had a 35-14-2 record, a .918% save percentage, 5 shutouts, and 25.83 goals saved above expected during the 2023-24 campaign. He also had a .917 save percentage in his one game in the playoffs, where he also got the win. Demko was recognized as a Vezina Trophy finalist and was named to the NHL’s Second All-Star Team.

The 28-year-old was originally chosen by Vancouver in the second round of the 2014 NHL Draft. The talented netminder, who is under contract for one more season and carries a $5-million annual average value, per PuckPedia, owns a 116-81-17 career record with the Canucks.

While Demko has been sidelined, the Canucks have turned to Finnish netminder Kevin Lankinen. Lankinen has put together a 13-4-3 with a .908 save percentage and a 2.65 goals-against average. Through it all, Lankinen also came away with 10 consecutive road victories, setting an NHL record. For his efforts, Lankinen will join his native Finland at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off.

On the season, the Canucks sit 14-8-4, good for 32 points and sit third in the Pacific Division trailing the Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights. Vancouver is set to face the Blues on Tuesday, the Florida Panthers on Thursday and the Boston Bruins on Saturday.