Canucks' Henrik Sedin sets goal for Demko's return from injury
The Vancouver Canucks have been very clear about Thatcher Demko’s timeline to return from the hip surgery he had in January: there isn’t one.
“We never had a timeline on his recovery,” said general manager Ryan Johnson ahead of training camp. “We just wanted to make sure that it was a one-time thing and that when he got back, he felt 100 per cent and ready to go.”
In an appearance on the Halford & Brough show on Monday, co-president of hockey operations Henrik Sedin reiterated that message, while simultaneously giving a pseudo-timeline for Demko’s return.
“We’ve said it before: he won’t be ready early on,” said Henrik. “But our goal is to get him back before Christmas.”
Henrik was quick to add that there was no timeline, even if “before Christmas” kind of sounds like one.
That’s a long time to wait for Demko’s potential return. Christmas is three months away, and the Canucks will have already played 39 games by then.
But since it’s not a timeline, perhaps Demko will be back sooner than Christmas — or later.
“There’s no timeline for that, but he’s taking steps every day,” said Henrik. “He’s got a great attitude, and we want to make sure that he’s 100 per cent before he comes back, and that’s been our mindset from day one.”
Given the expectations for the Canucks this season — the very low expectations — there’s absolutely no rush for Demko to return.
Instead, the Canucks just want to focus on building the foundations for future success.
“What we’ve talked about internally and with the group is we’re not going to talk about wins and losses at all until we have the foundation in place where fans, media, and ourselves can see that this is a team that enjoys playing together for each other,” said Henrik. “Fans are not dumb. They see if a team enjoys playing for each other.”