How Thatcher Demko could change the narrative of this Vancouver Canucks season

Western Family and the Vancouver Canucks teamed up to create Bar Down Blast, a limited-edition ice cream. Vanilla flavoured blue ripple ice cream and caramel-filled mini chocolatey pucks.

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If there was one word to describe the Vancouver Canucks early this season, “uneven” would be a fair assessment.

While uneven play has defined the Canucks through seven games, Thatcher Demko’s performance has been anything but.

With the season 10 per cent completed, the re-emergence of Demko is the most important takeaway for this hockey team.

After playing just 18 games for the Canucks last season due to three separate injuries, there was a healthy amount of skepticism about whether Demko could bounce back for the Canucks or not.

This management team clearly believed he could, or they wouldn’t have given him a three-year extension worth $8.5 million per season, keeping him in Vancouver for the next four years.

So far, Demko has rewarded their faith.

Not only has the soon-to-be 30-year-old played well early on, but he’s also been the No. 1 reason why the Canucks emerged victorious in three of his four starts.

He shut the door against the Calgary Flames in the home opener, before the Canucks opened the floodgates with four third-period goals. Demko kept the Canucks in the fight against the Dallas Stars when the team struggled in the first period, before they eventually found their legs.

It was the opposite against the Washington Capitals, as the Canucks stormed out to an early lead before relying on Demko to get them the win.

Demko’s only loss so far was his best performance. The Edmonton Oilers created 5.57 expected goals with a barrage of chances, especially on the power play. However, Demko allowed just two goals past him.

OH MY GOODNESS, THATCHER DEMKO 🤯 pic.twitter.com/MwF6hsLV3F

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) October 12, 2025

Yes, it’s early, but the San Diego native’s early heroics have put him back among the league’s best netminders.

After four impressive starts, Demko is the number one reason why the Canucks have a 4-3 record through seven games.

While the Canucks have won in different ways, they haven’t played well consistently in front of Demko or Kevin Lankinen early on.

Perhaps that’s not a massive surprise. The Canucks are one of the youngest teams in the NHL, led by a rookie head coach.

Still, their expected goals for total through seven games are at 43.7 per cent, the fifth-worst mark in the league.

In tied situations, they’re second-worst at 29.7 per cent.

All of this just means that the return of Demko to Vezina-form means everything to this Canucks team.

Perhaps this is a reverse of the Roberto Luongo-era Canucks. The winningest goalie in Canucks history often started slow in October before rounding into form.

The Canucks have to be hoping that they can mesh and find their game while Demko keeps them in contests. If that’s the case, the Canucks do have the ability to surprise people this year after widely being picked to miss the playoffs in 2025-26.

If they do emerge as a playoff threat, it’ll surely have a lot to do with Demko.

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