Insiders share positive Vancouver Canucks update on Demko's injury

Is Thatcher Demko injured? Is he just sore?

Is he taking a maintenance week?

Details are still in short supply regarding the Vancouver Canucks’ No. 1 goaltender, who missed back-to-back games over the weekend.

Head coach Adam Foote was cryptic in his explanation of what ailed Demko on Friday, when the oft-injured netminder missed practice. Kevin Lankinen started Saturday and Sunday, with Jiri Patera backing him up.

So what’s up with Demko?

The San Diego native skated on Saturday and Sunday, but not with his teammates.

The Canucks don’t have a practice scheduled on Monday. They host the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, in a game that Foote suggested Demko could play when speaking with reporters before Sunday’s game.

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Demko hasn’t played in seven days, with his last start coming Monday in Nashville. He backed up Lankinen two days later when the Canucks lost to Chicago at home, so it’s unclear what changed between now and then.

Foote has downplayed whatever is bothering Demko, but given the goaltender’s recent injury history and the team’s track record on injury status updates, fans are concerned.

Reports on Monday from a pair of Canucks insiders are encouraging, though.

“It doesn’t seem like they’re too worried about what Demko’s dealing with right now, or whatever it is,” said Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in an interview on Donnie and Dhali.

What is up with Thatcher Demko?@DonTaylor5 and @DhaliwalSports discuss his absence over the weekend.https://t.co/h4e2SKM7eJ pic.twitter.com/zTnRbeaIDs

— Donnie & Dhali (@DonnieandDhali) November 10, 2025

“It was a good sign that he skated both Saturday and Sunday,” said CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal. “The best way it’s been described to me… the soreness caused that maintenance day on Friday, but it’s less than what you’d call an outright injury. I said on the weekend, it’s not serious.”

You can understand why the Canucks and Demko would be cautious with any potential ailments. The 29-year-old missed most of Vancouver’s playoff run in 2024 and was limited to just 23 games last season due to injury.

Demko has looked like his old self throughout most of this season, posting a .912 save percentage in nine starts.