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Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko's injury confirmed inoperable

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River Hawk
September 8, 2024  (9:36)
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Thatcher Demko during a training camp interview
Photo credit: Canucks on YouTube

Elliotte Friedman gave some unsettling news for Vancouver Canucks fans on the 32 Thoughts podcast, confirming goaltender Thatcher Demko's injury is inoperable but he is still expected to play.

The Vancouver Canucks impressed many NHL fans last year, officially becoming a major contender for the first Canadian team to break the decades-long Stanley Cup dry spell. Despite putting up a tough fight in Round 2 of the playoffs with the assistance of Arturs Silovs and Casey DeSmith, now with the Dallas Stars, they had little to no chance after Thatcher Demko was too injured after Game 1 against the Nashville Predators to continue. Ultimately, the Edmonton Oilers advanced to the Western Conference Finals, while Vancouver was left waiting for news on whether they could get their starting goalie back.

After months without an update, Elliotte Friedman finally provided more intel on Thatcher Demko's status heading into the 2024-25 season, though it may not be what Canucks fans want to hear. On a recent edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, the longtime NHL Insider shared that the goaltender's injury is inoperable, yet not career-ending. While he will certainly not be up to his prior form, he shared that management gave no indication when he will start nor if he would be out for the bulk of the season.

"The best piece of information I've been given is quite simply, he's going to have to learn to play with this. It's not something that can be fixed with surgery but it's something that he's going to have to learn to play through and can play through. Right now I don't know that he's gonna be ready for the start of the season. What I don't get the sense is that the Canucks are worried that he's gonna be out half the year."

Ultimately, this lack of clarity behind recovery time can prove more troublesome than beneficial for the Vancouver Canucks fanbase. According to Elliotte Friedman, management rushed Thatcher Demko back for Game 1 of the playoffs against the Nashville Predators when he had not had proper rest and physical therapy for the knee injury he got late in the regular season. He credits this as the reason Thatcher Demko was out after this one appearance and implicitly warned that history could be doomed to repeat itself.

"I believe that the Canucks told Demko last year before the playoffs 'We need to know that we can count on you in the postseason, we don't want uncertainty, and you have to play 2 games before the playoffs before we commit to you to start the postseason.

What it did is it forced Demko to rush to get back and I'm just not convinced that he was ever 100% healthy. Demko comes back, wins the one game, and then he gets hurt."

The Vancouver Canucks are just a month away from returning to the ice for their season opener against the Calgary Flames, and even closer to training camp. Though the team may want to begin out ahead of the curve, it may be best to hedge their bets and start Arturs Silovs while Thatcher Demko relearns how to goaltend with a permanent injury.

Source: Hockey FeedInsider confirms Thatcher Demko has inoperable injury.

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8 SEPTEMBRE   |   98 ANSWERS
Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko's injury confirmed inoperable

How many games should the Vancouver Canucks play Thatcher Demko this season?

None, needs more recovery2828.6 %
1-252626.5 %
26-503737.8 %
51+77.1 %
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