Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko (35) waits for a face off against the Philadelphia Flyers duringa game in Vancouver last month.ETHAN CAIRNS/The Canadian Press
Another injury-plagued season has ended for Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko.
The NHL team announced Tuesday that the star netminder is set to undergo season-ending hip surgery next week.
“After consulting with our team doctors and outside specialists, Thatcher Demko will be shut down for the rest of the year,” general manager Patrik Allvin said in a statement.
“Thatcher will undergo surgery next week for an injury unrelated to the one that kept him out of action last season. Following his rehab, he will be ready for the start of training camp in September.”
The 30-year-old goaltender has not played since Jan. 10 when he left midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 loss to the Maple Leafs in Toronto, but Canucks head coach Adam Foote said the goalie has been dealing with the injury for much longer.
“It’s tough to watch him go through what he’s gone through. He’s fought through it for a while now,” Foote said Tuesday.
Demko went 8-10-1 with a .897 save percentage, a 2.90 goals-against average and one shutout this season.
He missed 12 games between mid-November and mid-December with a lower-body injury, then returned and appeared in 10 more contests before going down against Toronto.
The Canucks have known for a few weeks that Demko was unlikely to play again this season, and Tuesday’s announcement didn’t catch the team by surprise, Foote said, noting that he had a long conversation with the goalie.
Thatcher Demko (35) stops the puck as Toronto Maple Leafs centre John Tavares (91) looks for a rebound during their December game at Scotiabank Arena.Nick Turchiaro/Reuters
“I think it’s a relief for him and the group,” the coach said. “What I like about it is his demeanour … he was happy it was the thing that could probably make him feel a lot better and keep him moving forward, playing hockey.”
Demko was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, awarded annually to the league’s top netminder, in 2023-24 after going 35-14-2 with a .918 save percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts.
The 6-foot-4, 192-pound goalie from San Diego, Calif., suffered a knee injury in Game 1 of Vancouver’s first-round playoff series against the Nashville Predators that season.
He did not play again until Dec. 10, 2024, and struggled to stay healthy through much of last season, playing just 23 games and posting a 10-8-3 record with a .889 save percentage, a 2.90 goals-against average and one shutout.
Demko went on to sign a three-year, US$25.5-million extension on July 1.
The goalie’s season-ending surgery is the latest injury to mar an ugly season for the Canucks.
Vancouver heads into Tuesday’s game against the San Jose Sharks sitting in last place in the NHL standings with a 17-30-5 record and five players on injured reserve.
The list also includes centre Marco Rossi (lower body), winger Brock Boeser (concussion), and defencemen Zeev Buium (facial fracture) and Derek Forbot (undisclosed).
Boeser and Buium were added on Monday after both were hurt in a 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.
Boeser caught an elbow to the head from Penguins winger Bryan Rust in the final moments of the game. The NHL’s department of player safety handed Rust a three-game suspension for an illegal check to the head on Tuesday.
Foote said Boeser remains in concussion protocol but was feeling better on Monday.
Buium was hit in the face with a puck in the first period on Sunday, but returned wearing a bubble visor on his helmet and logged 15:41 in ice time.
“I love his toughness,” Foote said of the young blue liner playing with the injury.
After the game, a doctor determined Buium had a facial fracture, probably in his cheek bone, the coach said.
He is not expected to need surgery, but will likely be out until after the NHL’s Olympic break, Foote added.
