Another Thatcher Demko injury should be a major long-term concern for Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks lost Thatcher Demko to an injury once again in Saturday's 2-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The problem, though, is that serious or not, this is not the first time Demko has left a game for the Canucks this season with an injury.

Canucks fans may recall how Demko left the Canucks' Jan. 2 game against the Seattle Kraken with back spasms, and his next appearance for Vancouver wasn't until eight days later on Jan. 10 against Carolina.

The 29-year-old apparently suffered some kind of lower-body tweak in warmups, as many pointed out on social media, causing Demko to bow out of the game against Toronto after just six saves and 10 minutes of action.

The timing is unfortunate, too, as Demko had been dominating for the Canucks as of late. The American netminder was recently named the NHL Second Star of the Week and had only allowed five goals in his last five games for the Canucks.

The moral of the story is that, yes, while Demko has proven to himself and the Canucks that he is capable of playing at the high level he played at for most of last season, small injury issues are beginning to become a problem. For a goaltender who is only getting older, these injuries can eventually build up to have substantial long-term effects.

Another potential complication is that backup goalie Kevin Lankinen, also 29, is hitting free agency in the summer. Lankinen will almost assuredly command a raise that drastically exceeds his current $875k cap hit. It is also worth noting that the cap hit of Oliver Ekman-Larsson's buyout will nearly double in 2025-26, so some of the good will the Canucks built in respect to the salary cap situation will be erased, unfortunately.

Lankinen is only becoming more valuable to the Canucks as the season goes on, and as long as Demko continues to have random injuries pop up, it'll make for an interesting dynamic and situation in Vancouver long term.