The return of number one goaltender Thatcher Demko was short lived for the Canucks. Demko sat out both of the Canucks games on the weekend, with the team not calling it “maintenance,” but rather terming it as Demko “taking care of himself and his body.”
Demko only played one period in his return to the lineup on Tuesday night against the Winnipeg Jets before leaving the game, but initial reports indicate that this injury is separate from the one he sustained during the 2023-2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs to his popliteus muscle, and that he is only expected to miss 2-3 weeks per NHL insider Frank Seravalli.
Some (relatively) positive news for #Canucks on Thatcher Demko this morning. Early indication is that Demko is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with a minor injury.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) November 12, 2025
It’s unrelated to his previous knee injury and unrelated to why Demko took maintenance days last week.
What exactly is the injury?
Later in the day, Rick Dhaliwal said that Demko needed to be evaluated both Wednesday and Thursday in order to gauge a proper timeline, and that the “early word is that it’s a groin injury.”
"Early word is it's a groin injury.."@DhaliwalSports shares the latest he is hearing this morning on Thatcher Demko's injury.https://t.co/h4e2SKM7eJ pic.twitter.com/U4NeyOVd3y
— Donnie & Dhali (@DonnieandDhali) November 12, 2025
Groin injuries can be tricky, and present different timelines for different athletes in different sports, and the injury itself can encompass varying degrees of severity. Once Demko has been looked at again by the Canucks medical staff and they have a better idea what they are dealing with in terms of the specifics, a more accurate timeline should be available.
With that being said, this is not the first time Demko has missed time with a groin injury, as this forced him to miss 35 games in 2023, and if Demko is unable to return to the crease sooner than later it could force the Canucks into a selling or retooling position before they even have a chance to put themselves in playoff contention.
Demko has perhaps been the biggest reason to why the Canucks have remained around the playoff picture this season, as they have been one of the most injured teams in the NHL so far, but it cannot be understated that Demko, fresh off of a three-year contract extension that kicks in starting next season, only made it ten games into this season before suffering yet another injury.