Jan 10, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko (35) waits for the faceoff against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the first period at Scotiabank Arena.

Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

The Vancouver Canucks have announced yet another injury to star goaltender Thatcher Demko after he left Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

2026 hasn’t been kind to the Vancouver Canucks, who have lost five straight coming into Saturday, including four in the new year and they were hoping to turn things around against Toronto on Hockey Night in Canada.

After a fairly good start to the first period, the Vancouver Canucks found themselves down 3-0 to the Maple Leafs after 20 minutes, with goaltender Thatcher Demko making three saves on six shots.

Prior to the start of the middle frame, it was announced on social media that Kevin Lankinen was replacing Thatcher Demko between the pipes for the remainder of the game for what everyone assumed was performance related.

“Kevin Lankinen is now in net for the start of the second period.” Canucks Insider said on X.

Vancouver Canucks announce yet another injury to star goaltender Thatcher Demko

Vancouver would go on to lose Saturday’s contest in Toronto by a score of 5-0, extending their losing streak to six games and remaining winless in 2026, and as bad as their record is at the moment, things have gotten worse for the club on the injury front.

When speaking with reporters after the game, Vancouver Canucks Head Coach Adam Foote revealed that Thatcher Demko didn’t leave the game for performance reasons as he’s now dealing with another lower-body injury.

Foote went on to add that they’re unsure of how long Thatcher Demko will be on the sidelines for and that he’ll be reevaluated in the coming days, which means that someone will need to be called up from Abbotsford before tomorrow night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens.

“Thatcher Demko left Saturday’s game against the Maple Leafs with a lower-body injury, says Adam Foote.

He’ll be reevaluated over the next few days.” Thomas Drance of The Athletic said on Saturday night.

Since returning from a month-long stint on the sidelines, Thatcher Demko has been a bit inconsistent, with strong starts in December against the New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers and New York Islanders, but hasn’t played well at all since Christmas.

“”If you knew Quinn Hughes was probably on his way out, what was the rush to re-sign Thatcher Demko and Conor Garland to extensions? I was really thinking about this last night. How valuable would Garland and Demko be if they were pure rentals right now? They would be two of the best rental players on the market right now. But now you’ve killed their, especially in the case of Demko, you’ve killed his asset value.” Harman Dayal said on Canucks Conversation this week.

We’ll have to wait and see how long Thatcher Demko will be out for and what exactly his injury is, but for now the Canucks will have to ride with a tandem of Kevin Lankinen and presumably Nikita Tolopilo, who has good numbers in the NHL this season, although, it’s a small sample size.

Previously on Vancouver Hockey Daily

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Vancouver Canucks confirm yet another season defining injury for Thatcher Demko

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