Thatcher Demko

Thatcher Demko

30-Year-Old GoalieG
Vancouver Canucks
IR-LT
Injury Hip
Est. Return 9/15/2026
2025 Stats
W
8
L
10
SO
1
GAA
2.90
SV%
.895
2026 Projections
W
L
SO
GAA
SV%
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2026 Fantasy Outlook
Just two seasons removed from a nomination for the 2024 Vezina Trophy, Demko had his second straight season derailed by injuries. The 30-year-old netminder underwent a hip procedure in January to correct his loss of internal hip rotation. Prior to going down, he posted an 8-10-1 record, a 2.90 GAA, an .895 save percentage and a shutout across 20 appearances. Having played just 43 games over the last two seasons, Demko is a high-risk, high-reward selection in fantasy drafts for the 2026-27 campaign. However, the Canucks have seemed to start rebuilding following the Quinn Hughes trade, making Demko’s job more difficult than it was during the prime of his career. His stock in dynasty-based fantasy formats is currently falling, but he could reverse that trend with a strong season post-surgery, as he doesn’t turn 31 until early December. Read Past Outlooks
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Shoots Left
Height 6'4"
DOB 12/8/1995
Born San Diego, California
Drafted 2nd Rd, #36 Overall in 2014
Signed a three-year, $25.5 million contract extension with the Canucks in July of 2025.
Shifts to LTIR
GVancouver Canucks
Hip
March 3, 2026
Demko (hip) was placed on long-term injured reserve Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
Demko's move to LTIR was bound to happen after Vancouver announced he would be shut down for the season Jan. 27. The move coincided with Vancouver putting Pierre-Olivier Joseph on regular IR due to an undisclosed injury. Demko will continue to rehab his injury after going 8-10-1 with a 2.90 GAA and an .895 save percentage across 20 games this season.
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2025–26 Time On Ice Stats
  • Average Time On Ice:
    55:48
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
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2014
Demko missed two months at the start of the season while recovering from a knee injury, and he also missed another month down the stretch due to a separate and unrelated lower-body injury. When healthy, Demko's play was far from his peak -- he went 10-8-3 with a 2.90 GAA and a .889 save percentage over 23 games. Given the nature of his previous knee injury, Demko represents a significant injury risk in fantasy. He's also got a lengthy list of other ailments over the years, though he should benefit from having a full offseason after the Canucks fell short of the playoffs. Even with a number of red flags, Demko is a talented goalie, so he's worth taking a gamble on in drafts for managers who have an otherwise trustworthy group of netminders.
Demko capped a career season in 2023-24 with a second-place finish in Vezina voting. He posted career highs in wins (35), save percentage (.918), goals-against (2.45) and shutouts (five). Additionally, he is the fifth active twine-tender to hit the 30-win mark in 40 games or less. Amidst the brilliance were two injuries - a knee injury March 5 that put him out for 14 games and a season-ending injury in Game 1 against Nashville. Don't forget he missed a significant number of games in 2022-23 with a groin injury. Demko is one of the most technically perfect goalies in the NHL and among the most driven, but to keep him in elite form, Vancouver must address load management to allow the kind of rest and recovery that will keep him in the blue paint. Even with his injury risk, Demko is an elite fantasy option.
Demko was awful to begin 2022-23, posting an .883 save percentage before suffering a groin injury that cost him nearly three months. Once he returned, he looked more like himself, posting a .918 save percentage over his last 17 games of the season. Demko was excellent over the previous two campaigns as the Canucks' primary starter, but it's unclear if he can handle the physical demands of what is likely to be a heavy workload behind a somewhat shoddy defense. He's also never posted a GAA lower than 2.72, so expectations heading into 2023-24 should be tempered given the relative lack of improvements to the Canucks' roster.
Demko recently completed his first year as Vancouver's unquestioned No. 1 goaltender, appearing in 64 of 82 regular season games. His 33 victories were an impressive total, although Demko's 2.72 GAA and .915 save percentage were much more pedestrian. The Canucks struggled as a team for a good portion of the year and that undoubtedly impacted the final numbers. Demko has displayed flashes of brilliance in his brief career and won't turn 27 years old until this coming December, so there appears to be a real chance Demko ends up undervalued from a fantasy perspective heading into the 2022-23 campaign. Don't forget his name on draft day.
When the Cancuks selected the Boston College standout in the second round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, it was with the hope that Demko would one day be a workhorse netminder. It would appear that day draws near. Splitting the workload with veteran Braden Holtby, the 25-year-old Demko notched a 2.85 GAA and a .915 save percentage behind a 16-8-1 record in 35 starts last season. While those statistics are rather pedestrian, the fact that Vancouver bought out Braden Holtby in the offseason and replaced him with 36-year-old Jaroslav Halak suggests Demko is likely to garner a significantly larger workload during the 2021-22 campaign. If the Canucks can make even modest improvements in their defensive game, Demko could take a big step forward this season. He has the potential to deliver solid fantasy value as a middle-round selection.
Demko became the regular backup to Jacob Markstrom in 2019-20, with the former making 27 appearances overall. He posted a 3.06 GAA, .905 save percentage and a 13-10-2 record during the regular season. Still viewed as the goalie of the future, Demko will compete with free-agent signing Braden Holtby for playing time in 2020-21. An even split of the starts wouldn't be surprising here, although Demko will likely be the technical backup unless he outplays Holtby significantly. Demko should approach a roughly 15-win pace and improve his ratios next year after posting a 0.64 GAA and .985 save percentage over four playoff appearances, three of which came in elimination games.
Demko will, barring a crazy turn of events, begin the 2019-20 season as Jakob Markstrom's backup in Vancouver. The young netminder made nine appearances last season and finished the year with a 4-3-1 record, along with a 2.81 GAA and .913 save percentage. Injuries slowed Demko's progress a year ago, but the 23-year-old is expected to play 25-30 games in 2019-20. He profiles as a solid reserve goalie in fantasy, but an injury to Markstrom could quickly raise Demko's fantasy value and ceiling. Keep close tabs on him, and if you're looking for solid netminding value in the later rounds, Demko isn't a bad option (especially in dynasty formats).
In his second pro season, Demko improved his GAA from 2.68 to 2.44. Additionally, his save percentage spiked from .907 to .922 and he was named to the AHL All-Star Game. He's been AHL Utica's starter since leaving Boston College, and the Canucks will continue to groom Demko as their goalie of the future. They'll try to accomplish that by keeping him in the AHL for the 2018-19 season -- where Richard Bachman will back him up -- while Jacob Markstrom and Anders Nilsson handle duties for the big club. Demko is one more year away from the NHL and he's not expected to play a big role for the Canucks this season.
Demko is yet another big (6-foot-4), athletic hybrid/butterfly twinetender with great lateral coverage. He’s strong and aggressive, and loves to challenge shooters. He doesn’t handle the puck very well and he doesn’t always catch the puck clean. But his overall game is very, very good -- his positioning is strong, his focus is sharp and his feet are really quick. Star? Maybe, maybe not. But he's definitely an above-average starter for a solid period of time. He’ll continue to play at Boston College in 2014-15.
More Fantasy News
Shut down for season
GVancouver Canucks
Hip
January 27, 2026
Demko will undergo hip surgery and miss the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign, the Canucks announced Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
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Moves to IR
GVancouver Canucks
Lower Body
January 11, 2026
Demko (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Sunday.
ANALYSIS
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Exits with injury
GVancouver Canucks
Lower Body
January 10, 2026
Demko sustained a lower-body injury Saturday versus the Maple Leafs and will be evaluated over the coming days, Thomas Drance of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Set to face Maple Leafs
GVancouver Canucks
January 10, 2026
Demko was the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate, according to Thomas Drance of The Athletic, indicating he will defend the road net against Toronto on Saturday.
ANALYSIS
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Rattled by Sabres
GVancouver Canucks
January 7, 2026
Demko stopped 15 of 19 shots in Tuesday's 5-3 loss to Buffalo, with the Sabres' final goal getting scored into an empty net.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Season in jeopardy?
GVancouver Canucks
January 27, 2026
Demko, who has been sidelined because of a lower-body injury, could be in danger of missing the rest of the 2025-26 campaign, with more certainty expected soon, Darren Dreger of TSN reports.
ANALYSIS
Demko has been limited to just 20 games this season, in which he is sporting an 8-10-1 record to go with a 2.90 GAA, .895 save percentage and one shutout. Unfortunately, the backstop has been on the shelf for the last eight games due to his lower-body problem. At this point, the Canucks aren't expected to be a factor in the playoffs, so shutting Demko down for the rest of the year may be the right choice.
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