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Thatcher Demko has played his entire career with the Vancouver Canucks, and it doesn't look like that will be changing despite trade rumors this summer. The 29-year-old goaltender — who can sign an extension as soon as Tuesday, July 1 — will do just that, according to hockey insiders Frank Seravalli and Darren Dreger.
“Sources say Canucks and goaltender Thatcher Demko are closing in on a contract extension that will keep him in Vancouver,” Seravalli reported on Monday.
“It will get done,” Dreger wrote in response to Seravalli's social media post. “Sounds like they’ve agreed on term, but still some work being done on $ and structure.”
Demko has one year remaining on his current five-year contract; he is due $5 million for the 2025-26 season. With Kevin Lankinen given a long-term extension back in February, and Arturs Silovs leading the Abbotsford Canucks to a maiden American Hockey League championship, there were rumblings that the Canucks could look to trade Demko.
Instead, they'll have three NHL-caliber goaltenders going into next season, which isn't a bad problem to have. Demko has been injury prone over the past couple of years; he was limited to just 23 games in 2024-25 due to a knee injury. It wasn't the greatest campaign for the American, who finished 10-8-3 while posting a .889 save percentage and 2.90 goals-against average, along with one shutout, in that span.
But Demko is just one year removed from the best campaign of his career. In 2023-24, the San Diego, California native won 35 of his 51 starts, managing an excellent 2.45 GAA and .918 SV% along with five shutouts. That earned him a nod as a Vezina Trophy finalist for the first time in his career.
Thatcher Demko remains part of Canucks' future plans
Although Demko had been linked to a reunion with former head coach Rick Tocchet, who left Vancouver to join the Philadelphia Flyers this offseason, it doesn't look as though that will come to fruition.
When fully healthy, Demko is still a more effective starting goaltender than either Lankinen or Silovs, and Canucks brass is certainly hoping the veteran returns to health — and form — in 2025-26 and beyond.
The 6-foot-4 netminder was originally chosen by Vancouver in the second round of the 2014 NHL Draft, and he's put together a career 126-89-20 record, along with a 2.80 GAA and .910 SV%.
While nothing is official yet, all signs point to the Canucks announcing a new contract for the former Boston College Eagle as soon as Tuesday, when free agent frenzy kicks off.
If and when the contract gets done, it'll be interesting to see how the workload is split between Demko and Lankinen — and what the future of Silovs is. After capturing AHL MVP honors, he will be a restricted free agent at the end of next season.
Along with Demko, multiple reports say that the Canucks also have an extension in place with forward Conor Garland, which is expected to become official on Tuesday. The undersized winger is expected to earn a six-year, $36 million extension which will keep him, like Demko, in British Columbia for the foreseeable future.
