There’s been no shortage of recent trade speculation around Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko.
While some have suggested Demko, who is currently injured, “wants out” of Vancouver, Demko himself shot down those rumours. According to both Kevin Woodley and Rick Dhaliwal, there’s been no trade request of any kind from the Canucks netminder.
That being said, the Canucks have seemingly made it clear that nobody — aside from Elias Pettersson and maybe Quinn Hughes — is untouchable when it comes to their aggressive retool/rebuild.
Emily Kaplan backed up this sentiment in her latest NHL rumour roundup for ESPN, in which she suggested the Canucks have been receptive to queries on Demko from multiple different teams.
Here’s what Kaplan had to say:
“Per sources, at least four teams have called Vancouver asking about Demko’s availability — and the Canucks haven’t said no to any of those teams. If Vancouver is serious about a rebuild, it could get a lot of assets for Demko, who is just 27 and under contract for three more years on a team-friendly $5 million per season. The goalie hasn’t played since Dec. 1 because of a lower body injury, and he’s about a week and a half away from getting back on the ice. Should he get in a couple of good starts and look like the old, dominant Demko again, that interest would probably increase. So it’s a situation to monitor, but not necessarily one that’s imminent.”
Demko, 27, has been out of the Canucks’ lineup since Dec. 1 while recovering from a lower-body injury. He’s had a rough go when healthy this season, posting a 3–10–2 record and an .883 save percentage in 15 appearances.
But Demko fared much better in the two seasons directly preceding this one, going 49–40–8 with two shutouts and a .915 save percentage in 99 games with the Canucks between the 2020–21 and 2021–22 campaigns. He’s under contract with the Canucks through 2026 at a $5 million annual cap hit; his deal does not include any trade or movement protection.
The Canucks originally selected Demko in the second round (No. 36 overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft. The San Diego, CA product made his NHL debut with Vancouver in 2017–18 after an outstanding three-year NCAA career at Boston College.
Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy posted a video today showing Demko on the ice in New York: