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Will the Canucks have a goalie reach double-digit wins this season?
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Photo credit: © Simon Fearn-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
Apr 6, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 5, 2026, 17:15 EDT
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It stands to reason, given the way things have gone for the Vancouver Canucks, that there won’t be many flattering team and individual statistics when the final buzzer sounds on the 2025-26 season. Nowhere, perhaps, is that more evident than in goal, where the Canucks have struggled through injuries and inconsistency all season long. And now, with just six games remaining on the schedule, there is a very real possibility that this version of the Canucks will finish without a goaltender recording double-digit victories for the first time in franchise history.
As things stand, Kevin Lankinen is the clubhouse leader with nine wins on the season. That’s one better than Thatcher Demko and four ahead of Nikita Tolopilo. But it is a fair question to ask whether Lankinen will add to his total. 
He was unable to play Saturday against Utah with an undisclosed medical issue that prevented him from suiting up and forced the Canucks to recall Jiri Patera from Abbotsford on an emergency basis. 
In a perfect world, Lankinen would likely only have a maximum of four starts remaining and quite possibly only three. But now, if he’s physically unable to perform, then who knows how many more times he’ll tend the net this season?
Even if he recovers and gets his starts, there is absolutely no guarantee Lankinen will deliver the win necessary to boost his season total to 10. He has just two victories in 10 decisions since the Olympic break and has only three wins to his name in 22 starts since the beginning of 2026.
With the Canucks remaining opponents all fighting for post-season spots or playoff positioning, the team – regardless who is in goal – is going to face motivated hockey clubs. And that will only make the challenge that much greater. 
On top of that, the Canucks’ defensive structure has lapsed again lately, giving up seven goals to both Utah and Calgary in recent games, six (in Lankinen’s last win) in Colorado, and five in Minnesota. As a team, the Canucks have surrendered at least four goals in seven straight outings.
The lowest leading win total in a season in franchise history belongs to Cesare Maniago, who posted 10 of his team’s 20 victories in 1977-78. Even in lockout and pandemic-shortened seasons, the Canucks had goalies who reached double-digits. Beyond Maniago, Dunc Wilson had a 13-win season to lead all Canuck goalies in 1972-73. Charlie Hodge managed 15 wins behind an expansion defence in the club’s inaugural campaign in 1970-71.
In more recent times, Thatcher Demko posted a team-high 14 victories in 2022-23 – a season in which he only started 32 games due to injury. But even that year, the Canucks had three guys reach double-digits as Spencer Martin chipped in with 11 wins while Collin Delia added 10.
Last season, the San Jose Sharks failed to produce a double-digit winner with Alexandar Georgiev leading the charge of five netminders deployed with just seven victories for the last place team. So there is precedent. The year before that Mackenzie Blackwood led the Sharks with 10 and Petr Mrazek matched that total to lead the Chicago Blackhawks.
So while there may not be much intrigue left in the dregs of this disappointing Canucks season, there are still a handful of questions remaining to be answered: Will the team have a 50-point producer? Will the club win back to back games on home ice? And now you can add one more to that list: will Kevin Lankinen pick up the additional victory he needs to push his win total to 10 to avoid this version of the Vancouver Canucks going down in franchise history with a rather dubious distinction?

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