Canucks' Thatcher Demko reportedly still not ready to rejoin team for practices
Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko is reportedly still not ready to rejoin the team for skates & practices leading to some worry among the fan base.
Coming into Saturday, the Vancouver Canucks sit sixth in the Pacific Division with a record of 1-1-2 and yes, it's very early, probably too early to even worry about the standings at this point, but the team doesn't want to dig themselves into a hole they can't get out of.
For the time being, Rick Tocchet has been going with a goaltending tandem of Kevin Lankinen and Arturs Silovs amid the mystery of Thatcher Demko's injury and when he could return to the team for practices and eventually, game action.
Rick Tocchet recently commented on Thatcher Demko and how he's doing, with the Canucks head coach telling Adam Kimelman of NHL.com that his star goaltender still isn't ready to rejoin the team for practices and is only occasionally skating on his own.
The Canucks are being patient with Thatcher Demko here and that's definitely the right call here with the type of injury he's dealing with. Back in September, it was revealed that Demko is dealing with an injury to the popliteus muscle in his knee, which is reportedly quite rare. The muscle is located at the back of the knee and is attached to both the tibia and fibula.
While it's unclear when Thatcher Demko will return to action, the Vancouver Canucks are certainly hoping that he'll be able to ramp up his recovery in the near future and be back between the pipes as soon as he's safely allowed to. The last time Demko suited up in a game for the Canucks was Game 1 of their first round series against the Nashville Predators, where he suffered his second knee injury of the 2023-24 campaign.
