Elliotte Friedman reveals Thatcher Demko's injury is irreparable

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Axel Williams
September 8, 2024 (9:13)

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Thatcher Demko of the Vancouver Canucks has been dealing with a pretty horrible knee injury as of late and it ultimately kept him out of the playoffs, particularly the second round.

In the latest 32 Thoughts with Elliotte Friedman, the longtime NHL insider revealed some worrisome information about Demko. Essentially, Friedman claims that this is one of those injuries that cannot be fixed. Instead, Demko will have to just suck it up and learn to deal with it.

"The best piece of information I've been given is quite simply, he's going to have to learn to play with this. It's not something that can be fixed with surgery but it's something that he's going to have to learn to play through and can play through."

We know it is a knee problem but the full extent of the issue is not being revealed. All we know is that it is pretty well irreparable and Demko must play with the discomfort. This is a tall ask, especially when you consider the season is right around the corner.

Friedman noted that he does not believe Demko will miss half of the season. However, he does believe the Canucks rushed him back before the playoffs and made the injury a whole lot worse.

"I believe that the Canucks told Demko last year before the playoffs 'We need to know that we can count on you in the postseason, we don't want uncertainty, and you have to play 2 games before the playoffs before we commit to you to start the postseason.' What it did is it forced Demko to rush to get back and I'm just not convinced that he was ever 100% healthy. Demko comes back, wins the one game, and then he gets hurt."

Do you believe Demko can still be a reliable goaltender in the NHL? Let us know in the poll down below and stay tuned to Hockey Unplugged for the latest news and updates from around the hockey world.

Source: 32 Thoughts
32 Thoughts: The Podcast