Can Good Goaltending Help the Canucks Turn the Corner?

The Vancouver Canucks are rebuilding. That part’s pretty obvious at this point. But this isn’t one of those rebuilds where you look at the roster and wonder if there’s anyone worth building around. There are some good young players here, real pieces to work with, and if the forwards and defencemen keep taking steps forward, you can actually start to picture what this team might become. There’s just one pretty important question hanging over all of it: can the goaltending hold things together while the rest of the roster develops?

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When Demko’s Healthy, the Canucks Goaltending Is Solid

Let’s start with Thatcher Demko, because he’s probably the biggest question mark on the whole team. When he’s healthy, we know exactly how good he can be. He’s played at a Vezina-calibre level, stolen games outright, and stood on his head when Vancouver needed it most. The problem has always been staying healthy. Demko started just 23 games in 2024-25 and only 20 last season before needing hip surgery, meaning he hasn’t handled a full starter’s workload since 2023-24. That’s a long stretch for a team to go without really knowing what it can count on from its number one goalie.

Then there’s the contract, which raises the stakes even more. Demko’s three-year extension carries an $8.5 million cap hit and comes with a full no-movement clause, so this isn’t a situation Vancouver can just quietly walk away from if it doesn’t pan out. They need him healthy, and they need him giving them the kind of goaltending they’re paying for. All of this would feel a lot more manageable if the Canucks had a backup they could fully trust behind him — and that’s where things get a little uncomfortable.

Lankinen Needs to Find His Game Again

Kevin Lankinen had a rough go of it last season, finishing 11-27-5 with an .876 save percentage across 43 starts, one of the weaker save percentages in the league among goalies who played at least 1,000 minutes. To be fair to him, he wasn’t getting much help in front of him — Vancouver gave up the second-most high-danger chances in the league, which would make life miserable for pretty much any goalie. Still, the team needs more from him this year.

There’s also Nikita Tolopilo, who could eventually be part of the answer down the road, but he simply hasn’t played enough NHL games yet for anyone to know if he’s ready for a bigger role.

Here’s the good news, though: the Canucks don’t need either of their goalies to win a Vezina. They just need someone to be steady, and a lot of that starts with the players in front of them. Vancouver has to do a better job protecting the middle of the ice and limiting dangerous chances, because if the defence makes life easier, the goalies don’t have to be perfect every single night. That matters even more for a young team that’s still learning how to play together. Better communication, smarter matchups, and more thoughtful decisions about who’s playing when could all go a long way.

The Bottom Line for the Canucks Goalie Situation

That said, the goalies still have to hold up their end. Demko needs to find a way to stay on the ice, and Lankinen has to prove last season wasn’t an accurate read on what he can do. Whoever’s getting the starts needs to give Vancouver a real chance to win without making everyone nervous every time the puck gets near the net. Honestly, that’s really all this team needs right now — a chance. Because if they keep giving up soft goals or going through long droughts without a big save, it’s going to be tough to get an honest read on how much progress the young players are actually making.

But if Demko stays healthy, Lankinen finds his game again, and the defence cuts down on those high-danger chances, things could start to look pretty interesting in Vancouver. Good goaltending won’t fix everything on its own. But it could give this young team exactly what it needs while the rebuild takes shape: some stability in the crease.

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