Report: “At least four teams” called the Canucks to trade for Thatcher Demko

There has been no shortage of recent trade speculation surrounding Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko.

While some have suggested Demko, who is currently injured, “wants out” from Vancouver, Demko himself has quashed those rumours. According to Kevin Woodley and Rick Dhaliwal, there were no trade requests from the Canucks’ netminder.

That being said, the Canucks have seemingly made it clear that no one — aside from Elias Pettersson and perhaps Quinn Hughes — is untouchable when it comes to their aggressive conversion/remodeling.

Emily Kaplan backed up that sentiment in her latest NHL rumor roundup for ESPN, in which she implied that the Canucks were receptive to inquiries about Demko from multiple different teams.

Here’s what Kaplan had to say:

“According to 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 net a lot of assets for a team-friendly $5 million a season for Demko, who’s only 27 and has three more years on contract. The goalie has not played since December 1 due to a lower body injury and he is about a week and a half away from getting back on the ice. Should he get a few good starts and start looking like the old, dominant Demko again, that interest would likely 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 tough time this season when he’s healthy, posting a 3-10-2 record and a .883 save percentage in 15 games.

But Demko fared much better in the two seasons immediately prior to this one, going 49-40-8 with two shutouts and a .915 percentage in 99 games with the Canucks between the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns. He is signed with the Canucks through 2026 and has an annual cap of $5 million. His deal does not include 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 its NHL debut with Vancouver in 2017-18 after a stellar three-year NCAA career at Boston College.

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