Canucks' Rick Tocchet reveals his plan on how to keep Thatcher Demko healthy for deep playoff run

By Ankit Kumar

Modified Jul 25, 2024 15:16 GMT

Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet has a plan to keep goaltender Thatcher Demko healthy for the playoffs.

Demko’s knee injury last season hurt the team in the playoffs. He couldn’t play in Game 7 against Edmonton, and Vancouver lost. Tocchet has learned from this and aims to manage Demko’s workload better this season.

Thatcher Demko is known for his impressive stretches of performance. Thomas Drance of The Athletic pointed out that if Demko can maintain this in May and June, it would be great for the team.

However, the goaltender has faced injuries toward the end of several seasons. Tocchet emphasized that these injuries were fluke events.

One key change is using a practice goalie. Last season, Demko would practice with goaltending coach Ian Clark. Afterwards, a third goalie would take over team practices.

This helped reduce Demko’s strain during practice. Tocchet stressed that managing Demko’s workload is about more than just the number of games he plays. It includes practice schedules, travel routines and overall physical demands.

“Everybody wants to know a number, ‘How many games does he play? Is it 50? Is it 52? Is it 55? Is it 58?’ That’ll sort itself out," Tocchet said. "It’s more than that, though. It’s the management of practices, his schedule, how we travel, and we’re going to keep doing deep dives into that.” (via The Athletic)

Demko’s stats this season are impressive: 35 wins, 14 losses, 2 overtime losses, a 2.45 goals-against average, a .918 save percentage and 5 shutouts.

Tocchet praised Demko’s commitment to staying in shape. He described him as “obsessive” about his body. Despite this, the team needs to manage his workload even in practice.

"If there was ever a guy that’s ready to play and in shape though, he’s an obsessive guy with his body," Tocchet said. "…But we definitely have to manage his workload, even in practice, and I thought we did a pretty good job last year."

Canucks president Jim Rutherford on Thatcher Demko

Vancouver Canucks President Jim Rutherford also spoke about Thatcher Demko recently. In his appearance on Bob McCown Podcast, Rutherford said that he believes Demko pushes himself too hard.

“He is probably the hardest-working guy that I've ever seen. I mean, he's on the ice before the players come on the ice.”

"I just think he pushes himself too hard,” Rutherford added.

Canucks' management plans to have practice management, game time balance and careful travel schedules. With these strategies, the Canucks hope to keep Demko healthy during playoffs.