Can Canucks’ Thatcher Demko still be a starting goalie in the NHL?

Injury challenges have hampered Thatcher Demko for much of the current campaign.

But since returning from his latest ailment, the Vancouver Canucks goaltender has won back-to-back contests and showed the style of play that made him runner-up for the Vezina Trophy a year ago.

On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk were joined by former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton to chat about Demko’s recent return to Vancouver’s lineup.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Let’s start in Vancouver where Demko returns from injury and, boom, back-to-back wins. I know the Canucks made news a couple months ago signing Kevin Lankinen to that extension, and people were like, ‘Alright, that’s it for Demko there.’ I mean, the injuries are one thing, but at 29 years old, do you still think there is a stud No. 1 goalie in Demko?

Carter Hutton: I do 100 percent, when he’s healthy. That’s the biggest black cloud over him. Lankinen has been unbelievable. You look at Vancouver’s season and the only reason they’re in this hunt or somewhere close is because of Lankinen. He’s done a great job for a guy who didn’t have a job [coming into] this year. He has come in and they’ve rewarded him with that contract. But at the end of the day, there aren’t very many Demkos around, a guy with that high-end skill who is an elite No. 1, when healthy. I think it has been a long road to recovery. You’ve seen guys go through this before, and being hesitant with him moving forward. But that being said, down the stretch here, he has been good. He has won his last five. There have been breaks in between that. Last night, he made a ton of big saves and a couple of showstoppers. For me, it’s the confidence he brings to the team. You see him in the pipes versus Lankinen and it’s a big difference for a team’s morale.

Frank Seravalli: No doubt about that, and full marks for not having played since February 8. He didn’t even practice a ton. It was more, ‘You know what? I’m going for it.’ I think that says a lot about his character as well.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here: