The Vancouver Canucks mildly surprised the NHL on Friday, announcing the dismissal of GM Patrik Allvin after a five-year tenure at the helm. While the move wasn’t earth-shattering, it was a bit curious, considering the timing.
That aside, the Canucks, like several other franchises around the league, will now embark on a search for their new GM. There’s no indication who might take over at this time. With numerous individuals floating around the league at this time, it wouldn’t be astonishing to see Vancouver draw from one of those names.
That said, whoever takes over will inherit a tough situation. In particular, the Canucks’ next GM will need to undo one of Allvin’s biggest mistakes: Signing Thatcher Demko to a big extension.
Demko signed a three-year extension on July 1, 2025, carrying a cap hit of $8.5 million. At the time, the contract was questionable. By now, the contract is an outright albatross.
Make no mistake, Demko is an elite goaltender when healthy. And that’s the major issue here. Demko, as hard as he may try, just can’t stay healthy. This season, he appeared in just 20 games after spending a couple of stints on injured reserve. The club eventually shut Demko down for the year before the Olympics.
As such, Allvin’s successor will need to figure out what to do about Demko. The solution won’t be easy, as the options are quite complex.
Canucks Can’t Just Trade Demko
Even if the Canucks wanted to trade Demko, they can’t just dump him on anyone. Unfortunately, there wouldn’t be much of a market for the 30-year-old. Even if Vancouver ate up half of his contract, who would be willing to give the oft-injured goalie another shot? Perhaps a team looking to reach the salary cap floor may be looking to add his contract.
Assuming that were the case, Vancouver shouldn’t expect to get very much in return for Demko. Potentially, a late-round pick might be the best the team could hope for.
A team desperate for a goalie may want to take a chance on Demko. However, that team would need to have enough cap space for Demko’s contract, plus the willingness to deal with his injury situation.
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Demko Stuck in Vancouver for Remainder of Contract
The way the situation is trending, Demko will remain in Vancouver. The Canucks won’t realistically be able to move Demko. So, the best thing they could do is give him every opportunity to get back on the ice. Since the club is in the midst of a rebuild, it won’t have a massive need for cap space. That could change when the rebuild begins to bear fruit. By then, Demko’s contract could be coming off the books.
With that in mind, if Demko can’t get back into playing shape, there’s always the possibility of letting the former Vezina Trophy finalist run out his contract on LTIR.
Such a move by the Canucks would be an unfortunate ending to a once-promising career. There’s still hope that Demko could put his injury struggles behind him. But that doesn’t quite seem like the case at this point.
Canucks New GM Will Need to Undo Allvin’s Biggest Mistake