The last four months haven't been easy for Thatcher Demko.
Season-ending hip surgery and gruelling rehab have been tough on the Vancouver Canucks goaltender. Being sidelined for a second straight season, only to see the team struggle in his absence compounded the pain.
"It's been a challenging couple of years for me, for sure," the all-star goalie said Friday. "Mental warfare and just disappointment."
Demko's injury was among many disappointments the Canucks weathered during the 2025-26 campaign.
Other ailments piled up. Star defenceman and captain Quinn Hughes was traded. Extended losing skids pockmarked the schedule.
It all came to a close Thursday with a 6-1 thumping at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers. The Canucks finished the season dead last in the NHL standings with a 25-49-8 record.
Now the club is rebuilding, albeit without general manager Patrik Allvin, who was fired Friday.
Jim Rutherford, Vancouver's president of hockey operations, said a wide-ranging search for Allvin's replacement will begin with meetings Monday.
The new GM will decide whether Adam Foote remains as head coach, Rutherford added.
Foote was named Vancouver's coach last May after the departure of Rick Tocchet, who was later named head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Challenges mounted early for Foote, said veteran winger Brock Boeser, with a slew of injuries to start the season.
"It was a rough start to the year," he said. "It wasn’t easy on Adam, it was hard.
"He adjusted well. He came into the rink all the time with great energy and great mindset. He was positive. There were times he had to give it to us, which is fair. But overall, I thought he did a great job of coming to the rink and really pushing us to be better each and every day, no matter what the circumstances.”
Vancouver earned just one regulation win over 13 games between Oct. 21 and Nov. 14.
Rumours began circulating that captain Hughes was not going to sign an extension and on Dec. 12, Vancouver dealt him to the Minnesota Wild for forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, defenceman Zeev Buium, and a 2026 first-round pick.
The Canucks responded by going on a season-high four-game win streak before tumbling down the NHL standings with an 11-game losing skid.
The situation further deteriorated in January when Demko was sidelined after playing just 20 games.
“It is such a major surgery that I had done that it is kind of a last resort," he said. "You’re trying to find ways and play through things and try to navigate through some of that without having to take the drastic measures that we ended up taking.
"But I think, at a certain point, we realized that one, I wasn’t really able to stay healthy and two, play at the standard that I’m used to playing at.”
The goalie is optimistic about the future, though.
“This is going to address pretty much everything that I’ve dealt with in the past and being able to kind of build from the ground up and start fresh is exciting for me," he said. "I definitely have a new sense of vigour in my approach moving forward.”
Vancouver made more roster changes ahead of the NHL's trade deadline, sending bruising winger Keifer Sherwood to the San Jose Sharks, feisty forward Conor Garland to the Columbus Blue Jackets and veteran blueliner Tyler Myers to the Dallas Stars.
The Canucks stocked up on draft picks across the deals, a sign the team had officially entered a rebuild.
“It’s kind of the first time we’ve said that we’re going through a rebuild here. It’s obviously been a long year with a lot of change," said Boeser, who's been with the organization since Vancouver selected him 23rd overall in the 2015 draft.
The young talent is already showing signs of progress, he added.
"I feel like they’ve definitely matured from a few months ago," Boeser said. "I feel like we’ve tried to set a standard and tried to build on something.
"And these guys have showed up to the rink every day, working hard, pushing to get better. And we’ve been seeing that this last little bit. It’s exciting for me and exciting moving forward."
One young player who's looking to build with the Canucks is Buium.
Acquired as part of the Hughes trade, the 20-year-old defenceman finished the season with six goals, 20 assists, and averaged 20:21 in ice time.
“I think as a player, I learned a lot about my game," he said. "I thought I started to kind of find my confidence by the end of the season and learn what I can and can’t do, when to push the pace, when to sit back a little bit.
"I think I’m going to continue learning that, obviously.”
Some of Vancouver's established players believe they, too, have work to do on refining their game.
Centre Elias Pettersson said he's planning to change up his summer training after putting up 15 goals and 36 assists over 74 games this season, a total well off the career-high 102 points he amassed in 2022-23.
“I want to be the best player out there. And obviously it hasn’t gone the way I’ve wanted it the last two seasons," said the Swedish star.
"I know I have a lot of good hockey in me and I haven’t showed it. But I’m confident in myself. But definitely will change up my training a little bit in certain things."
The Canucks have shown signs of improvement both on and off the ice in recent weeks, Demko said.
Players have grown closer together, going for dinners on the road, he said, and Vancouver strung together three straight wins before falling to Edmonton on Tuesday.
“We have a lot of young energy in the room and I think that’s really exciting," Demko said. "I’m certainly looking forward to being a part of it.”
