One of the many storylines heading into the 2025-26 season is how the Vancouver Canucks will split their goaltending starts. While Lankinen took over the starter's role last year, Demko is the projected starter for 2025-26 as long as he can stay healthy. With two very capable goaltenders signed to long-term extensions, this could mean the Canucks operate in a 1A/1B situation next year.
Before diving into statistics, it is important to acknowledge the issue in the schedule for the 2025-26 season. In February, the league will take a three-week break to allow players to participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics. While neither of Vancouver's goaltenders has been named to their teams, Lankinen will likely represent Finland, while Demko has a chance of representing Team USA.
For this exercise, let's assume that Lankinen attends the Olympics and Demko doesn't. Regardless of whether he plays or not, this means that Lankinen will not get a rest like Demko will during the season. The added mileage could catch up, especially near the season, which may lead to more Demko starts, as in March and April.
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Now over to the stats, which presents an interesting trend the Canucks could capitalize on. Over the last two seasons, Demko has been better at home, while Lankinen has been better on the road. Below is a look a their splits at home vs on the road in the regular season since the start of the 2023-24 season.
Using this data, Vancouver could decide to have a home goaltender (Demko) and an away goaltender (Lankinen). While the schedule makes it difficult to split the games exactly as planned, one possibility is that each goaltender plays 25 games in their specific scenario, while the remaining 32 games are divided. With only four long homestands and road trips planned, having a certain goaltender play the majority of home/road games could be a workable plan next year.
The last big question is whether Demko and Lankinen can stay healthy all year. Demko's injury struggles over the past few seasons have been well documented, while Lankinen was dealing with a minor injury at the end of last year. With so much pressure heading into the season, Vancouver needs to find a way to manage both Demko's and Lankinen's schedules in order to avoid long-term injuries in 2025-26.
At this point, the only thing that is known for sure is that the Canucks have two strong goaltenders heading into the 2025-26 season. Vancouver will also need both to be at the top of their games in order to qualify for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. As for a potential split, a projection would be that Demko starts 50 games this year, while Lankinen starts 32.
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