Foote receives support as Canucks coach from GM despite struggles

Thatcher Demko, the Canucks’ No. 1 goalie, returned on Dec. 11 after missing a month with a lower-body injury, but he sustained another lower-body injury during a 5-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 10. He remains out indefinitely while “taking opinions from other resources around the world to see what needs to be done,” Allvin said, adding he hopes for an update by the end of the week.

Beyond Demko, the Canucks have been hardest hit by injuries to centers.

Filip Chytil started the season as the second-line center, but he played only six games before sustaining a concussion during a game against the Washington Capitals on Oct. 19 that has kept him out of the lineup since. Center Teddy Blueger, who has been a key part of the penalty kill during his three seasons in Vancouver and was selected to play for Team Latvia at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, sustained a lower-body injury in the same game and is just now preparing to return to action.

Center Marco Rossi, who was acquired in the Hughes trade, missed his 10th straight game on Monday because of a lower-body injury he sustained on Dec. 30 that could keep him out through the Olympics.

“With Rossi or Chytil in our lineup, I think we’re 9-5, so it’s hard,” Allvin said. “And again, you’re putting some of the younger players up in the lineup, they’re playing heavier matchups, they’re playing more minutes than they’ve ever done, and that’s where you break through, you have a mistake, and then you duplicate the mistake the next shift because the pressure comes on. And I think that’s not fair to the young players. But I know one thing, that the players in there and the coaches, they really care.”

Their depth also is being tested on defense. In addition to the Hughes trade, Derek Forbort could be out the rest of the season. The 33-year-old missed a 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 13 for what was supposed to be a maintenance day, but he hasn’t played since.

“He ended up having an injection and that flared up,” Allvin said. “There is a small chance that he might be back, but I don’t count on it for now.”

Without Hughes and Forbort, the Canucks have been playing three young defensemen regularly: 20-year-old rookie Zeev Buium, who was the key return in the Hughes trade; 21-year-old Elias Pettersson, who has 67 games of NHL experience; and 20-year-old rookie Tom Willander, who was selected with the No. 11 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

Putting too much pressure on the remaining young players is one reason Vancouver isn’t in a rush to trade away all of its veterans as part of the switch to a rebuild.

“I also don’t want to put young players in to fail,” Allvin said. “We didn’t plan for this. We didn’t plan to have three 21-year-old defensemen in the League this year. We were planning on having a rotation, but it is what it is, and I think the players and the coaches have dealt with it. Again, I’m not happy standing here with the points we have. When we were healthy early on, I believe that we were capable of better. But I hope we’re going to see some more younger players getting an opportunity down the stretch here as well.”