“He did his goaltending practices, he skated and he made shots, but he didn’t practice with the whole group,” Dreger said. “We hope Thatcher will return to full team training this week. Then after that you start watching a countdown. Now, are we talking about several days? Are we still talking about the category week after week? One thing we know here is that it’s pretty obvious that the Vancouver Canucks aren’t going to push Thatcher Demko. They don’t really feel the need for it. He’s been working on his “you know what” in the background to make sure the problem he has doesn’t turn into a bigger problem in the future.

“Because of the patience the club has shown and the fact they haven’t had to force him back into the mix, he is enjoying this time away. I would say for Demko, in terms of game action, it’s three weeks away. But that time frame will probably be shortened – I don’t think it will be extended – depending on how he feels after a few practices.

The American goalie was injured late in Game 1, making an athletic save against the Nashville Predators. It was hoped he would be able to return if the Canucks advanced to the Western Conference finals, but they lost 3-2 in Game 7 to the Edmonton Oilers.

As Dreger mentioned, the Canucks bought valuable time with their recent signing. Kevin Lankinenwho held them in hand during several matches this season. He has a 5-0-2 record, a 2.25 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage and once Demko returns, the duo will form a competitive one-two punch in the Canucks bullpen for the rest of the season.