Canucks’ Demko is leading every major NHL goalie stat right now

The Vancouver Canucks are playing like a Stanley Cup contender, and they are getting the goaltending to back it up.

Goalie Thatcher Demko is off to a fantastic start to the season for the Canucks. Through eight starts so far this season, the 27-year-old holds a 6-2-0 record and is leading the league in just about every major goalie stat right now.

Among NHL goalies with 6+ starts, #Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko ranks first in:

-Wins (6)
-Save percentage (.947)
-Goals against average (1.55)
-Shutouts (2)

— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) November 5, 2023

This is a stark improvement from last season, where an injury-plagued Demko struggled to maintain consistency, posting a 14-14-4 record in just 32 appearances. Now that he is healthy, it looks like he is picking up where he left off following the 2021/22 season.

If this high level of play continues, we could start to hear Demko’s name being dropped into the Vezina conversation. The only time he has ever gotten a Vezina vote was back in 2021/22 when he received a single third-place vote.

Goaltending isn’t the only area where the Canucks are getting elite levels of production. Elias Pettersson looks like a man-possessed so far this season. He is currently tied with New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes for the league lead in points with 20 and is second in assists with 14.

Pettersson finished eighteenth in Hart Trophy voting and seventh in Selke Trophy voting last season.

Brock Boeser is tied for third in the league for goals with eight, four of which came in the team’s opening night 8-1 drubbing of the Edmonton Oilers.

On the blueline, defenceman Quinn Hughes is having a Norris-calibre start to the season. At the moment he leads all NHL defencemen in points with 16, six defenders are tied for second place with 11.

Hughes actually got some Norris Trophy love last season.  Though he finished ninth in overall voting, one of the voters actually had him as the winner.

All of this has culminated in the team matching their best start to an NHL season in franchise history. After Saturday night’s impressive 2-0  victory over the Dallas Stars, the team improved to 8-2-1 on the season. They are just six points back of the division-leading Vegas Golden Knights.

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