What's wrong with Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko this season?
On the list of concerns heading into this season, how Thatcher Demko would perform may have ranked last for Vancouver Canucks fans.
He was Elliotte Friedman’s pick for the Vezina Trophy, and for good reason.
Ever since he began stonewalling the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2020 playoffs, Demko had proven to be one of the best and most consistent goaltenders in the NHL.
In 2020-21 and 2021-22, his first two seasons as Vancouver’s No. 1 goaltender, Demko compiled a 49-40-8 record, with a .915 save percentage. Advanced stats, not to mention the eye-test given how terrible the Canucks are defensively, show that he was even better than those numbers suggest.
The Canucks are a team that seemingly needs Vezina-calibre goaltending to win on most nights. If that wasn’t obvious last season, it is this year, because Demko hasn’t performed close to the level everyone is used to seeing.
That isn’t to say that all of the blame for Vancouver’s lousy season should be placed at the feet of Demko. There are many more problems contributing to that.
And certainly, Demko isn’t letting in bad goals night after night, and Bruce Boudreau hasn’t had to pull Demko in any of his starts. It’s just that the Canucks starting goalie isn’t bailing out his teammates like we became used to seeing.
Nick Suzuki. That's the tweet. pic.twitter.com/QwBCRzl4hy
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 10, 2022
The numbers are hard to ignore. After 14 games, 10 in which Demko has started in net, his stats rank near the bottom of the league.
Demko currently ranks 37th out of 38 NHL goalies in save percentage (.874), among those with at least six games played, and 36th in goals-against average (4.01). His advanced stats aren’t any more favourable, as he ranks second-last in goals-saved above expected (-8.9) according to MoneyPuck.com.
Frustration has to be setting in for Demko, who didn’t speak to the media after Wednesday’s game — a game in which he was involved in a brief altercation with Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher, and had his name jeered repeatedly by Habs fans afterwards.
"DEMKO! DEMKO! DEMKO!"
Habs fans letting the #Canucks goalie hear it š£ļø pic.twitter.com/WJaelTAPgv
— Tim and Friends (@timandfriends) November 10, 2022
The Canucks were in a 3-0 hole after the first period in Montreal. The blame is rightfully on Tanner Pearson and J.T. Miller for at least two of those goals, but that was the type of period last season where Demko would stand on his head, keeping the game within reach.
That just hasn’t happened for the 26-year-old San Diego native this season.
“I’ve got to keep him in there, he’s got to fight through these things,” Boudreau said in response to a question asking if he considered pulling Demko after the first period. “If you just keep making it easy, then all of a sudden you don’t fight through. Any of the good goaltenders that I’ve had, they want to stay in there. They want to find it. I thought at the beginning of the second [period] he made a couple good saves. I thought it was going to be there, but then still things leak through.”
Demko has now lost nine of the 10 games he has started, and has given up at least three goals in every outing. By contrast, backup Spencer Martin has triple the number of wins (3), in just four starts, with a .900 save percentage.
The Canucks have a laundry list of things to fix: their structure, the penalty kill, their effort level — we could go on.
But they’ll also need Demko to be a lot better than he has been to have a chance to turn their season around.