3 reasons Thatcher Demko should still be a front-runner for the Vezina Trophy

Thatcher Demko hasn’t been the best goaltender if you’re looking at his career numbers. Until the 2023-24 season, the Vancouver Canucks top goaltender posted just a 2.90 GAA despite snagging a solid 0.910 save percentage and an above-average 0.549 quality starts percentage. 

You can argue that the Canucks haven’t been a great team or even a decent group over the past few seasons, and that hurt Demko. But he also didn’t step up in the same way an elite player should to give his team a chance when they were going through tough stretches. 

That changed in 2023-24 as Demko, along with the rest of the Canucks, have enjoyed their best season in recent memory. No, not everything has been going as smoothly lately, with a less-than-stellar February following the Elias Lindholm trade, while Demko’s injury also did them zero favors. But you can also attribute Demko’s presence as a major reason the Canucks remain one of the league’s best teams. 

Thatcher Demko should remain a front-runner for the Vezina Trophy

How good have Demko and the Canucks been throughout most of the 2023-24 season? With 34 wins, Demko is just seven away this year - if he manages to return in time and go on a roll - from winning over half as many games as he had in the previous six years that he’s been part of the Canucks. 

Here is an even wilder number: In four of his previous six seasons, Demko has started at least 25 games. And in those four years, he won 76 of them, putting him just four away from winning half as many games this year as he did in his first four “full seasons” with Vancouver. 

Just as you can claim the Canucks struggled in those previous few seasons, you can also believe much of Demko’s success came thanks to the Canucks being a better unit this year. While that is at least partially true, Demko has also played outstanding hockey, and the following reasons will show you that. 

Five shutouts alone should be enough to convince everyone

Thatcher Demko and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen have both snagged five shutouts this season and while they technically rank second in the league in the category, the other two goaltenders on the list - Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram - haven’t enjoyed top-tier seasons. 

Meanwhile, Demko and Luukkonen have been among the NHL’s most dominant goaltenders, with Demko holding the edge since he’s played a direct role in helping to make his team great all season. As for Luukkonen, he wasn’t the Buffalo Sabres starting goaltender when the season began, as the honor went to Devon Levi, who lost the job a quarter of the way through the year. 

Luukkonen hasn’t been as consistent as Demko, having figured things out around the first of the calendar year. Demko, like all starting NHL goaltenders, has seen his struggles this season, but he has been the more consistent of the two. 

Luukkonen and Demko aren’t the only candidates who have recorded a fair number of shutouts this season, with Sergei Bobrovsky, Connor Hellebuyck, Pyotr Kochetkov, Jeremy Swayman, Cam Talbot, and Igor Shesterkin snagging three or more. Demko hasn’t fared as well as some of the goaltenders mentioned here, but he and Luukkonen are the only two who have posted Vezina-worthy numbers AND have dominated the shutout category. 

Quality starts and quality starts percentage is top-tier

Few legitimate Vezina Trophy candidates have recorded more quality starts or a better quality starts percentage than Thatcher Demko. Looking at the top goaltenders in the sheer number of quality starts, Demko ranks second with 32, behind only Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, who has 34. 

But Demko and Hellebuyck have more starts than most goaltenders this season, so let’s instead break down quality starts percentage to get a more accurate picture. Among all goaltenders with at least 20 starts this season, Demko ranks eighth with a 0.653 quality starts percentage, with only Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Hellebuyck, Cam Talbot, and Linus Ullmark as the only legitimate candidates ahead of him. 

Hellebuyck would admittedly be tough to beat here, but Luukkonen’s Sabres aren’t making the playoffs, and you can argue Jeremy Swayman has overtaken Ullmark as the 1A in Boston’s net. That only leaves Talbot as the only other top-tier candidate for the Vezina on this list who has completely taken over the No. 1 goaltending spot AND most likely has his team in the playoffs. 

If Demko returns before the postseason, he will have a chance to up his current number and close in on Hellebuyck. The good news is that the Canucks haven’t struggled as much as they could have so far without him in the net, so when you ultimately replace the so-so Casey DeSmith with the star goaltender, Demko will have an outstanding opportunity.