Thatcher Demko missed out on winning his first Vezina Trophy, as he finished second in the voting behind the Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck.
As the tallies indicate, Demko was 88 points back of Hellebuyck for the prestigious award of the best goalie in the league. The results weren’t particularly close, and it makes sense, given the season Hellebuyck had.
This certainly doesn’t diminish the incredible season Demko had because his brilliance was a major reason why the Canucks experienced their dramatic turnaround. In 51 starts this season, he posted a record of 35-14-2 along with .918 SV%, a 2.45 GAA, and five shutouts.
Demko made just one appearance in the playoffs, where he backstopped the Canucks to a Game 1 win over the Predators in their first home playoff game since 2015. He suffered an injury during the game, and it resulted in him not suiting up in another postseason contest despite being close to a return around the time Vancouver was eliminated by the Oilers. While Casey DeSmith and Arturs Silvos did their best to fill the void, it is safe to assume that the Canucks would have had a better fate if Demko was fully healthy this spring.
How many starts should Thatcher Demko get next season?
This, in combination with him finishing second in the Vezina voting, is a clear sign that he means a lot to the team, and they will go as far as he can take them. There are bound to be concerns about his long-term health, given he missed a significant chunk of the 2022-23 campaign with another knee injury, but Demko has proven he can quickly bounce back and elevate his game when the Canucks need it.
Vancouver has a prime window to capitalize on Demko being locked in at a reasonable cap hit of $5 million for the next two seasons. With the Canucks locking up a few pieces of their core and Quinn Hughes taking home the Norris Trophy, Demko will not be going about this alone in his quest to finally bring the Stanley Cup to Vancouver.
Although he won’t be bringing home the Vezina Trophy this time around, it certainly won’t be the last time he is in the running for this award.
