[Article] The Vancouver Canucks’ goaltending trio has the potential to firmly be in the NHL’s top 10

[RWJC]

The Vancouver Canucks’ goaltending trio has the potential to firmly be in the NHL’s top-10

PHOTO CREDIT: BOB FRID-USA TODAY SPORTS

 

By Noah Strang

8 hours ago

 

Former NHL goalie Mike Mckenna recently released his ranking of every NHL team’s goalie tandem on Daily Faceoff. While the list will surely change a lot as the season progresses, this first edition has the Vancouver Canucks in the middle of the rankings in 16th place.

 

They fall directly ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and just behind Jacob Markstrom and the Calgary Flames.

 

While it’s hard to argue with that ranking based on last season’s performance, there are lots of reasons to think that 16th may be too low.

 

The situation for the Canucks’ goaltenders entering this season is much different compared to last, and that should help them achieve very different results.

While it all starts with Thatcher Demko, who is 100% healthy as far as we know, the other goaltenders in the organization also have to step up their performance for the team’s tandem to be viewed as a top-ten unit league-wide. As we go through this article, we will see that there is good reason to believe that will happen in the 2023-24 NHL season.

 

Thatcher Demko’s return to form

Simply put, Thatcher Demko had a rough 2022-23 season.

 

While the Canucks did not make his life easy, Demko played well below his usual standard as he started the season 3-10-2 with a .883 save percentage before getting injured. That injury caused him to miss around three months during the middle of the season, a break that could have been a blessing in disguise.

 

“It [the time off due to injury] pretty quickly turned into me realizing that I had a lot of time to reflect and I had a lot of time to work on my physiology, my biology, the mental side of things, just the whole thing,” said Demko upon his return in the final part of last season.

 

While his final stats for the season will show career lows in save percentage and goals-against-average, Demko did bounce back after getting back to 100%.

 

He played 17 games from the middle of February onwards, recording a 0.918% save percentage and a 2.52 goals-against-average — both numbers that are much closer to what’s expected from the American goaltender.
 

Entering this year, Demko will be the most rested he’s been in a long time. Last season, he only started about half the games he would normally and all of this extra rest should help him start the 2023-24 season off on the right foot.

Will the backup goaltending hold-up? 

Thatcher Demko is not the only component to helping the Canucks finish with a top-ten goaltending tandem. We must also consider the team’s backup goalie, no matter if that’s Spencer Martin or Arturs Silovs.

 

The Canucks will want to ensure that Demko does not have to start too many games after his injury last season. To make that happen, the team’s backup will need to be serviceable.

 

Martin is coming off of a terrible season where he appeared in 29 games for the Canucks. His 3.99 GAA and 0.871% save percentage were both well below league average, even for a backup but Martin will likely still get another chance to prove himself this season and start the season as the NHL backup. If he’s not up to standard, Silovs will be ready and likely very eager to jump in.

Silovs is one of the top goalie prospects across the league. He’s already become a Latvian hero after an MVP performance at the international level this past summer, and it seems like only a matter of time before he starts to replicate that success in the NHL.

The only question is if his development would be better served as the starter in the AHL.

 

In five NHL games, Silovs has looked like he could be a capable backup. While you hope that Martin can give you the occasional quality start and let the 22-year-old Silovs lead the Abbotsford Canucks, the Canucks do have a contingency plan ready where the Latvian could be called up on a moment’s notice. Silovs is still on his entry-level contract and that will give the organization a ton of flexibility with how they want to use the 22-year-old.

The other components to consider

Another aspect to consider when discussing the Canucks’ goaltending prospects this season is the new head coach. Former head coach Bruce Boudreau is known for playing a free-wheeling style that encourages a strong offensive attack. While this was entertaining to watch, it often left the Canucks exposed defensively, forcing goalies to defend against plenty of odd-man rushes and have to attempt highlight reel save attempts on passes to backdoor shots.

 

New head coach Rick Tocchet brought with him a commitment to being more defensively responsible. The results were obvious near the end of last season and that will surely continue into the 2023-24 NHL season, helping to reduce the workload demanded of the goalies.

 

In addition, the Canucks have revamped their defence corps. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is gone and instead the team went out and got some players with good defensive reputations such as Ian Cole and Carson Soucy. Those changes should also make life a bit easier for the Canucks’ goalies.

The Canucks have the talent in net to finish with a top-ten goaltending duo.

 

While last season they were among the worst in the league between the pipes, the fact that the systems and personnel have changed so much means that we can expect different results. Add in the largest factor of all — the fact that Demko is seemingly at 100% and has had plenty of rest over the last 12 months — and we can see a scenario where the Canucks skyrocket up this list at Daily Faceoff into the top ten.

 

 

https://canucksarmy.com/news/faber-10-takeaways-canucks-young-stars-tournament

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by RWJC

[gwarrior]

Just don't ride Demko into the ground. If Silovs is ready to be the backup, let's go. If we let him marinate for another year as the guy in Abbotsford, and Martin can give the guys solid performances, again, let's go. Damn season can't start soon enough.

[Coconuts]

Boils down to whether last season was a blip for Demko or not, though an improved commitment to defense should help him out

A better PK and a backup who can at least win as much as they lose would help too

[HIWATT]

All of our goalies will have a lot less work per game this season, and by the looks of how things are shaping up in the prospect pool, for the forseeable future as well.
It's shocking how quickly this entire organization is changing right before our eyes.
This is what happens when you have a team of real pros and winners all working together.
I'll be more surprised if we don't make the playoffs this year, than if we do. 
The margin is slim, but it's there. 
If whatever this is now fails, its 1000000% ALL on Aqualini, and we'll all know it. So buddy, stay in your freakin lane man. 

[Murderbras]

Hopefully keeping Demmer rested enough for a solid playoff run matters…no reason Silovs/Martin *can’t* make that happen…but definitely no sure thing. 

[Jeremy Hronek]

While I agree with the article, the more concerning matter is Demko's ability to stay healthy.  

Demko has missed very long stretches of hockey these past 2-3 seasons.  

Even throughout his formative years (pre beastmode bubble Demko), he struggled with injuries.  

If Demko gets injured again, will Silovs be able to step up to the challenge? We already know the answer for Spencer Martin.  

[Snoop Hogg]

4 minutes ago, Jeremy Hronek said:

While I agree with the article, the more concerning matter is Demko's ability to stay healthy.  

Demko has missed very long stretches of hockey these past 2-3 seasons.  

Even throughout his formative years (pre beastmode bubble Demko), he struggled with injuries.  

If Demko gets injured again, will Silovs be able to step up to the challenge? We already know the answer for Spencer Martin.  

We know for sure Silovs needs to play a lot and he has thrived doing so thus far. 
 

I think they should keep Martin as Demko’s backup for now and if he gets injured again, call up Silovs to be the new number one. We know Martin can’t handle that load, but can still be a reliable backup.

[DownUndaCanuck]

Demko is a top 5 goalie in the league if/when fully healthy. Silovs has extreme potential, maybe top 2 (along with who...Wolf?) young goalie in the league. Martin showed nice flashes but got brutalised when he had to play a lot so is a very average goalie across the league.

Mainly because of Demko and Silovs' potential I think we've got a top 5 tandem right there. All depends on Demko's health and if Silovs can play 20 games and not dip under .500.

[DeltaSwede]

I'm not sure I am as optimistic as the article is, but I am definitely not concerned. Demko is more likely to bounce back than not and like the article highlights we've got cheap and flexible depth behind him. 

Edited September 18, 2023 by DeltaSwede

[Crimson JH]

Holy snicket! This copy n paste article is not dark-mode friendly! 
 

[Seabass21]

On 9/18/2023 at 12:04 AM, DeltaSwede said:

I'm not sure I am as optimistic as the article is, but I am definitely not concerned. Demko is more likely to bounce back than not and like the article highlights we've got cheap and flexible depth behind him. 

All of this 

[Dr. Crossbar]

I'm even more optimistic than the article. People are sleeping on Silovs. We just need Martin to be good and stable. 

Things are looking great in net. 

[-AJ-]

Strikes me as optimistic. Demko himself can certainly be above average and be a top 10 goalie if he's on his game. I'm a big Martin fan, but I doubt he's one of the better backups and in fact, probably one of the worst ones. Silovs is a bit of a wild card. He showed well last season, but I struggle to bet so much on a small sample. Martin was his equal in Abbotsford last year, especially at the end of the year during the run up to the playoffs. I would guess that about 15th or 16th is a fair placement for our tandem.

[-AJ-]

On 9/18/2023 at 12:19 AM, Crimson JH said:

Holy snicket! This copy n paste article is not dark-mode friendly! 
 

Haha yeah, I highlight it all to make it white. There's probably some sort of fix somehow.

[RWJC]

2 minutes ago, -AJ- said:

Haha yeah, I highlight it all to make it white. There's probably some sort of fix somehow.

Sorry folks, unsure how to fix that 

[-AJ-]

6 minutes ago, RWJC said:

Sorry folks, unsure how to fix that 

Likely a theme issue and not as easily something you can fix, unless you were to paste as plain text or something.

[Dr. Crossbar]

Just a bit more about Silovs. His progression is impressive. He's not a flash in the pan coming out of nowhere. 

Here's an excellent article below on Silovs and his performance at the 2022 World Championship ... how he outplayed his NHL teammates, put up fantastic numbers ... ONE YEAR before his amazing 2023 performance and making history for Latvia.

If you look at 2022 at the Worlds, it's no surprise what he did in 2023.

He just continues to get better. 

Arturs Silovs finishes World Championship with .952 save percentage (from 2022)

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/canucks-hockey/arturs-silovs-finishes-world-championship-with-952-save-percentage-5402155

 

 

[Jeremy Hronek]

On 9/18/2023 at 1:21 PM, Jeremy Hronek said:

While I agree with the article, the more concerning matter is Demko's ability to stay healthy.  

Demko has missed very long stretches of hockey these past 2-3 seasons.  

Even throughout his formative years (pre beastmode bubble Demko), he struggled with injuries.  

If Demko gets injured again, will Silovs be able to step up to the challenge? We already know the answer for Spencer Martin.  

Looks like this issue has been addressed with the Tanner Pearson trade.   DeSmith is a clear upgrade over Spencer Martin and should allow the Canucks to have semblance of stability in net if Demko goes down with injury. This deal also allows us to comfortably develop Silovs in the A.   Very solid deal for the Canucks and it's made me a little bit more excited for this coming season.  

What we really need now is another top 4 left-handed defenseman in my opinion.

[LHD]-Hronek

Hughes-Soucy

Cole-Myers / Hirose-Cole / Wolanin-Cole

 

 

 

[Jeremy Hronek]

5 hours ago, Dr. Crossbar said:

Just a bit more about Silovs. His progression is impressive. He's not a flash in the pan coming out of nowhere. 

Here's an excellent article below on Silovs and his performance at the 2022 World Championship ... how he outplayed his NHL teammates, put up fantastic numbers ... ONE YEAR before his amazing 2023 performance and making history for Latvia.

If you look at 2022 at the Worlds, it's no surprise what he did in 2023.

He just continues to get better. 

Arturs Silovs finishes World Championship with .952 save percentage (from 2022)

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/canucks-hockey/arturs-silovs-finishes-world-championship-with-952-save-percentage-5402155

 

 

Agreed.  My only thing with Silovs is that he needs to develop in the A as opposed to being a back-up for us (i.e. similar to Markstrom in the 2014-2015 season).   

This DeSmith trade will now allow for that.  Props to Alvin here.  

[RawkDrummer]

and with DeSmith it just got better

[Dr. Crossbar]

16 minutes ago, Jeremy Hronek said:

Agreed.  My only thing with Silovs is that he needs to develop in the A as opposed to being a back-up for us (i.e. similar to Markstrom in the 2014-2015 season).   

This DeSmith trade will now allow for that.  Props to Alvin here.  

This is just a solid move and good for everyone. Although I do think Silovs is more ready than not but, you're right, he needs to be playing and not sitting on the bench. 

[gwarrior]

Well now with DeSmith in the fold. I guess Silovs can fight Martin for the starter job in Abbotsford. So a year to get himself ready. Ok. I'm cool with that.

[Jeremy Hronek]

5 hours ago, gwarrior said:

Well now with DeSmith in the fold. I guess Silovs can fight Martin for the starter job in Abbotsford. So a year to get himself ready. Ok. I'm cool with that.

I don't anticipate a fight happening for the starter job.  They'll give Silovs the ball unless he completely falls on his face. 

[cripplereh]

Funny how we could be top ten yet others think we'll be worse lmao.

[Dr. Crossbar]

Will be interesting to see how DeSmith does with the help of Ian Clark. He had a down year last year and really could be a great back-up to Demko. We've really needed consistency.