Player Discussion Thatcher Demko

[alternate]

Best case scenario is that over the next 2 seasons, Demko and Silovs share the crease, and Silovs plays at a level that makes re-signing Demko to a raise unnecessary. Either he gets dealt at the deadline 2 seasons from now (or possibly after next season if Demko gets hurt and Silovs establishes himself as the #1), or we do 2 more postseasons with the tandem and then let Demko walk as a UFA.

Dealing him before Silovs even spends an entire season on the NHL roster would be foolish.

 

[Zippgunn]

Hey quick question, what do you need to get through before you play in the playoffs???

Something that Silovs has only played 16 games of...

Ken Dryden had 6 regular season games under his belt when he took over the #1 job from Rogie Vachon. Happens. I would take a Demko/Silovs tandem since when (not if) Demko gets hurt again Silovs will be handed the job by default which, I'm sure you can agree, is a far better option than Spencer Martin who got the job by default last year when Demko went down for a long time. He would fetch a big haul especially in Cali, I say do it.

 

[rypper]

I would take a Demko/Silovs tandem easily, and that's what I almost 100% expect them to do next season.

I would not trade Demko and ride Silovs. I wouldn't put Silovs in a position where he's the guy. yet.

Demko is a top 5 goalie in the league and some people want to dump him because they're wowed by Silovs. Wait until every team has the book on him. See how he performs then. He played more frequently in the AHL this year and didn't look all that great.

 

[Zippgunn]

I would take a Demko/Silovs tandem easily, and that's what I almost 100% expect them to do next season.

I would not trade Demko and ride Silovs. I wouldn't put Silovs in a position where he's the guy. yet.

Demko is a top 5 goalie in the league and some people want to dump him because they're wowed by Silovs. Wait until every team has the book on him. See how he performs then. He played more frequently in the AHL this year and didn't look all that great.

Actually I advocate trading Demko because he is chronically unreliable with regard to his health. It doesn't hurt that he has a high market value as well as a high salary. I have nothing against him and consider him a very good goalie but he can't stay healthy. Funny thing: during a game awhile back I mentioned to my wife that Demko was playing the best hockey of his life. 15 minutes later he left the game and hasn't played since...

 

[Nuckles]

 

[mathonwy]

Silovs is an unknown, no team really knows his tendencies weaknesses etc yet. It would be going full on Pejorative Slur to expect him to be an NHL starter next season. Let him back up Demko, gain some experience and down the line explore what's best moving forward.

Don't get fooled by small sample sizes.

I'm gonna fool myself until we get punted out of the playoffs.

 

[rpm197509]

Would you guys even play Demko if he came back or stay with Silovs since he is playing so weak?

 

[Nuckles]

Would you guys even play Demko if he came back or stay with Silovs since he is playing so weak?

I go with Demko once he's 100% healthy. He's someone who can steal games, and he needs to get going eventually if the Canucks want to win the cup this playoffs.

Silovs has been great for what he is (23, rookie, etc), but there's room for improvement.

 

[tantalum]

Guessing big strides mean he's not experiencing any discomfort on the ice while working with Clarke AND he's not waking up the next day with issues. Having that combo of things for 2-3 days in a row makes it seem like joining a game day skate/practice is just around the corner.

 

[AwesomeInTheory]

Ken Dryden had 6 regular season games under his belt when he took over the #1 job from Rogie Vachon.

That was also like 50 years ago. It happens but that's prolly not the best comparable to make.

 

[beckstreaker07]

I go with Demko once he's 100% healthy.

If they lose tomorrow I can see him coming back for Game 6 regardless; I doubt there is one player right now at 100%.

 

[rypper]

I'm gonna fool myself until we get punted out of the playoffs.

Me too. I just will stop playing tha fool for next season.

 

[VanJack]

Bringing Demko off the injured list and sticking him into cauldron of a game six or game 7 would be sheer desperation imo.

Goaltending simply hasn't been a problem for the Canucks in this series. In fact without Silovs' brilliance, they'd be on the ropes by now.

He's giving them the goaltending they need to win. So if they falter, Silovs' is one of the few guys who won't be looking in the mirror.

 

[SillyRabbit]

I'm to go on the record here and say there's almost no situation in which I would play Demko in this series.

The amount of times we've seen players be rushed back at 70%, 80% or even 90%, and be a complete liability for their team in the playoffs is astounding.

Demko at 100% is completely different from Demko at 90%. Goaltenders need to have their full mobility at their disposal, completely unrestricted.

Silovs is playing well. Even if he falters, which seems unlikely, I would sooner go back to DeSmith than to risk Demko playing and either being a liability or even worse, suffering a setback to his injury.

We also have to think about the long-term health of the player, we've seen plenty of times where a player was rushed back too early and ended up re-aggravating their injury, turning it into something chronic which spilled over into the next season (or several seasons!)

 

[VanJack]

I'm to go on the record here and say there's almost no situation in which I would play Demko in this series.

The amount of times we've seen players be rushed back at 70%, 80% or even 90%, and be a complete liability for their team in the playoffs is astounding.

Demko at 100% is completely different from Demko at 90%. Goaltenders need to have their full mobility at their disposal, completely unrestricted.

Silovs is playing well. Even if he falters, which seems unlikely, I would sooner go back to DeSmith than to risk Demko playing and either being a liability or even worse, suffering a setback to his injury.

We also have to think about the long-term health of the player, we've seen plenty of times where a player was rushed back too early and ended up re-aggravating their injury, turning it into something chronic which spilled over into the next season (or several seasons!)

Like when they rushed him back for the last couple of games of the season and watching him re-injure himself in the first playoff game with the Preds?

 

[SillyRabbit]

Like when they rushed him back for the last couple of games of the season and watching him re-injure himself in the first playoff game with the Preds?

Yeah, especially with someone like Demko who unfortunately is injury prone, you have to take an abundance of caution.

Honestly the best case scenario is that he has the whole summer to heal, rest, recover and rehab.

There's a lot he can do to strengthen the muscles surrounding the injury area and rebuild flexibility/mobility.

Approaching injuries with a longer-term "what's best for recovery" mindset is a lot better than a "how soon is he okay to play" type of mindset.

 

[Nikolajs Sillers]

Is someone seen him skating or something?

 

[rypper]

Is someone seen him skating or something?

Yes he's been in full gear, doing varied levels of practice for a little while now.

 

[Izzy Goodenough]

Demko is an athlete who appears to over train. Last summer he returned to Van City in July to commence on ice training. It is great to show commitment but someone needs to get him to tone it down so he is more durable.