Thatcher Demko

Thatcher Demko

28-Year-Old GoalieG
Vancouver Canucks
IR-NR
Injury Knee
Est. Return 11/17/2024
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Demko capped a career season in 2023-24 with a second-place finish in Vezina voting. He posted career highs in wins (35), save percentage (.918), goals-against (2.45) and shutouts (five). Additionally, he is the fifth active twine-tender to hit the 30-win mark in 40 games or less. Amidst the brilliance were two injuries - a knee injury March 5 that put him out for 14 games and a season-ending injury in Game 1 against Nashville. Don't forget he missed a significant number of games in 2022-23 with a groin injury. Demko is one of the most technically perfect goalies in the NHL and among the most driven, but to keep him in elite form, Vancouver must address load management to allow the kind of rest and recovery that will keep him in the blue paint. Even with his injury risk, Demko is an elite fantasy option. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a five-year, $25 million contract extension with the Canucks in March of 2021.
Placed on non-roster list
GVancouver Canucks
Knee
October 7, 2024
Demko (knee) will begin the 2024-25 season on Vancouver's non-roster injured reserve list, the team announced Monday.
ANALYSIS
Demko's status shouldn't come as a surprise considering the team has repeatedly said he doesn't have a clear timeline to return. At this point, fantasy managers should probably consider the backstop as week-to-week, though it could certainly be longer. Arturs Silovs and Kevin Lankinen will pick up the slack in Demko's stead.
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2024–25 Time On Ice Stats
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2014
Demko was awful to begin 2022-23, posting an .883 save percentage before suffering a groin injury that cost him nearly three months. Once he returned, he looked more like himself, posting a .918 save percentage over his last 17 games of the season. Demko was excellent over the previous two campaigns as the Canucks' primary starter, but it's unclear if he can handle the physical demands of what is likely to be a heavy workload behind a somewhat shoddy defense. He's also never posted a GAA lower than 2.72, so expectations heading into 2023-24 should be tempered given the relative lack of improvements to the Canucks' roster.
Demko recently completed his first year as Vancouver's unquestioned No. 1 goaltender, appearing in 64 of 82 regular season games. His 33 victories were an impressive total, although Demko's 2.72 GAA and .915 save percentage were much more pedestrian. The Canucks struggled as a team for a good portion of the year and that undoubtedly impacted the final numbers. Demko has displayed flashes of brilliance in his brief career and won't turn 27 years old until this coming December, so there appears to be a real chance Demko ends up undervalued from a fantasy perspective heading into the 2022-23 campaign. Don't forget his name on draft day.
When the Cancuks selected the Boston College standout in the second round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, it was with the hope that Demko would one day be a workhorse netminder. It would appear that day draws near. Splitting the workload with veteran Braden Holtby, the 25-year-old Demko notched a 2.85 GAA and a .915 save percentage behind a 16-8-1 record in 35 starts last season. While those statistics are rather pedestrian, the fact that Vancouver bought out Braden Holtby in the offseason and replaced him with 36-year-old Jaroslav Halak suggests Demko is likely to garner a significantly larger workload during the 2021-22 campaign. If the Canucks can make even modest improvements in their defensive game, Demko could take a big step forward this season. He has the potential to deliver solid fantasy value as a middle-round selection.
Demko became the regular backup to Jacob Markstrom in 2019-20, with the former making 27 appearances overall. He posted a 3.06 GAA, .905 save percentage and a 13-10-2 record during the regular season. Still viewed as the goalie of the future, Demko will compete with free-agent signing Braden Holtby for playing time in 2020-21. An even split of the starts wouldn't be surprising here, although Demko will likely be the technical backup unless he outplays Holtby significantly. Demko should approach a roughly 15-win pace and improve his ratios next year after posting a 0.64 GAA and .985 save percentage over four playoff appearances, three of which came in elimination games.
Demko will, barring a crazy turn of events, begin the 2019-20 season as Jakob Markstrom's backup in Vancouver. The young netminder made nine appearances last season and finished the year with a 4-3-1 record, along with a 2.81 GAA and .913 save percentage. Injuries slowed Demko's progress a year ago, but the 23-year-old is expected to play 25-30 games in 2019-20. He profiles as a solid reserve goalie in fantasy, but an injury to Markstrom could quickly raise Demko's fantasy value and ceiling. Keep close tabs on him, and if you're looking for solid netminding value in the later rounds, Demko isn't a bad option (especially in dynasty formats).
In his second pro season, Demko improved his GAA from 2.68 to 2.44. Additionally, his save percentage spiked from .907 to .922 and he was named to the AHL All-Star Game. He's been AHL Utica's starter since leaving Boston College, and the Canucks will continue to groom Demko as their goalie of the future. They'll try to accomplish that by keeping him in the AHL for the 2018-19 season -- where Richard Bachman will back him up -- while Jacob Markstrom and Anders Nilsson handle duties for the big club. Demko is one more year away from the NHL and he's not expected to play a big role for the Canucks this season.
Demko is yet another big (6-foot-4), athletic hybrid/butterfly twinetender with great lateral coverage. He’s strong and aggressive, and loves to challenge shooters. He doesn’t handle the puck very well and he doesn’t always catch the puck clean. But his overall game is very, very good -- his positioning is strong, his focus is sharp and his feet are really quick. Star? Maybe, maybe not. But he's definitely an above-average starter for a solid period of time. He’ll continue to play at Boston College in 2014-15.
More Fantasy News
No timetable for return
GVancouver Canucks
Knee
September 19, 2024
Demko (knee) has made a lot of progress over the last 2-3 weeks, but said Thursday there is still no timetable for his return, Harman Dayal of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Meeting with media Thursday
GVancouver Canucks
Knee
September 18, 2024
Demko (knee) is expected to discuss his recovery from a knee injury when he talks to the media Thursday, Thomas Drance of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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No timetable for return
GVancouver Canucks
Knee
August 20, 2024
Demko is progressing in his recovery from a knee injury, but it's unclear when he'll return to full strength, per Sportsnet 650 on Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
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Ruled out for Game 7
GVancouver Canucks
Knee
May 18, 2024
Head coach Rick Tocchet said Saturday that Demko (knee) won't play in Monday's Game 7 versus the Oilers, Thomas Drance of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Still unavailable
GVancouver Canucks
Knee
May 5, 2024
Demko (knee) won't be available for the start of Vancouver's second-round series against Edmonton, Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650 reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Progressing in recovery
GVancouver Canucks
November 4, 2024
Demko, who is sidelined with a knee injury, continues to make strides in his recovery but remains without a timeline to return, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reports Monday.
ANALYSIS
The fact that Demko still doesn't have a clear recovery timeline doesn't bode well for a return in the short term. Still, once given the all-clear, the veteran netminder should immediately reclaim his spot as the No. 1 option in Vancouver. Once Demko is taken off the injured, non-roster list, Arturs Silovs figures to find himself suiting up in AHL Abbotsford.
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