Convincing John Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 I know most are probably too young to remember a goalie by the name of Mike Liut. Mike (skill wise) was hands down the best goalie of his era. He stood on his head and carried his team in games that they shouldn’t have been in. He was so good that he actually won the Lester B in 1981 over Gretzky, he should’ve really won the hart. Anyway, Luit. Never had the luxury of a Vasilevskiy or MAF. He never got to play behind a good team and because of that never got the hardware. Liut should be in the HOF. Anyway, This reminds me of this situation. If you were to actually poll the players I bet Demko ranks much higher. The media only sees the black and white stats. Let’s switch Demko and Vasilevskiy and see who ends up with the better numbers. I bet it’s Demko. I hope Demko doesn’t go down as a forgotten Liut because he never got to play behind a great team. He deserves better and I hope Benning or whoever can deliver that. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Liut also had the coolest mask in hockey at the time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoCanucks16 Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 he's obviously struggling but i think he'll get better 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanucks25 Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 1 hour ago, oldnews said: Demko is as level-headed as they come. He's about the only young goaltender (perhaps Carter Hart as well, who has struggled a bit this year) that would make me comfortable losing Markstrom. Jacob is my favorite goaltender all-time. I wanted him when he was a Panther (countless old proposals on here) - and felt he always had the makings/ingredients of a great goaltender. Big, extremely athletic, very calm mental disposition, technically sound, very likeable/amenable to his team-mates, and fiercely competitive, with very short term memory when it matters. Demko is all that - all over again - but with the benefit of bringing it earlier in his trajectory/career - which can't be separated from the foundation around him. It's impossible not to love his ice water disposition on the ice. Goaltenders in general have always been undervalued, underestimated, undercompensated - relative to their importance to a team. Until, of course a team is either facing, or playing in front of a Dryden, Roy, Brodeur, Tretiak, Hasek - in which case, it becomes exceedingly clear that they can have a disproportionate impact on outcomes - can steal games, can bolster a team's confidence, can frustrate and stifle opponents...as that @#$%# Tim Thomas did in our last trip to the finals. By the same token - you see countless illegitimate attempts to dismiss wins in which goaltenders play the critical role - as if Benning et al did not draft and develop this star goaltender in question. Ask yourself this: if Hoglander rips out a hat trick, dominates a game in which perhaps the team does not carry the balance of the play - do we dismiss that impact, as if it's not a 'real win' - because a 2nd round pick took matters into his own hands? No - it's a wall to wall conversation about what a steal that player was, what a great job the drafting and development team did of generating yet another young talent to get excited about. It's an interesting contradiction. In Demko's case, it's supposedly a countraindication of an otherwise 'bad' team. I have a hard time thinking of a 2nd round pick currently playingg in the NHL that I would trade Demko for. There are a few great ones, no doubt, but can any of those skaters give us what Demko does? As I said in the GDT - goaltending matters. Drafting and developing great young goaltenders - matters. Was going to upvote this post until you brought in the Benning conversation unnecessarily lol. Not even going to bother telling you why you're wrong in this thread, there are other threads for that Wholeheartedly agree with the first half of your post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadcanucks Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 43 minutes ago, MrCanuck94 said: Demko may need to be seen with the same importance as Petey and Hughes to this core moving forward. IMO, the "moving forward" is the here and now. Given the weighted value of goaltending in hockey, I am of the opinion that Thatcher Demko is the most important player on the Canucks. The rest of the hockey world is starting to view Demko as one of the best. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewbieCanuckFan Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, oldnews said: as if Benning et al did not draft and develop this star goaltender in question. Goaltending development has been a continued source of strength for the Canucks going back to the Nonis/Burke years; running thru several changes in management (and ownership). ALL the GM's in this period can take credit for this. Even the much miligned Cloutier was pretty respectable during the regular season. It's not like we had a top 10 overall pick as a goalie (ala Fleury). Edited March 18, 2021 by NewbieCanuckFan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-P Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Demko's been fantastic the last 10 games. Easily top 5 in the league. He was below average the 10 games or so before that, though. And by below average I mean not starting goalie material. I believe in Demko and I'm very relieved his concussion issues don't seem to linger, but that first 10 games this season still means he's got a lot to learn. It's not realistic for our team to be in playoff contention after the start we had. If we somehow get into contention, that will be fantastic and mostly because of Demko. If he cools off somewhat in the upcoming month that's fine too, he doesn't need to be at his best for a year or two yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry Goose Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 He's got the skill and work ethic it seems to be successful. Ups and downs come with any developing (or developed) athlete. Really exciting for this club if they have a top tier goaltender in the making. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devron Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Not what some of you were saying at the start of the year. Congrats to Demko and his wicked play but people need stop being so high and low on players. Perfect example was Petey this year with fans attitudes of what have you done for me lately. And now people are talking about a Vezina for Demko. Settle the kettle and enjoy the ride. I also agree with Deb. Appreciate the player and what he’s done instead calling Ian Clarke a god. They’ve worked together to get his game to were it can be BUT it takes 2. That’s my rant but I do love the OP and Demko does deserve his own thread for his magnificent play 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dumb Nuck Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Demko is playing well lately and that’s a good thing but let’s not go all crazy and then crucify him when he falters as we tend to do with anyone showing potential. Having said that, Petey, do we really need him? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86Viking Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 I hope we give Demko a longer term deal, especially if we can keep the cap hit reasonable. 6-8yr deal around 5-5.75m, maybe throw him a NTC that turns into a partial NTC near the end. I believe in Demko and fully believed he was the guy to keep and build our team around going forward. Signing him till he is in his early 30s would be ideal and I think we can go long term with him vs someone like Hughes/Petey who may do a bridge deal like Boeser to cash in later when salary cap goes back up. But only a couple G in the league get paid way too much. His agent may try to use Gibson as a contract comparison if we go longer term. Personally, I can't compare Demko to Murray or Binnington deals as they have both won a Cup(s) and that usually means players get paid regardless of play after the big championship win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lock Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 2 hours ago, Odd. said: Demko > Hughes > Petey What's even the point of this comparison? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lock Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Just give Demko the "C" now. What could possibly go wrong? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuxfanabroad Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 It's why I compared JB's work to Bill Torrey, back in February of 2020.(JB in Historical Context) Our young stars do have the potential for historical comparisons with Trottier, Bossy, Potvin & tempestuous(but absolutely brilliant pressure-'tender), Billy Smith. Of course they need to win it all before this is an undertaking in earnest. Such names are established legends of the game, as much as I never cheered on the NYI. That our young stars all seem to have some style, class & humility adds a Helluva'lot to the conversation. As fans of this franchise, I think we all learned how nice it is to cheer on stars(Linden; the Twins, particularly) that aspire to be heroes youth can truly admire. Yet in this crazy game, y'need a lil' devil in ya(Tiger Williams types); hey, let some of our grinders perhaps take on such roles!(sorry to digress) They're building something special here, & Demko looks like he might be the most important cornerstone of them all. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBatch Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 3 hours ago, CR7 said: Not only should Demko be in the conversation for Vezina, he should be in the conversation for Hart, especially if we pull of the miracle and make the playoffs. Unbelievable determination in this kid, love watching him play Right now he's doing what Binnington did for St. louis two years ago - with a lot less to work with - he got votes in three catagories ... 2 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said: Holland had a 20 year run from 1998-2018: 1998 - Pavel Datsyuk 1999 - Henrik Zetterburg 2000 - Niklas Kronwall 2002 - Valteri Filppula 2009 - Tomas Tatar 2013 - Anthony Mantha 2013 - Tyler Bertuzzi 2014 - Dylan Larkin 2018 - Filip Zadina He had a good run. 2 definite superstars back in the day in the late 90's. But not even Holland had a 7 year run like Benning has had since 2014. Holland's greatness was that where those guys were drafted...98/99 gave him another ten years of contending... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuxfanabroad Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 6 minutes ago, IBatch said: Holland's greatness was that where those guys were drafted...98/99 gave him another ten years of contending... & with NO CAP limit, they had signed a bunch of soon-to-be HHOF vets to ease in any kids with the widest, strongest safety net conceivable. The '02 final vs Canes was a rude joke. I think it was something like a 100,000,000 $ roster, vs one in the teens(befitting an AHL all star roster). Absolute asterisk-worthy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckpuckluck1 Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 My favourite part about the selection of Demko in the second round in 2014 is that he wasn't even the first selected goalie. Calgary picked 2 34 Calgary Mason McDonald G Charlottetown Islanders [QMJHL] Ha Ha suck it Lames! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBatch Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 (edited) 37 minutes ago, Nuxfanabroad said: & with NO CAP limit, they had signed a bunch of soon-to-be HHOF vets to ease in any kids with the widest, strongest safety net conceivable. The '02 final vs Canes was a rude joke. I think it was something like a 100,000,000 $ roster, vs one in the teens(befitting an AHL all star roster). Absolute asterisk-worthy. It was around 72-75 or so if i remember ... double what the cap started at ... and for sure they bought their cup that year. One of the reasons the league locked out the players, but really it was the GMs that screwed the system up (and i for one, preferred it that ways until players salaries just got beyond control). Canes weren't that much of a "rude joke", they did win a cup a few years late didn't they? We're a hard working team and much deserving of their cup win. A veteran team that took advantage of Staal and Ward's first deals. Only team to do it other then CHI last year with Toews on his ELC... Also - back to Holland - Datsyuk and Zetterberg saved them from a full rebuild when the cap came in. They had an instant rebuild as a result and the rest is history. A fabulous example of how a few great picks can alter a franchise's future for the better. Edited March 18, 2021 by IBatch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuxfanabroad Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 1 minute ago, IBatch said: It was around 72-75 or so if i remember ... double what the cap started at ... and for sure they bought their cup that year. One of the reasons the league locked out the players, but really it was the GMs that screwed the system up (and i for one, preferred it that ways until players salaries just got beyond control). Canes weren't that much of a "rude joke", they did win a cup a few years late didn't they? We're a hard working team and much deserving of their cup win. A veteran team that took advantage of Staal and Ward's first deals. Only team to do it other then CHI last year with Toews on his ELC... A lot of US teams had a serious financial advantage, prior to the cap. The league was long, well-aware. They dragged their feet a longgg time addressing it. Then of course, tax-advantages & other strategies could be applied. The league has no interest in seeing Cdn teams thrive. They get serious rev from that market, irrespective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBatch Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, NewbieCanuckFan said: Goaltending development has been a continued source of strength for the Canucks going back to the Nonis/Burke years; running thru several changes in management (and ownership). ALL the GM's in this period can take credit for this. Even the much miligned Cloutier was pretty respectable during the regular season. It's not like we had a top 10 overall pick as a goalie (ala Fleury). Funny i always felt Burke's biggest mistake was not finding a better goalie and stubbornly sticking with Cloutier. Worst sp all-time, in the dead puck era where goalies sp skyrocketed of any goalie to play 25 playoff games... includes teams in the 80's lol. Nonis traded for Luongo, we didn't develop him, he was one of the very best already playing on a team that regularly allowed 40 plus shots a game (bad teams wow - terrible actually). But he did draft Schneider so there's that. Honestly even with Luongo, the club hasn't had a lot of great goaltending over the years. Hard to find a club who's been around since the 80's who hasn't had much better ... PHI maybe ... Going to the 70's it is impossible given PHI has Parent. Who i doubt Luongo will ever rank above on any list. We have Luongo, McLean, Broduer... Schneider, Smith, Markstrom, Cloutier .... Demko has to play a lot more games but looks to be a guy who will move up the list fast over time. Edited March 18, 2021 by IBatch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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