G Thatcher Demko (2014, 36th, VAN)

[WetcoastOrca]

And he is a great talent. He doesnt have a great team to goto anytime soon. Canucks are my hometown team. They mean a LOT to me.

I wouldnt be saying 'trade him' if I didnt think it would benefit the Canucks MORE than keeping him.

I'm a Canucks fan as well and I see him as one of the core players in three or four years. Definitely a keeper.

 

[CherryToke]

And he is a great talent. He doesnt have a great team to goto anytime soon. Canucks are my hometown team. They mean a LOT to me.

I wouldnt be saying 'trade him' if I didnt think it would benefit the Canucks MORE than keeping him.

You seem to think it's normal for prospects to be whiny little *****es that dictate where they play in the NHL. it's almost like you're trying to convince yourself that Drouin did nothing wrong and still has full value.

 

[Captain Timo]

For what it's worth, Craig Button has Demko ranked 15th in TSN's top 50 prospects.
Obviously that .940 save percentage is starting to get noticed.

Not trying to downplay Demko's potential but that list from Button was just brutal and probably shouldn't be taken into any sort of reasonable consideration.

 

[Rebuilt]

I'm a Canucks fan as well and I see him as one of the core players in three or four years. Definitely a keeper.

Core leading to what? This is the problem.

Hes almost 20 years old. Canucks havent even hit bottom and started rebuilding. They have Horvat and Virtanen and low first pieces but expect them to rival top 10 picks from other teams?

Horvat - excellent 2 way center . Not like Kesler but reminds me of Mike Peca who scored 27 goals one year and won 2 Selkes.

Virtanen -

Mc Cann - 2nd line scorer

Shinkaruk - 2nd line scorer at his peak. Tweener.

Gaunce -3rd line grinder.

Demko -1st rate goaltender.

Sure we will still have 30 year old Tanev and some other complementary pieces but you expect this core to be a playoff contender? No. We need more blue chip pieces. We need to tank for a couple of years. Unfortunately Aquilini wont do that until the Sedins are dead and buried so its another 2 years off.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Not trying to downplay Demko's potential but that list from Button was just brutal and probably shouldn't be taken into any sort of reasonable consideration.

He lists his choices based on his own opinion rather than just the consensus lists we're used to. We know from past experience that the consensus lists will be significantly wrong. Who knows at this point what is brutal and what is realistic.
In any event, clearly based on the numbers and on being the starting goalie for team USA, Demko is an elite prospect.

 

[Rebuilt]

He lists his choices based on his own opinion rather than just the consensus lists we're used to. We know from past experience that the consensus lists will be significantly wrong. Who knows at this point what is brutal and what is realistic.
In any event, clearly based on the numbers and on being the starting goalie for team USA, Demko is an elite prospect.

That he is

Murray is ahead of him but I expect him to put up comparable numbers in the AHL when he arrives. Awesome pick by Benning.

 

[Lemmiwinks]

Sorry I am ruining your fantasy that the Canucks will magically become a contender next year or so. All teams need strip down and rebuild. If they refuse, then end up mired in mediocrity going nowhere for years .

Stripping down and rebuilding =/= trading Demko. He won't be a starter for another 3-4 years which is a perfect timeline. I'm confused by your arguments in this thread.

 

[thegutter]

Matt Murray is playing in the AHL right now and teams are throwing all kinds of offers at him on HF boards.

I just offered the Oiler 2nd in 2016 and 1st in 2017 for him.

I have no doubt some team could offer their 14th overall pick for him right now. Or Higher.

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=2027827

So once Demko leaves BC and goes to Utica, offers like this will starting coming in if he puts up numbers like Murray.

People on the internet can offer whatever they like, but i doubt a gm is going to trade a pick under 14 for matt murray or a top 10 pick for demko. Murray has played 4 nhl games and demko has played none. Schneider had played over 100 games in the nhl and put up very good numbers in that time.

 

[Rebuilt]

People on the internet can offer whatever they like, but i doubt a gm is going to trade a pick under 14 for matt murray or a top 10 pick for demko. Murray has played 4 nhl games and demko has played none. Schneider had played over 100 games in the nhl and put up very good numbers in that time.

Look your post -and others- makes perfect sense.
Not when the Blues offered the 11th overall pick for him he had not. He hadnt even played 30 games yet.

He had 90 games to his credit by time he was traded at age 27.

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=78704

Look your post -and others- makes perfect sense. You are saying we wont get much for him and we should keep him for the next 'core'.

Well, our next 'core' is not a contending level group, regardless if they all hit their ceilings. So my thought is to trade him.

Demko might also be thinking this very thing and just stay in school another year and become a UFA.

 

[thegutter]

Look your post -and others- makes perfect sense.
Not when the Blues offered the 11th overall pick for him he had not. He hadnt even played 30 games yet.

He had 90 games to his credit by time he was traded at age 27.

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=78704

Look your post -and others- makes perfect sense. You are saying we wont get much for him and we should keep him for the next 'core'.

Well, our next 'core' is not a contending level group, regardless if they all hit their ceilings. So my thought is to trade him.

Demko might also be thinking this very thing and just stay in school another year and become a UFA.

he had over a 100 with playoff games. If a team where to offer us a top 10 pick for him then sure, but it aint gonna happen. How do you know what our exact core will look like by the time demko is ready for the nhl? It very well could be a contender or it couldnt be, no one knows.

 

[Domecile]

And he is a great talent. He doesnt have a great team to goto anytime soon. Canucks are my hometown team. They mean a LOT to me.

I wouldnt be saying 'trade him' if I didnt think it would benefit the Canucks MORE than keeping him.

Can a management group really trade away a great talent for something as unsubstantiated as the prospect doesn't want to play for bad teams?

 

[lawrence]

Look your post -and others- makes perfect sense.
Not when the Blues offered the 11th overall pick for him he had not. He hadnt even played 30 games yet.

He had 90 games to his credit by time he was traded at age 27.

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=78704

Look your post -and others- makes perfect sense. You are saying we wont get much for him and we should keep him for the next 'core'.

Well, our next 'core' is not a contending level group, regardless if they all hit their ceilings. So my thought is to trade him.

Demko might also be thinking this very thing and just stay in school another year and become a UFA.

your going to tell us the same thing about Brock Boeser becoming a UFA too? you might as well do that too while your at it buddy. He aint going anywhere. College players who ditch their teams represent less then 1%.

 

[Canucks LB]

Why would demko not sign. Vancouver is literally the perfect place for him. We have basically no goalie depth after markstrom.

Miller is gone next year

 

[Snatcher Demko]

Not trying to downplay Demko's potential but that list from Button was just brutal and probably shouldn't be taken into any sort of reasonable consideration.

It's as good as anyone's opinion (and including yours or mine).

Demko talk aside, I find it funny when people here on HF say Button's list is terrible, brutal etc.

Everyone has hits and misses and there's no way of knowing truly how many were hits and misses for at least 5 years.

To say someone's list is brutal 1-2 years after the draft is ignorant. Nor should it be taken as gospel.

All we can say about Button's list is that he's worked successfully in that department at the NHL level and so, right or wrong, has a legitimate opinion worth taking into consideration.

 

[me2]

Signed has a point, why not take your pick of teams instead of playing with a team that refuses to do what it takes to put together a contending team. If I were him I would absolutely ask Benning for what direction he is going with the organization. If the answer is not a satisfactory one then it is probably better to look for an organization that is more willing to get away from mediocrity than one that embraces it.

Goalies from college are going to spend a year or two in the AHL, learning the pro game, new coaches remodeling/fixing bits of their game. So for a goalie the quicker they leave college the quicker they get through this and into n NHL pay.

If Demko chooses to leave college after 2 years he could be earning NHL pay in year 4/5. If he chose to pay all 4 he is looking art 5 years for AHL pay and 6 for NHL. Not to mention better cash from getting through ELCs to RFAs contracts faster.


There are no road blocks for Demko, AHL starter job awaits and if he is any good he could well be the Markstrom backup in 2017-18 after Miller ****s off.

Skaters have more advantages, it is a much easier jump for them to go straight to the NHL after 4 years of college, they just end up skip the AHL stage.

 

[Huggy43]

Can anyone provide ANY actual evidence that Thatcher is showing signs that he will not sign in Vancouver? If not, why are you getting this thread off topic with your mindless speculation? I mean It's not like he's having a fantastic season of play to talk about or anything... Oh wait that is exactly what he is doing which means there are actual talking points for this thread that aren't based on 100% speculation.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

^^^ The evidence is that he hasn't signed yet, and he's already a junior.

 

[BoDacious Horvat]

^^^ The evidence is that he hasn't signed yet, and he's already a junior.

Get back to Shawshank and stop scaring me

 

[Section32]

Boston College is a LONG way for you guys to keep finding goalies...but they do seem to pan out...

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Most people recognize that Vancouver is probably a good option for Demko, but its his choice. He will make his own decision.

If he wants to pick another team, there are very few teams where he wouldn't be the best goalie prospect and the eventual #1 goalie for. How many bad goalie situations for him would there be where there's a very good early mid 20's starter who'll start 60 games for the next ten years or a similarly talented prospect? There can't be more than 5-10 teams like that. The other 20-25 would probably tell Demko he's the eventual #1 for their team.

 

[Hansen]

Demko is 5 years from being an established starter.

No reason.

 

[Peen]

i'm not saying **** about him staying or not because it's impossible to know

i know for a fact that if i had the opportunity he had, i'd wait it out and go into free agency.

it's not like he can't sign with the canucks at a later date if he doesn't see a better fit in free agency.

 

[604]

i'm not saying **** about him staying or not because it's impossible to know

i know for a fact that if i had the opportunity he had, i'd wait it out and go into free agency.

it's not like he can't sign with the canucks at a later date if he doesn't see a better fit in free agency.

So you'd chose to delay your signing bonus and the ability to negotiate your first non-cap deal?

 

[Eternalize]

Most people recognize that Vancouver is probably a good option for Demko, but its his choice. He will make his own decision.

If he wants to pick another team, there are very few teams where he wouldn't be the best goalie prospect and the eventual #1 goalie for. How many bad goalie situations for him would there be where there's a very good early mid 20's starter who'll start 60 games for the next ten years or a similarly talented prospect? There can't be more than 5-10 teams like that. The other 20-25 would probably tell Demko he's the eventual #1 for their team.

Point is that the whole speculation of him not signing in Vancouver is completely baseless. It's based off absolutely nothing. You rarely see high drafted players testing the market, and even more rarely goalies, so tell me, what's the ****ing point in "speculating" which team would be a better fit for him when it's not even confirmed that he's going to test the market? I EXPECT the player to sign for the initial team that drafted him if he's doing good, other speculations can start when there's actually something that could indicate that he's not going to sign with the team that owns his right.

I would also LOVE to hear you mention solely 5 or EVEN 10 teams where he wouldn't get a fair shot, because claiming that there's 20 or even 25 teams out there that would give him a great chance of being an NHL starter, treating him like some sort of messiah, is absolute ********. Most teams have at least one good goalie prospect, often 2. Demko would have to earn the job over those guys in the AHL. So if those guys suddenly outperforms Demko, they will likely take the starting job, and eventually, surpass him on the prospect chart. He's going to have to face competition in most of the organizations, whether this would be bad for him or not, who knows, but it's sure as hell a lot riskier than just signing that contract with Vancouver and be the number 1 guy that he's expected to be.

If he struggles to adjust to the pro game in the AHL, the Canucks WILL give him the time it takes to make that step, because that's exactly what they've done in the past. If he plays good down there, he'll eventually be up with the big club. This is something few organizations can actually offer, because again, most teams have at least one good goalie prospect, and if not that, a good/great goaltender in the NHL signed to a big long-term contract.

If he would be open to signing with a different team, then every single GM in league would be interested in him obviously, because it's a top goalie prospect, and more importantly a FREE top prospect. The Canucks used a high 2nd round pick on him, so they OBVIOUSLY believe in him and believe he has a future with them. And looking at the team right now and their goalie depth, there's no reason to think anything else. How many other GMs can he actually BELIEVE when they tell him they've big plans for him? How many of those GMs would just be interested in acquiring a top goalie prospect, saying the things it takes to get him? Canucks is the safest, and probably the best choice for him, and again, would love to hear you mention the teams where he would be a better fit, or even as good of a fit as he is with Vancouver. You said there would be 25 teams out there where he would be a great fit.

 

[n00bxQb]

The Canucks don't have any other legitimate goalie prospects and the AHL job will be his when he wants it. Miller is gone in a season or two and Markstrom is still a question mark. In terms of opportunity, Vancouver has to be very attractive to Demko. I don't think he's going to get a better opportunity elsewhere.

If Miller is re-signed for another year, I'll be choked. However, since tanking is now the only logical choice, I hope we keep him until the end of this season.