NHL Awards Rankings: New No. 1 in Vezina Trophy race

1. Thatcher Demko, Vancouver Canucks

No other goaltender has been on a roll quite like Thatcher Demko, as his last five games have all resulted in points for the Vancouver Canucks. Between Dec. 12 and Dec. 23, Demko possessed a 4-0-1 record, and while his save percentage hasn’t been outstanding, Demko did record a shutout in that span, along with an outing in which he allowed just one goal. 

While he’s allowed 11 goals in the past three games, Demko has still done just enough for the Canucks to skate away with at least a point. That said, it makes little sense to knock Demko down a spot simply because his numbers weren’t there for a few games when they have otherwise still been among the league’s best. 

Overall, he’s boasting a 17-7-1 record, with a 0.917 save percentage, a 2.46 GAA, plus three shutouts. The latter has been especially impressive, as the 28-year-old has matched his number of career shutouts in previous seasons in just 25 appearances this year. 

Demko has been the NHL’s best goaltender across much of the first half of 2023-24, and if he can keep up his consistency, look for him to finish among the top three in the Vezina Trophy voting. Sure, he’s had some blemishes on his record recently, but the overall sample size catapults him to No. 1.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)