[Article] The Demko Dilemma - Unlucky or Predictable?

[Honkin Hronek]

Hey guys! 

 

Not sure if this is allowed, or if it's the right spot, but I wrote an article to apply for the Botchford Project. I'm obviously quite passionate about the sport and would love to hear some feedback. Here's the link to the Botchford Project, and I've posted my article in the spoiler below. I'm quite proud of how it turned out

https://media.canucks.com/the-botchford-project/about

 

https://austinv50.blogspot.com/2024/11/the-demko-dilemma-unlucky-or-predictable.html 

Spoiler

The Demko Dilemma – Unlucky or Predictable?
A Historical Context to Try and Protect our Netminders in an Ever-Adapting Landscape
November 14, 2024

By Austin V

The Game: From Vezina Preview to Massive Long-Term Concern

On the morning of March 10, 2024, the air in Vancouver was tense. The city was elated that the hometown Canucks dismantled the surging Winnipeg Jets the previous night in what was arguably their most complete game of the entire season. Canucks fans had this game circled on the calendar for months in anticipation of the face off between two of the pinnacles of modern NHL goaltending. Superstar Thatcher Demko had been phenomenal all year, sporting a 33-14-2 record, 2.49 GAA and a .916 save percentage, whereas Winnipeg netminder Connor Hellebuyck was arguably better with a 29-13-3 record, 2.29 GAA and a .922 save percentage. These were the two best goalies in the league at the time, and some of the more optimistic fans in the lower mainland believed that the winner of this game could win the Vezina Trophy, awarded annually to the goaltender considered the best at their position. This game had standings implications as well, as the two sides were jockeying to be the top ranked team in the Western Conference. The energy was palpable, and the league was ready to watch the goaltending duel of the season.

Unfortunately, the game was far less exciting than advertised. Hellebuyck struggled while Miller, Höglander, Di Giuseppe, Garland and Pettersson scored to ground the Jets in a 5-0 massacre. Ultimately, the discourse post-game surrounded Demko and his status. The San Diego, California native left the game with 13:20 left in the second period after making only 12 saves. This was his 49th game of the season, putting him among the league leaders in the stat at the time and on pace for over 60 games – a rarity in today’s NHL. Casey DeSmith came in relief to make 10 more stops, earning the third shared shutout in team history. Despite the dominant win, the city’s collective stomach was in its throat as fans worried for the health of the future Vezina finalist. 

With 17:25 left in the second, Quinn Hughes got his path crossed with Referee Furman South beside the net on an attempt to reach Nikolaj Ehlers on a dump-and-chase. This extra half-second allowed the Danish speedster to corral the puck and center it to a flying Vladislav Namestnikov, who was promptly robbed by Demko’s glove. Demko, who was sitting deep in his net with his skates on his posts, got up slowly afterwards and flexed his knee a couple times before resuming play. Four minutes later, he left for the bench. His night was done. 

This is the most likely moment when Demko injured himself, though the exact cause remains unclear. The team’s communication around the injury and Demko’s status has been muddy at best, and fan speculation has been rampant. After a failed comeback and rumours of a second return mid-Playoffs, he has only appeared in two regular season games and one playoff game since sustaining his mysterious injury. We now know that he injured his popliteus, a small muscle located in the knee. This muscle provides flexion for internal knee rotation and is a crucial part of the goaltending position due to its use in pivoting and explosive movements.

According to Demko, this type of injury has never been seen at the NHL level and fans have yet to learn whether the netminder will ever return to the level he reached last season. Canuck fans understandably have high expectations for the team after their promising season last year. Newcomer Kevin Lankinen has surpassed all expectations with his remarkable 8-1-2 start, but most know that the team needs a healthy Thatcher Demko to challenge for the Stanley Cup. As of now, the team has reported that he’s skating with the team, but there is no timeline for when he’ll be able to play again. 

The History: Stand-Up, Butterfly, Athleticism and Innovation 

To further explore why and how this may have occurred, it’s crucial to understand the historical context with goaltending styles and the evolution of goaltending demands. For more than half a century, goalies used a “Stand-Up” style where they would seldom drop to their knees; instead electing to use kick saves and stick saves to react to shots in the lower half of the net. In fact, it took until the mid-1950’s for Detroit and Chicago’s Glenn Hall to use the first version of the “Butterfly” style. In this age, stick blades were completely flat and elevating the puck more than a couple inches off the ice proved near impossible to do accurately. Trailblazers like Hall would play the percentages, electing to block these shots with their bodies from their knees rather than trying to react to every shot with fast movements. They tended to be much more aggressive, significantly reducing the amount of empty space for shooters to aim for while also being in a good position to stop a rebound. This is unlike the traditional stand-up style, which was slow and often left goaltenders out of position for the next phase of play. Hall is now honoured in the Hockey Hall of Fame for his strong career numbers, but also for revolutionizing the way the goaltending position is played. 

As time went on, more and more goaltenders followed in Glenn Hall’s footsteps (or skate strides). Interestingly enough, Chicago’s Stan Mikita began the trend of curving his stick blade almost immediately after Hall’s style began increasing in popularity. Mikita got his blade caught in a door frame accidentally and jokingly used it in a 1962 practice. After seeing more success with his wrist shots, the story says he never went back. Even so, blade and stick technology took decades to refine. Despite shooters curving their own sticks with blow torches, high shots were still unpredictable due to the flawed blade angles; it was more accurate to keep shots low. Even though skaters revolutionized their equipment, it was well before its time. It was still more efficient for goalies like Hall to play the percentages than stay standing in their crease, which may not have been the case if players had mastered this skill sooner. 

This propelled the new butterfly style into the 70’s and 80’s and allowed for its relative mastery prior to further advancements in stick technology. As shooters got better at picking their spots, pads became bigger and lighter, and goalies got better at reacting to high shots. Goaltenders were able to adapt to the changing landscape in real time. Plus, lighter pads meant it was less taxing to constantly drop down and get up. More goalies adopted the butterfly and saw success with it, despite the sport of hockey undergoing a massive offensive culture shift. 

One such example is Patrick Roy. Roy dominated the league with the butterfly, revolutionizing it further as the culmination of cat-like reflexes and sound positioning. He possessed exceptionally quick glove and blocker hands to react to high shots from his knees, while blocking nearly everything else with his body. Stand-up goalies were becoming a thing of the past as the goaltending world rushed to recreate Roy’s style, which was profoundly reproducible. 

Of course, we cannot explore goaltending history without talking about the wondrous Dominik Hasek. Hasek had his own style and routinely had single-game highlight packages that rivaled the entire careers of his peers. Touted by many as the best goalie of all time, Hasek was actually quite poor at some significant goaltending traits, such as positioning. However, “The Dominator” was potentially the most athletic player in the history of the league. Somehow, some way, he’d get a piece of his body in front of the puck. It could be a skate blade or his mask sliding along the ice, but he stopped the puck with whatever he could. 

In many ways it was genius. Upon seeing an open net, players tend to aim for the middle to ensure the maximum likelihood of a goal. Obviously, there’s no point in aiming for the top corner when the face of the goal is staring you down, especially when it increases the chance you’d miss the net. That’s when Hasek would dance over from nowhere and scoop, kick or claw it out when it seemed most impossible. He preyed on the shooter's complacency in a way that was surprisingly similar to Hall in the 50’s: play the percentages by blocking the most obvious part of the net, and you’ll be able to stop shots that were previously impossible to save. 

Hasek’s flexibility was unparalleled and, in many ways, impossible to replicate with the same level of success. While a few goaltenders have been able to employ similar techniques successfully, none have come close to matching the sheer dominance that Hasek had on the sport of hockey. Most notably for Canuck fans, the aforementioned Casey DeSmith became known for his “flopping” style, which is more common in shorter goaltenders. This is due to their natural inability to block as well as their taller counterparts, making it more of a necessity rather than a stylistic choice. The closest example of dominance in this playstyle is Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators, who has excelled since taking over the starting role from fellow Finnish countryman Pekka Rinne. However, the list after Saros is few and far between.

Thatcher Demko’s Past and a Potential Injury Link

Nowadays, the average goalie typically uses a hybrid style of the most important parts of Glenn Hall and Patrick Roy’s butterfly and Dominik Hasek's stunningly acrobatic reactions, though not to his outrageous extent. Mix in a healthy dose of size and the beaches of California, and you’re left with Thatcher Demko – the quintessential modern goaltender. 

Under the tutelage of noted goalie guru Ian Clarke, Thatcher Demko became a model of current goaltending trends, possessing elite positioning and an extraordinary ability to push off the posts from his knees to make quick and improbable saves without losing control of himself. This is exemplified by his great save on Namestnikov. 

Surprisingly, Demko didn’t always look like the superstar we now know him to be. In fact, he played the entirety of his college career with significant injuries to his hips, where his mother stated that he had bone-on-bone impingements and torn labrums on both sides. According to a report by the late Jason Botchford, Demko had “zero degrees of internal rotation in his hips” prior to undergoing bilateral hip surgery to repair the issue. Demko himself explained that his hips were not the only body parts affected, pointing to the groin and lower back as being negatively impacted by his injury. He also discussed the difficulty of dropping into the butterfly pre-surgery, suggesting that his knees were overcompensating for poor hip rotation. 

Modern Playstyle Meets Modern Injury Concern

Demko’s proficiency with post-to-post movement is important as he uses a technique called the Reverse Vertical Horizontal (RVH) stance. The easiest way to describe this is dropping into a standard butterfly and then sitting on one foot and leaning into the post. This may seem impossible to everyday folk, but it’s widely considered the best method of closing gaps by the near post when the puck is behind the net or at a sharp angle. The RVH allows goaltenders to react to cross-crease passes quickly without sacrificing space for a near post shot. However, this is still a relatively new style and significantly stretches the popliteus muscle around the outside of the compressed knee. 

Wayne Gretzky revolutionized offensive zone time in the 90’s by using the space behind the offensive net to give himself time and change the angle of attack. This space was later renamed “Gretzky’s Office,” and using it has turned into an extremely viable strategy. It is most commonly seen on powerplay opportunities, and leaves goaltenders like Demko constantly dropping into the RVH stance. This lets them explode into position to challenge a shot quickly when a dangerous pass is made.

Hip injuries are especially common in hockey goalies, as is the “just deal with it” mentality. With the NHL and associated leagues becoming better and faster, the stakes are becoming increasingly higher for young adults looking to take their career to the next level. Any length of time recovering from injury is seen as a killer of progress, and players force themselves to play through pain until injuries can be dealt with at a natural break, such as the offseason. 

With this in mind, Demko’s injury feels almost inevitable – a byproduct of the athleticism, flexibility and innovation that has become the hallmark of modern goaltending. Years of working on damaged hips, a workload among the highest in the world for his position, and a mastery of this new RVH playstyle yields a perfect storm for the first injury of its type.

Now What?

While Thatcher Demko’s situation is completely different from the rest of his peers, new injuries may be a consequence of the ever-changing goaltending landscape. Skaters have been lucky enough to use better equipment to prioritize their safety and lengthen their primes as the level of play has evolved, but netminders rely more on their natural athleticism than the actual tools they are equipped with. The increased need for flexibility leaves them vulnerable to injury, especially when making awkward acrobatic saves. Demko’s injury may be unique to him, but I fear we’re about to enter an era where we lose an unprecedented amount of goaltending durability, and all because of the current environment our goalies live and work in. 

If fans are ever going to see extended dominance like we saw with Glenn Hall, Patrick Roy or Dominik Hasek, goaltenders are going to have to change their styles to allow them to perform well longer, especially if they’ve been injured in the past. The downside of this is that goaltending is such a precise position, letting in just three more shots out of one hundred would make even Connor Hellebuyck unplayable at the NHL level, bringing his Vezina-winning save percentage last year from a .920 to a .890. It seems impossible to justify a less efficient technique if it’s not even good enough to make the NHL, further enforcing habits that harm a goalie's long term health.

For the first time ever, goaltenders that started playing in the early 2000’s onwards have grown up with only this hybrid style. Kids are modeling themselves after their favourite netminder all the way down to the most subtle techniques, and some youth coaches are even teaching their netminders how to use physically taxing techniques like the RVH. The margins are so thin at all levels that goalies are sacrificing their bodies as children to make the extra save, and we may be starting to see those effects with our current superstars becoming more prone to hip, knee, core and groin related injuries. It appears that the days of goaltenders dominating for a dozen years may be fleeting, and sadly it seems predictable as to why. Now, a drastic question remains with no obvious answer: 

How can we save our goaltenders, now and in the future? 

Sources

Cohen, R. (2022, October 17). Thatcher Demko: From his mother’s eyes. EP Rinkside. https://eprinkside.com/2021/03/02/thatcher-demko-from-his-mothers-eyes

Tyler, G. (2023, December 13). Reverse VH + RVH guide for goalies: How and when to use RVH. Goalie Coaches. https://goaliecoaches.com/rvh-goalies-execute-use/

Dillon, B. (2019, February 4). The evolution of different goaltending styles. Ontario Minor Hockey Association. https://www.omha.net/news_article/show/631894-the-evoution-of-different-goaltending-styles

SPORTSNET. (n.d.). NHL Highlights | Jets vs. Canucks - March 9, 2024. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGu4upjEoJ4

 

Edited November 15 by Honkin Hronek

[Kevin Biestra]

Nice stuff.  We have a history of goalies who were quality starter material (Troy Gamble, Schneider) and then while quite young, bad luck became a predictable last part of their career as they were reduced to nothing.  In Gamble's case pretty much overnight due to a concussion.  He went from giving Kirk McLean a run as the starter (and by a nose unseating him for a season) to barely ever playing again and mostly in the minors.  He didn't, but Troy Gamble should have received some Calder votes in 1991.  He was quite good.

 

 

Edited November 14 by Kevin Biestra

[King Heffy]

32 minutes ago, Kevin Biestra said:

Nice stuff.  We have a history of goalies who were quality starter material (Troy Gamble, Schneider) and then while quite young, bad luck became a predictable last part of their career as they were reduced to nothing.  In Gamble's case pretty much overnight due to a concussion.  He went from giving Kirk McLean a run as the starter (and by a nose unseating him for a season) to barely ever playing again and mostly in the minors.  He didn't, but Troy Gamble should have received some Calder votes in 1991.  He was quite good.

 

 

Hirsch also was very promising before his mental health issues surfaced.

[Harvey Specter]

Good luck @Honkin Hronek on your application! 

 

Well scripted and insightful with a good blend of verbiage and word choice; minimal on my side of constructive criticism. 

 

Relatively easy to read for all viewers (closer to a scientific publication with the word choices, but still having the layman's / newsprint essence) 

[Canuck You]

Good luck!

[Honkin Hronek]

1 hour ago, Kevin Biestra said:

Nice stuff.  We have a history of goalies who were quality starter material (Troy Gamble, Schneider) and then while quite young, bad luck became a predictable last part of their career as they were reduced to nothing.  In Gamble's case pretty much overnight due to a concussion.  He went from giving Kirk McLean a run as the starter (and by a nose unseating him for a season) to barely ever playing again and mostly in the minors.  He didn't, but Troy Gamble should have received some Calder votes in 1991.  He was quite good.

 

 

It's really sad, even "lower-tier" guys like Kuemper (left last night's game) are dropping like flies with groin injuries, and everything waist-down is connected in some form or another. If something goes wrong from overuse, the rest of it ends up screwing itself up as well. It sucks, especially since goalies have to sacrifice themselves nowadays just to make junior A, let alone the NHL. That's why I wrote this article. 

[Goalie29]

Some of what Demko (and others mentioned) are going through reminds me of Dan Blackburn.

 

For a while it looked like he was going to be the Rangers next great goalie after Mike Richter until a nerve injury derailed his career.  I remember him playing a handful of games here for the Victoria Salmon Kings, wearing two blockers because he couldn't properly hold up or rotate his catching glove.

[Kevin Biestra]

1 hour ago, King Heffy said:

Hirsch also was very promising before his mental health issues surfaced.

 

Indeed.  Hirsch was actually the SECOND time Kirk McLean temporarily lost his starting job...which is why I was always not impressed at all by Roberto Luongo's response when Schneider got starts in the playoffs against LA.  Lu asked for a trade, whereas twice after McLean became a (barely) backup for the cumulative effect of a full season, he worked hard over the summer and won his job back the next year.  In the case of 1991 and Gamble, McLean became a Vezina finalist again (plus the Cup run).  Part of why McLean is probably remembered as our all time "iceman" of a goalie and was called "Kirk McCool" by Tom Larscheid during broadcasts.

 

The Schneider / Luongo playoffs thing also happened to McLean.  In 1989, the season where he was a Vezina finalist for the first time, the Canucks went to Steve Weeks to start a game or two against the Flames in that legendary first round series.  Weeks (a terrific backup) won one of our games for us and then McLean got his job back and earned us a tie in game 7 before Otto kicked the puck in during overtime.  As to Weeks starting games in the playoffs, Kirk didn't complain...just went to work in the offseason and led all goalies in the entire NHL in games played the next year.

 

 

Edited November 14 by Kevin Biestra

[Kevin Biestra]

3 hours ago, Honkin Hronek said:

It's really sad, even "lower-tier" guys like Kuemper (left last night's game) are dropping like flies with groin injuries, and everything waist-down is connected in some form or another. If something goes wrong from overuse, the rest of it ends up screwing itself up as well. It sucks, especially since goalies have to sacrifice themselves nowadays just to make junior A, let alone the NHL. That's why I wrote this article. 

 

It's hard to figure out.  Glenn Hall back in the day had an ironman streak of something like 500 straight games, all 70 games of the season every season year after year in net.  Arturs Irbe, Grant Fuhr and Martin Brodeur played over 70 games a season with regularity and I think Fuhr played 79 one year.  I remember him going down with injury but that was when a guy fell on his knee in the crease and that would have taken anybody out no matter if it was their first game in net or their 80th.

 

And then at the same time earlier in Fuhr's career was the heyday of 45 games for the starter and 35 for the backup with the great tandems like Fuhr / Moog, Smith / Resch, Roy / Hayward, Moog / Lemelin, Bob Sauve / Don Edwards, Mike Vernon / Rick Wamsley etc.  Guys like King Richard and Kirk McLean led the entire league and were considered mega-workhorses by playing something like 63 games.

 

In the end...I think maybe Demko is just a physically fragile guy like Sami Salo.  Terrific talent for the skills of hockey but being injury-proof also seems to be a god given talent of sorts.  Guys like Doug Jarvis, Craig Ramsay, Garry Unger, pre-knee-blowout Linden, etc. just seemed to have that Wolverine regeneration gene.

 

 

Edited November 15 by Kevin Biestra

[SuchaNuxtalgia]

Was a big fan of Glen Hanlon, back in the late 70's. Recall him giving us some absolutely brilliant stretches of play, his first few yrs.

 

Then believe it was a preseason tilt he tore up a knee..remember being quite pissed about it. Was a fun 'tender to watch.

[Kevin Biestra]

11 minutes ago, SuchaNuxtalgia said:

Was a big fan of Glen Hanlon, back in the late 70's. Recall him giving us some absolutely brilliant stretches of play, his first few yrs.

 

Then believe it was a preseason tilt he tore up a knee..remember being quite pissed about it. Was a fun 'tender to watch.

 

They called him "the franchise" for a reason.  He was basically in the Luongo position with Schneider or something like it.  He had been a very good starter for the Canucks and then King Richard came in and was a little bit better.  Just like McCarthy was done as captain when Smyl stepped in due to injury, Hanlon was on the outs once The King arrived between the pipes...would have been a terrific one-two in net though.  Hanlon was a top ten goalie for pretty much his whole career.  It was Brodeur and Smyl that carried us to the final in 1982 though.

 

Hanlon, like Mike Liut, Don Beaupre and maybe Greg Millen and The King, was a guy you could have probably subbed in for the Oilers goaltending and still had a dynasty, and they would be the ones in the Hall of Fame.  Only knock against The King was he started his career in the early 70s and was more or less done by 1987 or so...he would have been more of a candidate for the Islanders or Canadiens dynasties.

 

Hanlon was also not a bad head coach with the Capitals for a handful of years...never got a second chance at it though.  Might have been really good with a second crack at things.  Several former Canucks or Canuck properties were in that boat...Orland Kurtenbach, Rick Ley, Dirk Graham.  I think all three might have done something good in another go-round behind the bench somewhere.

 

 

Edited November 14 by Kevin Biestra

[RomanPer]

3 hours ago, Honkin Hronek said:

Hey guys! 

 

Not sure if this is allowed, or if it's the right spot, but I wrote an article to apply for the Botchford Project. I'm obviously quite passionate about the sport and would love to hear some feedback. Here's the link to the Botchford Project, and I've posted my article in the spoiler below. I'm quite proud of how it turned out

https://media.canucks.com/the-botchford-project/about

 

https://austinv50.blogspot.com/2024/11/the-demko-dilemma-unlucky-or-predictable.html 

  Hide contents

The Demko Dilemma – Unlucky or Predictable?
A Historical Context to Try and Protect our Netminders in an Ever-Adapting Landscape
November 14, 2024

By Austin V

The Game: From Vezina Preview to Massive Long-Term Concern

On the morning of March 10, 2024, the air in Vancouver was tense. The city was elated that the hometown Canucks dismantled the surging Winnipeg Jets the previous night in what was arguably their most complete game of the entire season. Canucks fans had this game circled on the calendar for months in anticipation of the face off between two of the pinnacles of modern NHL goaltending. Superstar Thatcher Demko had been phenomenal all year, sporting a 33-14-2 record, 2.49 GAA and a .916 save percentage, whereas Winnipeg netminder Connor Hellebuyck was arguably better with a 29-13-3 record, 2.29 GAA and a .922 save percentage. These were the two best goalies in the league at the time, and some of the more optimistic fans in the lower mainland believed that the winner of this game could win the Vezina Trophy, awarded annually to the goaltender considered the best at their position. This game had standings implications as well, as the two sides were jockeying to be the top ranked team in the Western Conference. The energy was palpable, and the league was ready to watch the goaltending duel of the season.

Unfortunately, the game was far less exciting than advertised. Hellebuyck struggled while Miller, Höglander, Di Giuseppe, Garland and Pettersson scored to ground the Jets in a 5-0 massacre. Ultimately, the discourse post-game surrounded Demko and his status. The San Diego, California native left the game with 13:20 left in the second period after making only 12 saves. This was his 49th game of the season, putting him among the league leaders in the stat at the time and on pace for over 60 games – a rarity in today’s NHL. Casey DeSmith came in relief to make 10 more stops, earning the third shared shutout in team history. Despite the dominant win, the city’s collective stomach was in its throat as fans worried for the health of the future Vezina finalist. 

With 17:25 left in the second, Quinn Hughes got his path crossed with Referee Furman South beside the net on an attempt to reach Nikolaj Ehlers on a dump-and-chase. This extra half-second allowed the Danish speedster to corral the puck and center it to a flying Vladislav Namestnikov, who was promptly robbed by Demko’s glove. Demko, who was sitting deep in his net with his skates on his posts, got up slowly afterwards and flexed his knee a couple times before resuming play. Four minutes later, he left for the bench. His night was done. 

This is the most likely moment when Demko injured himself, though the exact cause remains unclear. The team’s communication around the injury and Demko’s status has been muddy at best, and fan speculation has been rampant. After a failed comeback and rumours of a second return mid-Playoffs, he has only appeared in two regular season games and one playoff game since sustaining his mysterious injury. We now know that he injured his popliteus, a small muscle located in the knee. This muscle provides flexion for internal knee rotation and is a crucial part of the goaltending position due to its use in pivoting and explosive movements.

According to Demko, this type of injury has never been seen at the NHL level and fans have yet to learn whether the netminder will ever return to the level he reached last season. Canuck fans understandably have high expectations for the team after their promising season last year. Newcomer Kevin Lankinen has surpassed all expectations with his remarkable 8-1-2 start, but most know that the team needs a healthy Thatcher Demko to challenge for the Stanley Cup. As of now, the team has reported that he’s skating with the team, but there is no timeline for when he’ll be able to play again. 

The History: Stand-Up, Butterfly, Athleticism and Innovation 

To further explore why and how this may have occurred, it’s crucial to understand the historical context with goaltending styles and the evolution of goaltending demands. For more than half a century, goalies used a “Stand-Up” style where they would seldom drop to their knees; instead electing to use kick saves and stick saves to react to shots in the lower half of the net. In fact, it took until the mid-1950’s for Detroit and Chicago’s Glenn Hall to use the first version of the “Butterfly” style. In this age, stick blades were completely flat and elevating the puck more than a couple inches off the ice proved near impossible to do accurately. Trailblazers like Hall would play the percentages, electing to block these shots with their bodies from their knees rather than trying to react to every shot with fast movements. They tended to be much more aggressive, significantly reducing the amount of empty space for shooters to aim for while also being in a good position to stop a rebound. This is unlike the traditional stand-up style, which was slow and often left goaltenders out of position for the next phase of play. Hall is now honoured in the Hockey Hall of Fame for his strong career numbers, but also for revolutionizing the way the goaltending position is played. 

As time went on, more and more goaltenders followed in Glenn Hall’s footsteps (or skate strides). Interestingly enough, Chicago’s Stan Mikita began the trend of curving his stick blade almost immediately after Hall’s style began increasing in popularity. Mikita got his blade caught in a door frame accidentally and jokingly used it in a 1962 practice. After seeing more success with his wrist shots, the story says he never went back. Even so, blade and stick technology took decades to refine. Despite shooters curving their own sticks with blow torches, high shots were still unpredictable due to the flawed blade angles; it was more accurate to keep shots low. Even though skaters revolutionized their equipment, it was well before its time. It was still more efficient for goalies like Hall to play the percentages than stay standing in their crease, which may not have been the case if players had mastered this skill sooner. 

This propelled the new butterfly style into the 70’s and 80’s and allowed for its relative mastery prior to further advancements in stick technology. As shooters got better at picking their spots, pads became bigger and lighter, and goalies got better at reacting to high shots. Goaltenders were able to adapt to the changing landscape in real time. Plus, lighter pads meant it was less taxing to constantly drop down and get up. More goalies adopted the butterfly and saw success with it, despite the sport of hockey undergoing a massive offensive culture shift. 

One such example is Patrick Roy. Roy dominated the league with the butterfly, revolutionizing it further as the culmination of cat-like reflexes and sound positioning. He possessed exceptionally quick glove and blocker hands to react to high shots from his knees, while blocking nearly everything else with his body. Stand-up goalies were becoming a thing of the past as the goaltending world rushed to recreate Roy’s style, which was profoundly reproducible. 

Of course, we cannot explore goaltending history without talking about the wondrous Dominik Hasek. Hasek had his own style and routinely had single-game highlight packages that rivaled the entire careers of his peers. Touted by many as the best goalie of all time, Hasek was actually quite poor at some significant goaltending traits, such as positioning. However, “The Dominator” was potentially the most athletic player in the history of the league. Somehow, some way, he’d get a piece of his body in front of the puck. It could be a skate blade or his mask sliding along the ice, but he stopped the puck with whatever he could. 

In many ways it was genius. Upon seeing an open net, players tend to aim for the middle to ensure the maximum likelihood of a goal. Obviously, there’s no point in aiming for the top corner when the face of the goal is staring you down, especially when it increases the chance you’d miss the net. That’s when Hasek would dance over from nowhere and scoop, kick or claw it out when it seemed most impossible. He preyed on the shooter's complacency in a way that was surprisingly similar to Hall in the 50’s: play the percentages by blocking the most obvious part of the net, and you’ll be able to stop shots that were previously impossible to save. 

Hasek’s flexibility was unparalleled and, in many ways, impossible to replicate with the same level of success. While a few goaltenders have been able to employ similar techniques successfully, none have come close to matching the sheer dominance that Hasek had on the sport of hockey. Most notably for Canuck fans, the aforementioned Casey DeSmith became known for his “flopping” style, which is more common in shorter goaltenders. This is due to their natural inability to block as well as their taller counterparts, making it more of a necessity rather than a stylistic choice. The closest example of dominance in this playstyle is Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators, who has excelled since taking over the starting role from fellow Finnish countryman Pekka Rinne. However, the list after Saros is few and far between.

Thatcher Demko’s Past and a Potential Injury Link

Nowadays, the average goalie typically uses a hybrid style of the most important parts of Glenn Hall and Patrick Roy’s butterfly and Dominik Hasek's stunningly acrobatic reactions, though not to his outrageous extent. Mix in a healthy dose of size and the beaches of California, and you’re left with Thatcher Demko – the quintessential modern goaltender. 

Under the tutelage of noted goalie guru Ian Clarke, Thatcher Demko became a model of current goaltending trends, possessing elite positioning and an extraordinary ability to push off the posts from his knees to make quick and improbable saves without losing control of himself. This is exemplified by his great save on Namestnikov. 

Surprisingly, Demko didn’t always look like the superstar we now know him to be. In fact, he played the entirety of his college career with significant injuries to his hips, where his mother stated that he had bone-one-bone impingements and torn labrums on both sides. According to a report by the late Jason Botchford, Demko had “zero degrees of internal rotation in his hips” prior to undergoing bilateral hip surgery to repair the issue. Demko himself explained that his hips were not the only body parts affected, pointing to the groin and lower back as being negatively impacted by his injury. He also discussed the difficulty of dropping into the butterfly pre-surgery, suggesting that his knees were overcompensating for poor hip rotation. 

Modern Playstyle Meets Modern Injury Concern

Demko’s proficiency with post-to-post movement is important as he uses a technique called the Reverse Vertical Horizontal (RVH) stance. The easiest way to describe this is dropping into a standard butterfly and then sitting on one foot and leaning into the post. This may seem impossible to everyday folk, but it’s widely considered the best method of closing gaps by the near post when the puck is behind the net or at a sharp angle. The RVH allows goaltenders to react to cross-crease passes quickly without sacrificing space for a near post shot. However, this is still a relatively new style and significantly stretches the popliteus muscle around the outside of the compressed knee. 

Wayne Gretzky revolutionized offensive zone time in the 90’s by using the space behind the offensive net to give himself time and change the angle of attack. This space was later renamed “Gretzky’s Office,” and using it has turned into an extremely viable strategy. It is most commonly seen on powerplay opportunities, and leaves goaltenders like Demko constantly dropping into the RVH stance. This lets them explode into position to challenge a shot quickly when a dangerous pass is made.

Hip injuries are especially common in hockey goalies, as is the “just deal with it” mentality. With the NHL and associated leagues becoming better and faster, the stakes are becoming increasingly higher for young adults looking to take their career to the next level. Any length of time recovering from injury is seen as a killer of progress, and players force themselves to play through pain until injuries can be dealt with at a natural break, such as the offseason. 

With this in mind, Demko’s injury feels almost inevitable – a byproduct of the athleticism, flexibility and innovation that has become the hallmark of modern goaltending. Years of working on damaged hips, a workload among the highest in the world for his position, and a mastery of this new RVH playstyle yields a perfect storm for the first injury of its type.

Now What?

While Thatcher Demko’s situation is completely different from the rest of his peers, new injuries may be a consequence of the ever-changing goaltending landscape. Skaters have been lucky enough to use better equipment to prioritize their safety and lengthen their primes as the level of play has evolved, but netminders rely more on their natural athleticism than the actual tools they are equipped with. The increased need for flexibility leaves them vulnerable to injury, especially when making awkward acrobatic saves. Demko’s injury may be unique to him, but I fear we’re about to enter an era where we lose an unprecedented amount of goaltending durability, and all because of the current environment our goalies live and work in. 

If fans are ever going to see extended dominance like we saw with Glenn Hall, Patrick Roy or Dominik Hasek, goaltenders are going to have to change their styles to allow them to perform well longer, especially if they’ve been injured in the past. The downside of this is that goaltending is such a precise position, letting in just three more shots out of one hundred would make even Connor Hellebuyck unplayable at the NHL level, bringing his Vezina-winning save percentage last year from a .920 to a .890. It seems impossible to justify a less efficient technique if it’s not even good enough to make the NHL, further enforcing habits that harm a goalie's long term health.

For the first time ever, goaltenders that started playing in the early 2000’s onwards have grown up with only this hybrid style. Kids are modeling themselves after their favourite netminder all the way down to the most subtle techniques, and some youth coaches are even teaching their netminders how to use physically taxing techniques like the RVH. The margins are so thin at all levels that goalies are sacrificing their bodies as children to make the extra save, and we may be starting to see those effects with our current superstars becoming more prone to hip, knee, core and groin related injuries. It appears that the days of goaltenders dominating for a dozen years may be fleeting, and sadly it seems predictable as to why. Now, a drastic question remains with no obvious answer: 

How can we save our goaltenders, now and in the future? 

Sources

Cohen, R. (2022, October 17). Thatcher Demko: From his mother’s eyes. EP Rinkside. https://eprinkside.com/2021/03/02/thatcher-demko-from-his-mothers-eyes

Tyler, G. (2023, December 13). Reverse VH + RVH guide for goalies: How and when to use RVH. Goalie Coaches. https://goaliecoaches.com/rvh-goalies-execute-use/

Dillon, B. (2019, February 4). The evolution of different goaltending styles. Ontario Minor Hockey Association. https://www.omha.net/news_article/show/631894-the-evoution-of-different-goaltending-styles

SPORTSNET. (n.d.). NHL Highlights | Jets vs. Canucks - March 9, 2024. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGu4upjEoJ4

 

 

Are you sure you are right about the sequence of the events? The injury during Winnipeg game was the first one and supposedly fully healed, allowing Demko to come back for the last 2 games of the season and game 1 of Nashville series. That's when he was injured with what is ailing him to this day. If I remember correctly, it's this second injury that Demko referred to as something that hasn't been seen in NHL before. And he was always adamant that it's not related to the injury at the Winnipeg game.

[nux_win]

1 hour ago, Kevin Biestra said:

 

It's hard to figure out.  Glenn Hall back in the day had an ironman streak of something like 500 straight games, all 70 games of the season every season year after year in net.  Arturs Irbe, Grant Fuhr and Martin Brodeur played over 70 games a season with regularity and I think Fuhr played 79 one year.  I remember him going down with injury but that was when a guy fell on his knee in the crease and that would have taken anybody out no matter if it was their first game in net or their 80th.

 

And then at the same time earlier in Fuhr's career was the heyday of 45 games for the starter and 35 for the backup with the great tandems like Fuhr / Moog, Smith / Resch, Roy / Hayward, Moog / Lemelin, Bob Sauve / Don Edwards, etc.  Guys like King Richard and Kirk McLean led the entire league and were considered mega-workhorses by playing something like 63 games.

 

In the end...I think maybe Demko is just a physically fragile guy like Sami Salo.  Terrific talent for the skills of hockey but being injury-proof also seems to be a god given talent of sorts.  Guys like Doug Jarvis, Craig Ramsay, Garry Unger, pre-knee-blowout Linden, etc. just seemed to have that Wolverine regeneration gene.

 

 

For better or worse, we humans are always pushing the boundaries of human performance.  Personally, I don't think that our joints can keep up with our muscular development.  We're constantly placing more and more demands on the body, with A LOT more off ice training, so it shouldn't be surprising that we collectively get more injuries as a result.  Some training reduces the chances of injury but pushing your training to the max, increases it.  GCG!

[DANJR]

I noticed one error.

Bone-one-bone.
Which should be Bone on bone.

[Ghostsof1915]

There are few goalies that stay at top level their whole career. 

Brodeur, Roy, Fleury, Lundqvist. 

 

It's a demanding position, and you not only get pucks directed at you. You have players crashing the net and seemingly trying to take you out. 

 

 

Edited November 14 by Ghostsof1915

[Kevin Biestra]

1 hour ago, nux_win said:

For better or worse, we humans are always pushing the boundaries of human performance.  Personally, I don't think that our joints can keep up with our muscular development.  We're constantly placing more and more demands on the body, with A LOT more off ice training, so it shouldn't be surprising that we collectively get more injuries as a result.  Some training reduces the chances of injury but pushing your training to the max, increases it.  GCG!

 

Could be.  Ronnie Coleman can barely walk now but at least NHL goalies aren't squatting 800 pounds.

 

Maybe Dave Babych or Rod Brind'Amour...

 

 

Edited November 15 by Kevin Biestra

[Hammertime]

It was predictable but not solely on Demko. So many of us fans were screaming loud on this board when he started like 40 of 50 possible games or something like that knowing that he wears down when overplayed. Especially when DeSmith had been playing well. Everyone knew he would eventually get injured if they kept riding him. Then the first injury occurred aaaaaaaand the second. It was indeed predictable. 

 

Lanks been playing well hopefully that relieves a bit of the pressure to rush Demko back. We need him 100%.

[GrammaInTheTub]

Thanks for sharing @Honkin Hronek - very well written! Good luck!

[Chickenspear]

Both are correct. We're used to him getting injured, so predictable in that sense, but also unlucky due to the rarity of that specific injury in hockey.

[TheGuardian]

Something mentioned that kind of supports MY OPINION, that is is hips not his knee.

He also discussed the difficulty of dropping into the butterfly pre-surgery, suggesting that his knees were overcompensating for poor hip rotation

 

First there was no off season surgery, then it was this unheard of injury which BTW has a recovery time of a few weeks, then there was a mysterious unknown off season surgery followed with a recovery time that is closer to a hip procedure.

 

Double hip impingement surgery has a time line, a time when the end is there, I kinda wonder why Demko signed such a good cap hit when he was inline for much more. Was it because his clock was running out and he would end up with time on LTIR?

If he signed with any other team ALL his medical records would be made available and maybe no other team would make a longer term offer. It would not be the first time Benning signed a player to a lucrative contract with the fore knowledge the the player probably couldn't play much longer, Ferland was not cleared to play by doctors and could not be insured but got a large salary with a NMC clause.

 

Groin, back, knees all can be hips. For 25 million a player will deal with hip replacements in the future. He has skill and is a great player but hips don't care. He has had surgery after the last two off seasons.

 

Rutherford stated he is a franchise goalie, if the fans learned he was done would that affect attendance? They might think so.

[Gurn]

This looks to be the right thread for this question:

Anyone remember the name of the hockey 'expert'  reporter that said signing Demko would be a mistake, given his style of play?

I kind of think it was Kevin Woodley, but am unsure.

[DrJockitch]

19 hours ago, Hammertime said:

It was predictable but not solely on Demko. So many of us fans were screaming loud on this board when he started like 40 of 50 possible games or something like that knowing that he wears down when overplayed. Especially when DeSmith had been playing well. Everyone knew he would eventually get injured if they kept riding him. Then the first injury occurred aaaaaaaand the second. It was indeed predictable. 

 

Lanks been playing well hopefully that relieves a bit of the pressure to rush Demko back. We need him 100%.

Let me be the first to say it.  
Tocch is over playing Lankinen. 
Especially given the inconsistent efforts in front of him.

I understand why he is doing it.  Silovs has been awful in the NHL this year.
If Demko isn’t back soon we may have the same issue with Lankinen.
Time to give Tolipoli (I know but I am sticking with it) a game. 

[Kevin Biestra]

11 minutes ago, TheGuardian said:

Groin, back, knees all can be hips. For 25 million a player will deal with hip replacements in the future. He has skill and is a great player but hips don't care. He has had surgery after the last two off seasons.

 

Rutherford stated he is a franchise goalie, if the fans learned he was done would that affect attendance? They might think so.

 

 

 

[Kevin Biestra]

Just now, DrJockitch said:

Let me be the first to say it.  
Tocch is over playing Lankinen. 
Especially given the inconsistent efforts in front of him.

I understand why he is doing it.  Silovs has been awful in the NHL this year.
If Demko isn’t back soon we may have the same issue with Lankinen.
Time to give Tolipoli (I know but I am sticking with it) a game. 

 

 

Yeah seems to be the thing like with Markstrom where his fundamentals and technique would start to devolve if he started enough games in a row and wasn't working on skills as much in practice.  Makes you really appreciate the guys like Luongo, Cujo, Martin Brodeur, Fuhr and Arturs Irbe who could keep it together for 70+ games a year.  There is a difference between a backup and proven starter. and there is a difference between a proven starter and those kinds of mega-starter draft horses.

[fanfor42]

McDavid was initially diagnosed with a Grade 2 PCL strain because of all the swelling around his knee. A second medical opinion in Colorado revealed the full PCL tear, plus a torn meniscus on both sides of the knee, cracked fibia and a popliteus muscle that was torn right off the bone.

 

This is a direct quote from the writeup of McDavid's knee injury several years ago.  Note the torn popliteus muscle. I don't understand why the media keeps reporting that the Demko popliteus muscle injury was unheard of and unique to NHL players, when it was clearly a component of the injury to the game's best player?