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Canucks' office worker has COVID-19, assessing Canucks' goalie performances |
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Hi!
I hope you're doing OK as the directives on what we should and shouldn't be doing have intensified again over the last 24 hours. It's mind-bending to me that just a week ago, I was writing about the fallout from the Canucks' Sunday loss to the Blue Jackets — the last game I covered live. Of course, they played one more after that, beating the Islanders, before everything ground to a halt.
On Monday morning, the NHL changed course on its instructions to players — essentially acknowledging that there's no way they can have hockey games for at least two months following the CDC's recommendation that no gatherings of more than 50 people should take place for the next 60 days.
I wrote about that this morning for Forbes SportsMoney.
In a nutshell, the league is now permitting players to leave their NHL home cities and travel to their permanent homes if they wish — and to self-isolate until at least March 27 once they get there. So the hope seems to be gone for now, that we might see a situation where players can start using team facilities to skate and work out.
The league's memo also says the goal, as of now, is to aim to hold a training camp in 45 days (around the end of April) with an eye toward potentially resuming games once the 60-day window has passed — around mid-May.
I'm not going to worry too much about playoff formats and all that until we get much closer to resuming play. I'm still hopeful, but considering how quickly this situation is changing, a LOT is going to happen in the next 60 days.
Also included in my Forbes story — the fact that the Canucks announced on Sunday that one of their office workers has tested positive for COVID-19. The team's offices are closed on Monday as they put a work-from-home protocol into effect — but they also assure the public that this worker had no direct contact with anyone on the arena/hockey operations side of the business, so the risk to the general public remains low.
Enough about that!
I was thinking that over the next few days, I can help take our minds off all of this a bit by taking a look at how the Canucks players' seasons can be judged based on what we *did* see this season. It feels comforting to me to crunch some numbers.
I'll do the goalies today; then start working my way through the defensemen and forwards in future blogs. From there, we can look more closely at the seasons of the Utica Comets and other prospects. Sound OK?
Goaltenders:
Jacob Markstrom: 43 GP, 23-16-4, .918 save percentage, 2.75 GAA, two shutouts
If Jacob Markstrom's last game of the year ends up being that 9-3 blowout win over Boston on Feb. 22, that's a heckuva last act in a tremendous season.
With the way the Canucks have bled shots all year, Markstrom's .918 save percentage is a career high — well above his career average of .913. His GAA is actually a bit higher than it has been in some past seasons, including the first time he played 60 games in 2017-18 and recorded a 2.71 goals-against average despite finishing with a losing record at 23-26-7.
Markstrom's Quality Start percentage, from Hockey Reference, ended up at .581, where .600 is considered very good. That's the highest of his career, up from .567 last season.
There are actually quite a few starters above him, with Darcy Kuemper, Tuukka Rask and Connor Hellebuyck at the top of the list. I know there are other advanced stats metrics where Markstrom shows very well, but if we do end up having awards voting this season, I'll be very surprised if he ends up being a finalist for the Vezina Trophy based on the body of work we're seeing today.
Of course, if we are able to have playoffs this season, there's a good chance that Markstrom will be healthy again! It might not change his awards chances, but perhaps we'll still get a chance to see whether this year's Canucks a team of destiny in their 50th season?
On the other hand — if no further games are played — was that triumph over Boston Markstrom's last game in a Canucks uniform as he heads for unrestricted free agency?
The loss of revenue will certainly impact salary-cap numbers next season, but the NHL and the Players' Association can certainly agree to make adjustments as needed, to help keep the playing field as level as possible for players who are in their UFA years. It's way too soon to try to imagine how the eventual circumstances will impact the Canucks' future ability to re-sign Markstrom — or anybody else, for that matter.
Thatcher Demko: 27 GP, 13-10-2, .905 save percentage, 3.06 GAA, no shutouts
Whenever we get back to action, Thatcher Demko will not be a rookie anymore. The games-played requirement for rookie status might get pro-rated if we do end up with a shortened season, but 25 games is the limit for a full 82-game schedule, and Demko exceeded that this season.
Demko's Quality Start number is actually above Markstrom's, at exactly .600. So it's safe to say that he had a very good year. There was certainly frustration in his eyes when he spoke to the media in Vancouver after that loss to Columbus on Mar. 8, even though he gave up just two goals on point-blank opportunities. The toll of not being able to deliver wins after Markstrom was injured was clearly wearing on him.
That being said, the experience of carrying the load is an important one for him to have gone through. If the season is wiped out, the Canucks' results through that recent swoon won't matter. If the NHL is able to hold playoffs, the team's points percentage should be enough to earn it a ticket to the dance — especially if more teams end up being included in the post-season shuffle, as is currently being bandied around as a possibility, with so many teams so close to the regular cut line.
If this ends up being a learning season for Demko, it should make him a better goalie next year. I don't know if he showed enough to assure the organization that he could be a starter next season if they're not able to re-sign Markstrom — but I'll trust goaltending coach Ian Clark to make the call on that.
I'll leave you with this brain teaser to argue about until the next blog posts:
If the season doesn't resume, what happens with that conditional first-round draft pick that went to Tampa and has now been dealt to New Jersey as part of the J.T. Miller trade?
• The Canucks *were* in a playoff position by points percentage, so the Devils would make the pick whenever the 2020 draft takes place?
• Or, there *are* no playoffs, so the Canucks couldn't make them. So the Canucks would keep this year's pick and lose the first-rounder in 2021? Also, how will the draft lottery be determined? Will that impact the Detroit Red Wings' chances of choosing first overall after their masterful tank job this season?
I dunno... 🤷♀️
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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