Quinn’s Questions: Who Is The Best Pacific Goalie?

Quinn’s Questions is a new, hopefully regular feature where you the fans tell us your thoughts, through your vote and hopefully in the comments, as well. It’s named after Quinn Hughes, Pat Quinn, or both, depending on your age and era.

Results of Previous Quinn’s Question: Who Will Be Vancouver’s Best Russian?

Vasily Podkolzin - 51%

Ilya Mikheyev - 32%

Andrei Kuzmenko - 18%

I was scrolling through Twitter last week, as any good Canucks fan does, and came across a tweet and subsequent debate that caught my eye. A user was claiming that Jack Campbell, the new Oilers net minder and Leafs goaltender of 2021-22, was the best goalie in the Pacific Division.

Now, this particular take is certainly a hot one, but it’s not what interested me. What I found to be an actually good debate is, who exactly who is the best goaltender in the Pacific Division? It’s not entirely clear cut. There’s no top-end, brand name goalie in the division, but there are a lot of good ones. Of course, for Canucks fans, the obvious answer may be Thatcher Demko. Frankly, homerism aside, I’m sort of inclined to agree. I think he had the biggest individual impact on his team of the group. He had a more than respectable 0.915 save percentage and for my money was the Canucks’ MVP last season.

You could easily build the case, though, for a few more. Jacob Markstrom was a Vezina nominee last year, backstopped Calgary to the top of the division, and, as Canucks fans know, is fully capable of putting a team on his back. Robin Lenher is a two times Jennings Tophy winner, has a career 0.917 save percentage, and has been nominated for the Vezina previously (though his injuries and the volatility of the Vegas Golden Knights may give one pause).

Those, in addition to Campbell (who some had a Vezina frontrunner early last year), are the obvious three, but there are some other interesting names. There was a time when Anaheim’s John Gibson was considered one of the best goalies in the world. Philipp Grubauer, despite a disastrous first year in Seattle, was a Vezina finalist in 2020-21. Cal Petersen and Jonathan Quick both showed flashes, and the Kings are certainly on the rise. Adin Hill and James Reimer are in the National Hockey League, for sure.

I've taken Demko out here, because I’m under the impression he’d run away with this. But aside from him, who is the Pacific’s best goalie? Who will foil the Canucks more than anyone next year? Have your say in the poll, and rationalize your answer in the comments. There are no wrong answers. (Unless you pick Hill or Reimer. Then you’re wrong. Man the Sharks are a disaster).