Canucks sign goalie Thatcher Demko to five-year, $25M extension

The Vancouver Canucks have signed goaltender Thatcher Demko to a five-year extension with an average annual value of $5 million, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1377349008302120960

Demko, 25, is currently playing on a two-year bridge deal with a $1.05-million cap hit. With that contract set to expire at the end of this season and Demko poised to be a restricted free agent, the Canucks wasted no time in locking up their new No. 1. This extension will now see Demko under contract through the 2025-26 season, at which point he’ll be an unrestricted free agent.

Before training camp, Demko to Sportsnet: "I’m right where I want to be in my career right now. There’s a lot on the table and I’m just really excited to get the opportunity to take that next step. I want to be in Vancouver as long as I can. I want to be the guy."

— Iain MacIntyre (@imacSportsnet) March 31, 2021

In addition to locking up a key piece of this young core, this deal also brings more clarity to Vancouver’s cap situation in what will be a crucial off-season of re-signing the rest of it. Pending RFAs Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes will both be graduating from their respective entry-level deals this summer into what should be a pair of massive paydays that will require some creative cap navigating for general manager Jim Benning.

Though overall, his body of work so far is relatively small, his numbers have been strong — and we all remember his playoff heroics last summer against the Vegas Golden Knights. In 62 career regular-season appearances over the past four seasons, Demko has a career record of 30-25-4, a 2.92 GAA, and a .911 save percentage. This season is the first featuring Demko as the Canucks’ starter, with veteran Braden Holtby as backup following the departure of Jacob Markstom. In 25 starts this season, he has a 12-12-1 record, a 2.77 goals against average, a .917 save percentage and one shutout.