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Thatcher Demko Signs Five-Year Extension

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April 8: Doubling up on their announcement of forward Tanner Pearson’s extension, the Canucks have now confirmed the terms of their new deal with Demko as well. In the team’s release, GM Jim Benning raved about his stellar young keeper: “He’s taken a big step in his development this year, displaying a strong work ethic and composure in his game. At every level of play Thatcher has excelled, from college to the AHL and now as a starter in the NHL. We are excited to have Thatcher be a key contributor to our long-term success.”

March 31: The Vancouver Canucks have locked up one of their key restricted free agents ahead of a busy summer. Thatcher Demko has signed a five-year extension worth $25MM according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Demko was set to become an RFA at the end of the season and would have been arbitration-eligible.

After Demko was given an opportunity to prove himself on the biggest stage last summer, posting a .985 save percentage in four postseason appearances, the Canucks decided to let Jacob Markstrom leave in free agency and sign with the Calgary Flames. Braden Holtby was brought in as a veteran complement to the young netminder, but with this new deal, Vancouver is clearly putting their faith in the 25-year-old Demko.

A five-year term buys out three years of unrestricted free agency for Demko, but the $5MM average annual value is certainly a nice raise over the $1.05MM he carried for the last two seasons. The deal puts him ahead of Holtby’s $4.3MM and ties up a good chunk of the Canucks cap in goaltending, but it is worth it if Demko can continue to grow into the starting role.

After a few shaky outings to begin the season, Demko has put up a .937 save percentage in 11 March games, winning eight of them. He’s faced an average of 35 shots a night during that stretch, which shows just how much the Canucks have relied on him as they try to compete in the North Division. For a club that won’t have much room to make changes in the summer, that performance will be key to any chance the Canucks have of contending in the short-term.

That $9.3MM total for Demko and Holtby will come into the spotlight as the Canucks try to sign Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson this offseason. When Holtby signed the contract, many speculated that he could be bait for the Seattle Kraken—an experienced, Stanley Cup-winning goaltender on an expiring deal, similar to Marc-Andre Fleury for the Vegas Golden Knights. The problem of course is Holtby’s performance, which has been downright dreadful at times this season and last. The 31-year-old has an .894 save percentage in 12 appearances this year and when added to the .897 he put up last year for the Washington Capitals, tell the story of a goaltender on the way out of the NHL, not one headed to lead an expansion franchise.

If the Canucks do hold onto Holtby, there isn’t a ton of room for Hughes and Pettersson. The team has several defensive holes to fix in the summer and a forward group that has already had trouble scoring at times. Demko is performing at a high level and appears to be the no-doubt starter, but signing a long-term deal comes at an increased cap hit and less flexibility for the Canucks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Vancouver Canucks Sign Tanner Pearson To Three-Year Extension

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5:15pm: The Canucks have now officially confirmed the signing, keeping Pearson under contract through the the 2023-24 season at a $3.25MM AAV. No other contract terms were reported, but Drance’s report has been reiterated my multiple other sources.

4:15pm: The Vancouver Canucks have maintained for the entire season that they would like to sign pending unrestricted free agent Tanner Pearson to an extension and that finally appears to be close to coming true. Though no formal announcement has been made yet, Thomas Drance of The Athletic has filled in all the details. The three-year contract extension will carry an average annual value of $3.25MM and is backloaded in terms of salary structure. The deal will also include a full no-trade clause in 2021-22 and a seven-team no-trade clause in 2022-23.

Pearson, 28, could have been a deadline chip had the Canucks not been able to work out an extension before Monday. Instead, he’ll stay with Vancouver despite some very noticeable struggles this season, earning a multi-year extension on his strong play in 2019-20. The former Los Angeles Kings forward scored 21 goals and 45 points for the Canucks last season and was a force in the playoffs, recording another four goals and eight points in 17 games.

This season hasn’t gone anywhere close to that, however, as Pearson has just six goals and 11 points in 33 games. Even his physicality has declined, with only 40 hits delivered in that time and his usual powerplay production has been almost non-existent.

Still, the Canucks obviously believe they can get the old Pearson back. Vancouver GM Jim Benning has been notorious for handing out multi-year deals to bottom-six players, but there’s no doubt that Pearson can be more than that when playing his best. The worry now will be how they go about signing their other big tickets, as both Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson need new deals. Vancouver has more than $64MM already committed to next season without them, not leaving a ton of wiggle room if they demand hefty raises like other restricted free agent stars have the last few years.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report that the deal was coming together. 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Hall, Schedule, Kolyachonok

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The Buffalo Sabres could be getting closer to a trade of Taylor Hall, as Darren Dreger of TSN tweets that “there’s a sense talks have escalated.” Dreger doesn’t believe a move is “imminent” but after the New Jersey Devils pulled Kyle Palmieri over the weekend, the precautionary pull is something to watch for.

Hall is one of the top rental targets on the open market and the Sabres need to make sure they get the best package possible before the deadline. Risking him to injury in a lost season doesn’t seem to make much sense.

  • The NHL has issued a schedule update, but it will likely be followed by a further announcement this evening. The change has the Calgary Flames playing against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday April 10, when they are still technically scheduled to meet the Vancouver Canucks. With so many positive test results for the Canucks over the past week—a 17th player was added to the COVID Protocol today—their games on Thursday and Saturday were always unlikely to be played.
  • The Florida Panthers have reassigned Vladislav Kolyachonok from the KHL to the AHL for the rest of the season. The 19-year-old defenseman was a second-round pick in 2019 and became a regular for Dynamo Minsk this season, recording six points in 46 games. He’ll get his first chance of pro hockey in North America, but isn’t a stranger to these parts; Kolyachonok played two years in the OHL for the Flint Firebirds before returning to the KHL this season.

Latest On Vancouver Canucks COVID Situation

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The Vancouver Canucks had 14 players on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list yesterday, but the positive tests won’t end there. Darren Dreger of TSN tweets that there are now more than 20 combined players and coaches that have tested positive. Emily Kaplan of ESPN reports that “more than half” of the Canucks’ players have tested positive and some are in “rough shape.” There is some dispute to the exact number though, as Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province tweets that the number of positive cases is actually under 20.

Despite whether or not the number is above or below 20, things are certainly not going well for the Canucks. The team is still technically scheduled to play on Thursday against the Calgary Flames, but that game (and the one on April 10) are unlikely to be played. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet even spoke last night about a remote possibility that the Canucks don’t play again this season, though that is a worst-case scenario.

Because of this and other situations, the NHL is discussing another playoff bubble according to Friedman. It is “not what anybody wants” according to the Sportsnet insider, but the league is still preparing contingencies.

The COVID protocol list will be updated later this evening and several new names are expected to be added to the Canucks list.

Latest On Vancouver’s COVID-19 Outbreak

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Things took a turn for the worse yesterday for the Canucks in their COVID-19 situation with five regulars – Alexander Edler, Braden Holtby, Quinn Hughes, Zack MacEwen, and Antoine Roussel – joining Adam Gaudette and Travis Hamonic on the CPRA list.  There is an eighth player on there as well according to Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic who tweets that the unidentified player is part of their taxi squad.

Unfortunately, that number is expected to grow.  TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (video link) that more positive cases were identified on Friday night as well as the Brazilian variant of the virus being identified in some of the players.  Dreger added that several of the players that have tested positive are quite ill.

Vancouver has started to recall players from AHL Utica in an attempt to get them through the seven-day quarantine period before the Canucks are slated to resume play, notes Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link).  The only one identified thus far is Kole Lind who is currently recovering from a facial injury sustained a month ago today.  Further complicating matters is that the Comets haven’t played since March 10th in a game against Rochester (Buffalo).  Since then, they’ve been in COVID protocols there as well with Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic tweeting that up to ten players down there had the virus as well.

For the time being, Vancouver’s games have been postponed through April 6th.  At this point, with more players expected to be added to the CPRA list and players only now being recalled to start their border-crossing quarantine, it seems that it’s only a matter of time before their pause gets extended.

Bill Daly: "No Consideration" Given To Shortening Vancouver's Remaining Schedule

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  • Despite the COVID-19 situation for the Canucks, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre that there has been “no consideration” given to shortening Vancouver’s schedule once they’re able to resume play. The league recently extended the regular season to May 11th to provide an extra buffer when Montreal was shut down for a week but given the severity of this outbreak, they may have to miss more than a week which would make playing their full schedule between their return and May 11th next to impossible.

Vancouver Canucks Dealing With More Positive Test Results

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The Vancouver Canucks are expected to have several names added to the COVID Protocol when the list comes out later today, as Darren Dreger of TSN reports that there have been “a number of additional positive COVID-19 cases.” Dreger reports it is eight total players and one staff member that have tested positive. On Sportsnet radio today, Rick Dhaliwal said the same thing, calling it an “interesting number” of names that will be added to the list.

Yesterday, Travis Hamonic joined Adam Gaudette on the list and the league shut the Canucks down through April 6. In the postponement release, the NHL expressed hope that the team would be back in action by April 8, but if a number of players have tested positive that may be optimistic. As usual, the details on testing will not be made available, only that players are in or out of the protocol today.

The concern obviously lies with the health of the players and staff, but the league must now also try to find a way to reschedule the missed games. Vancouver already was set to play almost every other day for the rest of the regular season, with just three two-day breaks left. With three games already postponed those breaks will likely disappear, but if any more are pushed games might have to be tacked onto the end of the schedule. Currently, the team is set to finish its campaign on May 8—which seems unlikely to remain.

NHL Postpones Canucks Games Through April 6

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The NHL has postponed three more games for the Vancouver Canucks, shutting them down through April 6 after Travis Hamonic was added to the COVID protocol today. Hamonic joined Adam Gaudette, who has tested positive for coronavirus and a member of the team’s coaching staff.

The league is hoping that the Canucks will be able to play on April 8 against the Calgary Flames, but games against the Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets in the coming days will have to be pushed. All practices have also been canceled for the time being.

Vancouver and the rest of the North Division had been doing well until recently when several games have been postponed. The league had just issued a schedule update over the weekend and will now have to go back to the drawing board in order to fit in all 56 games by the end of the year.

NHL Postpones Calgary-Vancouver Game

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The NHL has decided to ere on the side of caution as a result of Adam Gaudette’s positive COVID-19 test.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that tonight’s game between the Canucks and Flames has been postponed.  The league has subsequently released the following statement:

The National Hockey League announced today that, as a result of two Vancouver Canucks Players (including one Player who was added to the COVID Protocol List after it was released at 5:00 p.m. ET today) as well as a member of their coaching staff entering the NHL’s COVID Protocols, the team’s game tonight against the Calgary Flames will be postponed. The decision was made by the League’s, NHLPA’s and Club’s medical groups. The League will provide a further update tomorrow.

This is a light week on the schedule for Vancouver as they’re just coming off of a week-long break and aren’t scheduled to play again until they begin a seven-game road trip in Edmonton on Saturday.  Clearly, that may not begin as scheduled now.  As for Calgary, they’re also set to play Edmonton next with their next game scheduled for Friday.  With the Canucks being the team with someone on the CPRA list, the Flames could still continue on with their schedule.

The North Division recently had recently undergone a substantial schedule reshuffling as a result of Montreal’s COVID-19 situation with the Canadiens only getting cleared to resume their schedule last night.  With those changes, the regular season was extended to May 11th so the league may need to use that extension to get this game in now although if Vancouver is forced to postpone other games, it could result in another sizable scheduling shakeup over the coming days as well.

Snapshots: Expansion Draft, Novak, Pettersson

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The Seattle Kraken cannot yet make trades, but that won’t stop them from making a major impact on the upcoming NHL Trade Deadline. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Kraken GM Ron Francis has begun to receive calls from a number of teams seeking input on potential deadline deals. Any team adding a valuable player who is not just an impending UFA rental is also adding another piece to their Expansion equation. In many cases, top contenders acquiring these quality players will either not be able to protect them or their addition will displace another valued player already on the roster. As a result, they have been reaching out to Francis to see what it would cost to make a side deal to protect assets that would be exposed by a potential deadline trade. According to LeBrun, the league’s other GM’s have not been happy with Francis’ responses. It seems the going rate for a side deal with Seattle to protect a player that they would otherwise be selecting is a first-round pick and a prospect. This price is scaring teams away from making major deals at the deadline, quieting a market that already has a number of restrictions working against it.

  • While a seventh-round pick may not mean much to the Ottawa Senators, especially given their immense pipeline of talent, it meant a lot to Bentley University. In 2018, the Senators’ final-round selection Jakov Novak became the first ever NHL Draft pick to attend Bentley, an Atlantic Hockey school who has never won their conference tournament nor qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The oft-forgotten Boston-area program was proud to add Novak, who has played up to expectations over the past three years. With 30 goals and 62 points in 87 games, including 17 points in 15 games this year, the power forward has been one of the best players in Atlantic Hockey – and other teams took notice. The junior winger is set to depart Bentley for greener pastures, leaving the program yet again absent of NHL talent. He’s not going far, though. Novak has announced that he will transfer to Northeastern University for next season. The Huskies exited the Hockey East Tournament early this year and did not qualify for the national stage, so they will be eager to add another talented forward with pro ability in hopes of taking a step forward next season. Novak hinted that 2021-22 could be the end of his NCAA career, but it only take one year for him to make a major impact at Northeastern. Vice versa, just one year playing alongside and against superior collegiate talent could be a major developmental leap for Novak that earns him a contract with Ottawa.
  • Vancouver Canucks star Elias Pettersson was eligible to be activated from the Long-Term Injured Reserve for the first time today, but his stay is not yet over. Head coach Travis Green tells NHL.com that the team underestimated Pettersson’s upper-body injury and he is not close to a return. “Definitely was more serious than we thought originally,” Green stated on Tuesday. “We didn’t think it was going to be this long. It hasn’t gotten any better to a point where he can play yet and I still think he’s going to be out for a few more games at least.” After a slow start to the season, the Canucks have been playing much better of late. In fact, they have the second-best record in their past ten games of any team in the North Division. However, still more than 100 percentage points back of a playoff spot, Vancouver will need Pettersson healthy if they want to complete the comeback.

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