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Insider Suggests Demko Stole Job, Canucks To Move On From Markstrom

Did goaltender Thatcher Demko steal Jacob Markstrom’s job in Vancouver? One NHL insider seems to think so and explains why.

No doubt, Thatcher Demko had an incredible run of games for the Vancouver Canucks in their playoff series versus the Vegas Golden Knights. Ultimately, the Canucks lost the series, but on the back of a relatively inexperienced netminder, the team battled back and almost eliminated a heavily favored Golden Knights team, after having eliminated the defending Stanley Cup Champions in the series prior.

Demko played four total games in this year’s postseason. He posted a .985 save percentage, let in only two goals in his four appearances and in Game 7 particularly, stood on his head making 33 saves on 34 shots. He’s certainly going to be a heck of a goaltender if this limited run is any indication.

That said, it has been a limited run and in any other year, the Canucks would take it for what it is and feel confident they have a fantastic backup that could one day play his way into a starting role or allow the franchise to move a goalie for a sizable return.

Unfortunately, this is not just any other year.

Canucks Have a Goaltending Dilemma

Like many teams, the Canucks have to contend with a salary cap that is going to stay flat next season, It’s a cap that is making it extremely difficult for teams to do what they may planned to. For the Canucks specifically, they’ve have to hold off on signing starting netminder Jacob Markstrom because his higher salary demands will make for a tight squeeze in other areas.

Now, with Demko’s emergence, the Canucks have another question to answer… ‘Are the Canucks focused on the wrong guy?’

Invest in the Right Goaltender

This new salary cap is going to make it difficult for any team to invest heavily in two netminders. Thanks to a trade for Jake Allen, the Montreal Canadiens are seemingly going to give it a try, but they’ll be one of the few select teams spending big money on two backstops. The Canucks aren’t far off from having to make a potentially difficult and similar choice.

Markstrom is due for a contract extension this offseason. He could get anywhere from $6-$8 million on an extension and on a long-term deal. Meanwhile, Demko has one season left at $1.05 million and if he continues to play the way he did in these playoffs, he won’t come cheap when the 2020-21 NHL season ends.

NHL insider Nick Kypreos touched on the idea of which goaltender the Canucks might want to run with and actually said the Canucks would be choosing the wrong goalie if they put all their eggs in the Markstrom basket.

Kypreos Says The Canucks Should Go to Demko

Kypreos said on a recent edition of The Real Kyper at noon, “Demko stole Markstrom’s job, not only is this series, but for the future here.” Noting the Canucks have major contract questions for a number of players on their roster, the Canucks should seriously look at Demko as their solution.

Kypreos adds:

There’s just no way it makes any sense for the Canucks to get a contract in on Markstrom here at $6, $6.5, $7 million for what we probably think would be three or four years when you can go to Demko’s salary and save all that money so you can go give it to Quinn Hughes, so you can go give it to Pettersson. There’s just no way that you’re going to be able to sign Markstrom based on what you’ve seen out of Demko. He looks like he could handle 45-50 games next season.”

It’s incredible when you think about how such a small sample size of games can create a situation where such a potentially huge decision will need to be made about a franchise moving forward. But, that’s the situation a lot of teams will find themselves in this offseason as the cap plays a huge role in their decisions.

The Canucks have some key players that will require significant investments and if Demko is the guy and you can save $5 million on the cap by moving Markstrom, potentially picking up a decent draft pick for the rights to try and sign the pending free agent, it has to be seriously considered.

Next: Rumors of More NHL Bubble Games Will Hurt Chances of Rask’s Return

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. WSWsand

    September 6, 2020 at 10:03 pm

    Even on March 12th the smart people in Vancouver believed it was time to move on from Marky and find a cheaper option to contend with Thatcher for the number 1 gig.

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