Canucks: It's not money, term is big key in Thatcher Demko contract extension
Article content
Demko has one year remaining on his current deal at US$5 million and is eligible for an extension Tuesday.
There was always a contract comparable sitting on a tee. Demko's camp could take one look at what Linus Ullmark has accomplished, and what he agreed to in a new contract, and take a swing.
Ullmark, 31, had an expiring salary cap hit of $5 million this NHL season and then his four-year, $33-million extension kicks in with the Ottawa Senators. It carries an $8.25 million cap hit and that could be a win-win for Demko and the Canucks.
Demko never wanted a change of scenery and has always vowed that the best is yet to come. The Canucks are banking on that because they could have waited to see how he starts next season before making a considerable commitment. And comparable numbers should add up to a fair deal.
Ullmark has played 297 career regular-season games with a 2.54 goals-against average, .917 saves percentage and 13 shutouts. He won the Vezina Trophy in 2023. Demko has logged 242 games with a 2.80 GAA., .910 percentage and nine shutouts. He was limited to 23 games this season with injuries and posted a 10-8-3 record, 2.90 GAA. and .889 saves percentage and one shutout.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Vancouver Sun
3 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Canadiens trade Cayden Primeau to Hurricanes
On the eve of free agency, and despite tendering an offer sheet to retain the restricted free agent, the Canadiens traded goaltender Cayden Primeau Monday to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. 'Cayden is just 25 and coming off his best AHL season. He adds seasoned depth to our organization at the goaltending position,' Carolina General Manager Eric Tulsky said in a team statement. Selected in the seventh round (199th overall) in 2017, Primeau was 2-3-1 with the Canadiens this season over 11 games with a 4.70 GAA and .836 save percentage. In what might have been his final appearance on Dec. 12, he allowed three goals on seven shots in relief of Samuel Montembeault during a 9-2 Bell Centre loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. He finished the season with the Laval Rocket as the Canadiens went with Jakub Dobes as Samuel Montembeault's backup. Primeau was inconsistent in the playoffs for the Rocket, with a 3.27 average and .878 save percentage over eight games. While he shut out Rochester in the deciding game of the North Division final, he was exposed by Charlotte in the next round, allowing 12 goals over portions of three games. He was being pulled in two of them for backup Jacob Fowler, who started Game 4. Stu Cowan of The Gazette contributed to this report.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘I'm really happy to get to Winnipeg': Teen Swede hurries across the pond for Jets development camp
Viktor Klingsell admits he was growing impatient. And, to be honest, a little angry, too. The NHL draft was well into the later rounds this past weekend and his name had yet to be called. 'I actually turned my TV because I couldn't watch it anymore,' admits the 18-year-old from Sweden. 'I was so afraid that I wouldn't be drafted. A lot of guys dropped. All the small players just dropped off. My mind went through a hell.' Turns out he missed his magical moment. A text from his agent on Saturday afternoon gave him the heads up that the Winnipeg Jets had just selected him in the fifth round, 156th overall. That's a far cry from being a consensus top-100 pick on the lists of most prospect pundits. BROOK JONES/FREE PRESS FILES Viktor Klingsell is looking forward to experiencing a Winnipeg Whiteout. What followed next was a wave of emotions and a frantic 36 hours which took him from an island outside Stockholm — where he was at the family's summer cottage — to his new hockey home more than 6,500 kilometres away just in time for the start of Monday's week-long development camp. A boat ride, a cab to the airport and multiple flights were his immediate reward. 'I'm really happy to get to Winnipeg. It's a really nice hockey town,' Klingsell said shortly after completing his off-ice testing. 'It's kind of similar to my hometown in Skelleftea. I'm really looking forward to it.' It didn't take Klingsell long to get comfortable, aided by the fact that his good friend since childhood, Sascha Boumedienne, was picked in the first round, 28th overall, by the Jets on Friday night. Their fathers began playing hockey together as youths and have remained close over the years. 'It's a big thing to have Swedes here,' said Klingsell, who is joined by other countrymen in the organization including David Gustafsson, Fabian Wagner, Alfons Freij and Elias Salomonsson, who sent him a congratulatory video message on Saturday. Jets director of amateur scouting Mark Hillier said he hopes they got a 'steal' in Klingsell, who may be short in stature (5-foot-10, 188 pounds) but is big on skill and heart. It also doesn't hurt that he admittedly has a good-sized chip on his shoulder and no shortage of confidence. 'I think size was a big thing in this draft. All of the forwards who went early were over six-feet. But I don't think that's a problem for me because I'm such a smart player,' he said. Klingsell likened himself to Jesper Bratt of the New Jersey Devils, who fell all the way to the sixth-round in 2016 and now has become a legitimate star with a career-high 88 points in 81 games this past year. 'I feel like I have the potential for that,' he said. Klingsell will hit the ice for the first time on Tuesday as the first of four skating sessions gets underway at Hockey For All Centre. He'll be joined by 15 other recent Winnipeg draft picks, including the other four 'Class of 2025' members taken this past weekend, plus 13 undrated players here on free agent invites. 'I'm looking forward to meeting all the guys and connecting with the staff. Just having a fun time,' said Klingsell. That's really what this week is all about. Jimmy Roy, the director of player development for the Jets, said individual evaluations take a back seat to relationship-building. 'There's a real personal touch to being able to spend time with these players in the middle of the summer. Not only for us but for them,' he said Monday. Nightly dinners and fun activities such as an escape room are planned. 'I was just sitting in there having lunch with the guys. Listening to how loud it was in there and everybody talking, it wasn't quiet,' said Roy, who was at the draft in Los Angeles and is the key point person, along with Mike Keane, to work with these young players and their families. 'And that's when I was thinking this is what you want for a camp like this. Everybody's getting to know each other, right? That's a big part of it.' Roy laughed when asked if he's been brushing up on his Swedish lately. 'You know what? We've got some great prospects,' he said. 'I like going over there and seeing those players. It's one of my favourite places to go. It's just really good to have all of those kids here.' This will mark the final development camp for young prospects such as forwards Brayden Yager, Colby Barlow and Jacob Julien, who will all be turning pro this fall. 'That's really exciting. I don't think we've had this number of prospects being put in this situation before, that are turning pro to help the organization, whether it's with the Winnipeg Jets or the Manitoba Moose, said Roy. 'There's a development process and I think it's going to be really fun to watch.' There are also players like Freij, Kevin He, Kieron Walton, Markus Loponen, Zach Nehring and Garrett Brown who are getting closer to taking the next step. Then you have those like Klingsell who are just taking the first beginning their journey. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Klingsell may not have known much about Winnipeg when he woke up Saturday morning, but he sure does now. 'I love the Whiteout you have here. That's probably the biggest thing,' he said. Klingsell will soak in the experience this week before heading back home to get ready to play another season with Skelleftea in the top Swedish men's league. Development camp skates begin at 10 a.m. daily and are open to the public. X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg Mike McIntyreReporter Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike. Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CTV News
4 hours ago
- CTV News
Oilers sign Bouchard to 4-year, US$42M contract
Edmonton Oilers' Evan Bouchard (2) celebrates his game-winning goal against the Montreal Canadiens during overtime NHL action in Edmonton on Thursday, March 6, 2025. The Edmonton Oilers have completed a key piece of off-season business. Edmonton re-signed star defenceman Evan Bouchard to a four-year, US$42-million contract Monday,the National Hockey League club confirmed late Monday afternoon. The hard-shooting Bouchard, known for his 'Bouch Bomb' from the point, was set to become a restricted free agent when the market opened Tuesday at noon ET. The 25-year-old from Oakville, Ont., earns a massive raise on his previous $3.9-million salary cap hit after back-to-back high-production seasons to help Edmonton into the Stanley Cup final twice. Bouchard, drafted 10th overall by the Oilers in 2018, broke out with 18 goals and 64 assists across 81 games in 2023-24 before adding 32 points in 25 games during the playoffs. Last season, he tallied 23 points in 22 playoff games after a 67-point regular season. Only Bobby Orr (1.243) has a higher points-per-game average among defencemen than Bouchard's 1.08 in the post-season. Bouchard becomes the NHL's fourth-highest-paid defenceman next season, behind Erik Karlsson, Drew Doughty and Rasmus Dahlin. Earlier Monday, the Oilers re-signed winger Kasperi Kapanen to a one-year, US$1.3-million contract. Kapanen, 28, had 13 points in 57 regular-season games and added six more in 12 playoff appearances after being claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Blues. The Oilers also signed centre Noah Philp on Monday to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000. Philp, 26, appeared in 15 games for Edmonton last season and recorded two assists. The Canmore, Alta., native had 35 points, including 19 goals, in 55 games with the AHL's Bakersfield Condors. Edmonton forwards Corey Perry, Connor Brown and Jeff Skinner, along with defenceman John Klingberg, remain unsigned and are set to become unrestricted free agents. Oilers superstar Connor McDavid also becomes eligible to sign an extension Tuesday. He has one year left on his current deal. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2025.
