The Danger Of Signing Goalies To Lucrative Contracts
The New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks are two of the NHL’s worst teams this season and are both on the verge of massive roster changes. While both teams face unique challenges, one parallel is that they’ve made a mess of their goaltending finances with pricey extensions that were miscalculations.
The Rangers and Canucks are far from alone in this predicament. High-priced extensions have also burned several other teams at the bottom of the standings, leaving them with goaltenders who had been performing well but whose play fell off a cliff after signing their new deals.
That isn’t necessarily the case for Shesterkin, however, it is the case for Linus Ullmark of the Ottawa Senators, Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators, and Jacob Markstrom of the New Jersey Devils, who are all making big money on recent contract extensions, with no guarantees their play will turn around. This has left three teams with win-now rosters featuring goaltenders who are vastly overpaid.
It’s become a trend over the past five-plus years that teams signing goaltenders to expensive deals must be seriously concerned about their performance throughout the term of the agreement.
There is concern about every player’s performance after they sign a lucrative long-term deal. However, goaltenders have become a unique cause for concern lately, and it’s hard to say why.
In the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s, many veteran goaltenders on the wrong side of 30 would sign expensive long-term deals without so much as a second thought from their new teams. In July 2002, for example, goalie Curtis Joseph signed a three-year, $24MM contract with the Detroit Red Wings, even though it wasn’t the best offer on the table.
Joseph had a three-year $26MM offer from the Toronto Maple Leafs but opted to move to Detroit. Toronto then pivoted and signed Ed Belfour to a two-year, $13.5MM deal.
By today’s standards, those contracts aren’t eye-popping, and the term is relatively short. But Belfour and Joseph were 37 and 35, respectively, and there was a chance their play would drop off significantly during the brief time they were signed.
Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine a team giving $8MM a season to a 35-year-old goaltender, and Joseph’s deal was inked 23 and a half years ago. The Senators gave Ullmark four years and $8.25MM annually just last year, but he had just turned 32 and was two seasons removed from a Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender.
It was a pricey gamble for Ottawa and hasn’t looked like good value this season, but Ullmark has been dealing with personal issues, so it’s hard to project how the deal will work out long-term.
Circling back to the Rangers and Canucks, they are a tale of two teams whose expensive goaltending has led to team-wide issues, but for wildly different reasons. In Vancouver, Thatcher Demko was signed to a lucrative three-year deal at the start of free agency, worth $8.5MM annually.
It was a gamble by Vancouver, as they hoped the former Vezina Trophy finalist could bounce back from a poor showing last season. Had Demko had a good year, he would have been a candidate to get $9MM or more on a new contract, but Vancouver thought it was wise to jump the queue. It has not turned out well.
If Demko had played well, Vancouver likely would have paid him an AAV slightly higher than the $8.5MM they gave him, but would’ve been on the hook for more term, which would’ve been riskier. Instead, Vancouver made a different bet and is now on the hook for more term than Demko would’ve received in free agency. But hindsight is 20/20, and for the Canucks, they are stuck with the Demko deal, one they’d love to have back.
In New York, it was a different calculation. Rangers’ general manager Chris Drury believed he had a Stanley Cup contender on his hands, which meant doing everything he could to retain his Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender, Igor Shesterkin. Drury moved out his captain, Jacob Trouba, to open up space to sign Shesterkin to a record-breaking eight-year, $92MM contract.
While it was the right on-ice move given Trouba’s cap hit relative to his play, the Rangers have never been the same since the trade. New York fell off a cliff last season and has remained at the bottom of the league this year, despite Shesterkin being good.
But that is the issue: Shesterkin has only been good. In the years leading up to his extension, Shesterkin was elite.
His play in those seasons masked many of the Rangers’ problems and led Drury and New York management to think the team was much better than it actually was. Shesterkin’s goaltending was a mask, hiding the fact that Drury had built a fatally flawed roster that relied too much on out-of-this-world netminding, which was clearly unsustainable.
While the Rangers, Canucks, Devils and Predators aren’t the only teams with pricey goaltending, they are the most apparent examples of paying a premium for goaltending. But even middle-of-the-pack teams can run into issues where their extensions turn into disasters.
There are good examples in Washington: a few years ago, with Darcy Kuemper, who had just won a Stanley Cup, and Philipp Grubauer, who had been solid for years before signing as a free agent with Seattle and becoming unplayable in the NHL. Matt Murray in Ottawa was the same story, but none is more egregious and obvious than Tristan Jarry in Pittsburgh, who was recently dealt.
Pittsburgh is a relevant example because of Stuart Skinner, who has been a revelation with the Penguins but is a UFA at the end of the season. Pittsburgh already has its goalie of the future in tow in Sergey Murashov, and the Penguins would be wise to ride Skinner into the playoffs and then let him walk in the offseason if his salary demands exceed $5MM annually, which they surely will. It should be interesting to see the Skinner story unfold, but there is plenty of evidence that the Penguins would be wise to avoid giving term to a netminder who is unpredictable.
Thatcher Demko Out For Season
12:01 p.m.: The Canucks are shutting Demko down for the season to undergo hip surgery, the team announced. He ends his year with an 8-10-1 record in 20 appearances with a .895 SV% and 2.90 GAA – both strong numbers behind a lax Vancouver defense.
8:35 a.m.: The Vancouver Canucks have been without starting netminder Thatcher Demko since January 10th, and his absence could extend even further. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Canucks are expected to provide clarity on Demko’s injury later today, and he may be done for the 2025-26 campaign.
Speculation regarding his availability for the remainder of the season came from Vancouver’s head coach, Adam Foote, who admitted that Demko’s season may be over. The nine-year veteran has been dealing with chronic knee issues for the last few years and was out with a groin ailment earlier this season.
At the time, Foote only acknowledged that Demko is dealing with a lower-body injury, and there’s no word on whether it’s related to his previous afflictions. If it is, Demko may need relatively invasive surgery, which could sideline him for months. Dreger confirmed that Demko has been meeting with medical specialists, which would explain the lack of clarity from the Canucks.
Additionally, it wouldn’t be a bad year for Demko to take off to regain his health. Vancouver is currently in the league’s basement with a 17-30-5 record and has no realistic pathway back to contention, even with Demko between the pipes.
Still, even if he does have surgery, there should be significant concern from the Canucks. If he misses the rest of the season, he will have made only 43 starts in the last two seasons. For comparison, Demko made 51 starts during the 2023-24 season alone.
Despite the injuries, Vancouver signed Demko to a three-year, $25.5MM ($8.5MM AAV) extension that begins next season. Considering that they’re already paying Kevin Lankinen $4.5MM through the 2029-30 campaign, that’s a relatively high price to pay for a goalie tandem on a non-competitive team.
Canucks Place Thatcher Demko On Injured Reserve
More discouraging news has hit the Vancouver Canucks, as they shared this afternoon that Thatcher Demko has been placed on injured reserve, his second such designation this season. The injury-plagued goaltender left last night’s game after the first period, and with fans fearing the worse, after the 5-0 loss Head Coach Adam Foote confirmed to reporters, including The Athletic’s Thomas Drance, that it was indeed a lower-body injury.
Based on the designation, Demko will miss at least the next 10 days, but after constant knee issues over the past few years, as well as a groin ailment earlier this season, it is another tough blow. A turnaround is effectively out of reach for the team, currently last in the league, losers of six in a row, and without a regulation win since December 19. Firmly out of contention, there is no real urgency to get Demko back in the crease, but having just turned 30, the past Vezina finalist and All-Star may be faced with dreaded questions on his long-term career outlook.
As they recalled Nikita Tolopilo under emergency conditions earlier today, Vancouver will move forward in the time being with him alongside Kevin Lankinen, a usually well-regarded backup, who unfortunately has struggled this season, with a 6-11-4 record, and an .883 save percentage, a career-worst mark for the 30-year-old.
Due to their star back stopper’s constant injury struggles, Lankinen played in 51 games last season, his first as a Canuck, a career high. Knowing they were in need of a dependable #2 option, Vancouver locked down the Finn on a five year extension worth $4.5MM per season. Lankinen figures to be a mainstay for the blue and green for years to come, and although the group’s overarching struggles are surely a factor, they will need more from Lankinen given the combination of his contract and Demko’s status.
Demko himself is in for a big raise starting in 2026-27, as he inked a three year extension last July, worth $8.5MM per season. Back then, GM Patrik Allvin figured the group would make noise on the way to a playoff return, on the back of a healthy Demko, but with a group rattled by injuries and Foote’s imprint unable to bring such results, the Canucks are left with more questions than ever.
The hope is that Demko will avoid another long-term absence, already having missed a month so far this campaign. While he could return as soon as January 23 against New Jersey, naturally there’s reason for more concern. Simply shutting down their star in a lost season could become a real option, leaving Lankinen to backstop the group into what could be a long spring.
Canucks Activate Thatcher Demko
Dec. 11: The Canucks formally announced Demko’s activation. Nikita Tolopilo was returned to AHL Abbotsford in the corresponding move. The 25-year-old Belarusian ends his recent string of call-ups with a 2-1-0 record in four appearances, posting a promising .911 SV% and 2.74 GAA.
Dec. 9: The Canucks are likely to have starting goaltender Thatcher Demko back in the crease when they host the Sabres on Thursday, head coach Adam Foote told reporters following last night’s game (including Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 950).
Demko’s return will come several days past his initial target date. The oft-injured starter sustained a lower-body injury against the Jets on Nov. 11, leaving the game after the first period. It’s believed to be a groin issue, unrelated to the knee issues that cost him a significant chunk of the 2024 calendar year. He was listed as week-to-week but was expected to be back in the lineup by the end of November.
While that didn’t happen, a late return is better than no return at all. Demko looked like his old self before landing on IR. His .903 SV% and 2.80 GAA in 10 starts don’t jump off the page, but they should when put in the context of Vancouver allowing a league-high 3.75 expected goals against per 60 minutes at all situations, per MoneyPuck. Demko has saved 6.3 goals above expected, and his save percentage is 25 points better than what high-workload backup option Kevin Lankinen has put on offer.
With an 11-16-3 record and seemingly unsolvable defensive warts, playoffs are all but out of the question in Vancouver this season. Getting Demko back should at least stop the bleeding, as the team now deals with offensive woes, scoring only 1.50 goals per game since Thanksgiving.
Demko’s early resurgence was significant in proving Vancouver didn’t significantly err by giving him a relatively rich three-year extension this summer. Kicking in next year, the deal carries a cap hit of $8.5MM and boasts a full no-movement clause. If Demko were to keep that level of play up and were open to a move if the Canucks engage in a complete teardown, that cap hit wouldn’t be prohibitive in trade talks.
Injury Updates: Canucks, Drouin, Wild
The Canucks could soon be getting some much-needed help on the injury front. Sportsnet 650’s Brendan Batchelor notes (Twitter link) that winger Nils Hoglander and goaltender Thatcher Demko could both return next Thursday against Buffalo. Hoglander has yet to play this season while recovering from ankle surgery but has picked up 61 points over the last two years combined. With Vancouver in the bottom third of the league in goals scored, adding some extra secondary scoring would certainly help. Meanwhile, Demko has missed the better part of a month due to a lower-body injury of his own. Prior to the injury, he was off to an okay start to his season with a 2.80 GAA and a .903 SV% in 10 starts.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Prior to tonight’s game against Colorado, the Islanders announced (Twitter link) that winger Jonathan Drouin is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The 30-year-old is in his first season in New York after coming over from the Avs in free agency and while he hasn’t been scoring much (he has just three goals), he has picked up a dozen assists through his first 26 games; his 15 points are good for sixth in team scoring.
- Wild head coach John Hynes provided a pair of injury updates to reporters, including Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (Twitter link). Center Danila Yurov’s return from an undisclosed injury is now imminent although he missed his second straight game tonight. The 21-year-old rookie has seven points in 21 games in his first NHL campaign.
- However, the news isn’t as good for fellow pivot Marco Rossi. Hynes shared that he won’t join the team on its four-game road trip. While he’s skating on his own, his recovery from a lower-body injury will now take longer than initially thought. Minnesota’s road trip ends on Monday with their next home game scheduled for Thursday. At that point, Rossi will have been out of the Wild’s lineup for at least a month. The 24-year-old has 13 points in 17 games so far this season.
West Notes: Wedgewood, Brossoit, Mammoth, Canucks
Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood has been added to Canada’s list for potential Olympic participation, reports TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link). It has been a breakout season for the 33-year-old who took on the starting job when Mackenzie Blackwood was injured to start the season and he hasn’t relinquished it. Through 17 appearances, he has a 13-1-2 record with a 2.09 GAA and a .918 SV%. While his international experience is also rather limited (just a World Juniors appearance in 2011), Wedgewood has certainly done well enough to warrant late consideration, especially with Canada’s goaltending group still in some question.
More from out West:
- Laurent Brossoit’s tenure with the Blackhawks hasn’t gone as planned. Signed to a two-year deal in 2024, he hasn’t played a second of hockey since then thanks to multiple injuries. That should be changing soon, however. The netminder told Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times that he’s actually ahead of schedule in his recovery from his most recent hip surgery which has him likely nearing a conditioning stint with AHL Rockford in the near future. Once cleared to do so, he can spend up to two weeks in the minors before needing to be added to Chicago’s roster or placed on waivers.
- While the trade market is still in the process of getting established this early in the season, several teams know they will be looking to buy when the opportunity arises. One team that hasn’t done a lot of that in-season lately is the Mammoth but it appears that will be changing. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman notes in his latest 32 Thoughts column that Utah is definitely looking to add to its current group. While they’ve scuffled a bit as of late in the win-loss column, they enter play tonight in a Wild Card spot and with them projecting to finish the year more than $5MM under the salary cap per PuckPedia, they have ample flexibility on that front to make a move along with one of the better prospect pools in the league.
- Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen could rejoin the team on their current road trip, relays Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre (Twitter link). It was announced yesterday that he was taking a leave for personal reasons but it appears that his absence will be a short-term one. Meanwhile, MacIntyre adds that their other netminder Thatcher Demko along with winger Nils Hoglander are expected in Los Angeles on Saturday to skate with the team, suggesting they’re nearing a return as well. Vancouver has been decimated with injuries in the early going this season but some help could be on the horizon.
Canucks Place Thatcher Demko On IR, Activate Victor Mancini
According to a team announcement, the Vancouver Canucks have placed Thatcher Demko on the injured reserve with a lower-body injury. In a corresponding roster move, the team has activated defenseman Victor Mancini.
Demko suffered the injury during Tuesday’s game in Vancouver against the Winnipeg Jets, which is why the Canucks made their transaction retroactive to November 11th. He left the game after the first period, stopping five of eight shots.
This is a familiar spot for Demko. He spent much of last season on the injured reserve due to knee and other lower-body issues. He finished the 2024-25 campaign with a 10-8-3 record in 23 games with a .889 SV% and 2.90 GAA. Still, despite the significant injury issues, the Canucks extended Demko to a three-year, $25.5MM contract extension this summer.
Vancouver will rely on Kevin Lankinen for the next few weeks while Demko recovers. Unfortunately, he’s struggled out of the gates this season with a 3-5-1 record in nine games with a .885 SV% and 3.57 GAA.
Meanwhile, Mancini returns to the lineup after missing the Canucks last eight games due to an undisclosed injury. He’s only skated in five games this season, going scoreless with a -2 rating. The 23-year-old blueliner was a supplementary piece of the J.T. Miller trade with the New York Rangers last year. Unfortunately, with seven other defensemen on the active roster, Mancini doesn’t have a spot in the lineup set in stone.
Thatcher Demko Out Two To Three Weeks With Apparent Groin Issue
Canucks starting netminder Thatcher Demko will miss two to three weeks with the apparent groin injury he sustained in last night’s loss to the Jets, Frank Seravalli of Victory Plus reports. It’s a new issue that’s entirely unrelated to the knee issues he’s had over the past couple of years and also irrelevant to why he didn’t dress for a pair of games earlier this month, Seravalli adds.
After his lingering knee issues and a few other ailments limited Demko to 23 appearances last season, he’s back to looking like a legitimate starting netminder in 2025-26. He started hot, compiling a .911 SV% and 5-4-0 record in his first nine games, until he allowed three goals on eight shots last night before leaving the game after the first period. That showing brought his year-to-date save percentage down to .903, along with a 2.80 GAA. Those numbers are still far superior to what No. 2 option Kevin Lankinen has put on offer (.885 SV%, 3.57 GAA, 3-5-1 record) and remain good for 6.3 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck, 10th in the league.
Demko sustained what looks to be a relatively minor groin strain when he stretched across his crease to make a save on Jets forward Cole Perfetti (video via Canucks Army). He played out the first period and took a skate as players warmed up for the second, but ended up ceding the net to Lankinen, who saved 20 of 21 shots in relief but took the loss.
Demko has only played two of Vancouver’s last five games, including his abbreviated performance last night, thanks to his pair of missed games over the weekend due to maintenance/load management. That stretch has coincided with the Canucks now allowing at least three goals in six straight games. The Canucks have been porous defensively this season. Even with his .885 SV%, Lankinen is still credited with 1.4 goals saved above expected. Vancouver is allowing 30.2 shots against per game, which ranks 26th in the league. Their xGA/60 of 3.77 in all situations is the second-worst in the league, according to MoneyPuck.
Without Demko propping them up for the next few weeks, the Canucks could be in for a slide. They’re already behind the eight ball with an 8-9-1 record, undoubtedly influenced by an injured list that now contains eight players, including Demko. Their -10 goal differential is 29th in the league, and they face a pair of top-five offenses (the Ducks and Hurricanes) in their next six games.
The Canucks were already rostering Jiri Patera as a third goalie after recalling him to back up Lankinen over the weekend, so there won’t be a corresponding transaction, and an IR placement for Demko isn’t necessary at this time.
Canucks Sign Thatcher Demko To Three-Year Extension
July 1: It will be a three-year extension for Demko when announced later today, PuckPedia reports. He will be a UFA upon expiry in 2029 at age 33. The team has now announced the deal, which is worth $25.5MM for a cap hit of $8.5MM. He will earn a $10.5MM salary in 2026-27, a $2MM salary and $6MM signing bonus in 2027-28, and a $1MM salary and $6MM signing bonus in 2028-29, according to PuckPedia. The contract also includes a full no-movement clause.
June 30: The Canucks are nearing an extension to keep goaltender Thatcher Demko in Vancouver past next season, sources inform the now-independent insider Frank Seravalli. He’s expected to sign the deal upon becoming eligible to do so tomorrow. They’re still ironing out the money and structure of the contract, but have agreed on its length, per Darren Dreger of TSN.
Demko’s early extension comes days after Dreger reported there was momentum on a new deal despite free agency still being a year away for the netminder. The presumably multi-year commitment comes after perhaps the two hottest-and-coldest seasons an NHLer can have. The 29-year-old’s 2023-24 campaign was outright dominant, posting a .918 SV%, 2.45 GAA, five shutouts, and a 35-14-2 record in 51 games as he finished as the Vezina Trophy runner-up.
Then, Demko sustained a knee injury in Game 1 of their playoff run that year, later revealed to be a popliteus muscle tear – an exceedingly rare injury for an athlete, which led to considerable uncertainty about his return timeline. He started the season on injured reserve and wasn’t cleared to return until December. When he did come back, he was in and out of the lineup due to unrelated injuries and an illness. That led to his numbers nosediving this season, as he logged a career-low .889 SV% and a 2.90 GAA in 23 appearances. That was still good for 1.4 goals saved above expected, according to MoneyPuck, due to a demanding workload in terms of shot quality.
Long considered the organization’s goalie of the future, he had fully achieved that title and was their undisputed starter until late-offseason free agent signing Kevin Lankinen stepped up in his absence this year. During the campaign in which he posted a .902 SV% in 51 appearances, Vancouver rewarded him with a five-year, $22.5MM extension in February. That indicates they anticipate Lankinen handling more of a workload than a standard No. 2 option would for the foreseeable future. He also has a no-movement clause through 2026-27, so a trade isn’t on the table anytime soon.
That indicates the Canucks anticipate Demko’s injury significantly altering his career trajectory and his ability to handle 50-plus starts per season consistently. Presumably, his pending extension will reflect that. His track record, compared to Lankinen’s more limited deployment in heavy usage, means he should still be penciled in as the No. 1 option on the Canucks’ depth chart entering next season and for the foreseeable future. However, Vancouver could be betting on a more platoon approach to keep Demko healthy.
Demko will still count $5MM against Vancouver’s cap for 2025-26 as he enters the final season of the five-year, $25MM extension he signed in 2021.
Image courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.
Pacific Notes: Kane, Demko, Turcotte
Although recently traded Evander Kane has just one year remaining on his four-year, $20.5MM contract, the Canucks are eyeing him as a potential long-term asset beyond this season.
Per Thomas Drance of The Athletic, GM Patrik Allvin stated that in his estimation, Kane has matured over the past few years in Edmonton and is a candidate for a long-term deal in Vancouver. NHL.com’s Chris Faber adds that Allvin believes Kane’s physical presence will make the Canucks hard to play against.
“Every team is looking to be harder to play against and for us, with the group we have here, when a player like this comes available [at this] cost, we felt we have a chance to upgrade our top-nine [and] middle-six, and become a harder team to play against,” said Allvin.
The 33-year-old winger put up 24 goals, 44 points, and a staggering 250 hits in 77 games for the Oilers last season. He currently ranks 20th all-time with 2,216 career hits.
Elsewhere in the Pacific:
- The Canucks are interested in extending goalie Thatcher Demko, and TSN’s Darren Dreger said on Toronto 1050’s Overdrive that he believes an extension is more likely than a trade at this point. While Demko is coming off his worst NHL season (due in large part to injuries), posting an .889 save percentage in 23 games, he carries a career .910 save percentage and is still on the right side of 30. Demko has one year remaining on his $5MM AAV deal and is set for unrestricted free agency next year. While the Canucks extended goalie Kevin Lankinen to a five year, $22.5MM deal, Dreger believes the team is still interested in getting a deal done with Demko. “It made sense until recently that they would have to consider trading Demko. But I was told by a couple teams today that Demko is more or less off the market,” he said. While Dreger said he wouldn’t call a deal close or imminent, he does feel both sides are getting closer on a multi-year extension.
- Multiple teams are interested in trading for Los Angeles Kings’ forward Alex Turcotte, per Mayors Manor. While speculation has been ramping up surrounding defender Jordan Spence and forward Trevor Moore, Turcotte is an interesting name to monitor. While Turcotte, a former first-round pick, has underperformed so far in his career, he’s coming off a career-high 68 games played and 25 points, and he’s still just 24. The fifth-overall selection in the 2019 draft could benefit from a change of scenery.