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Canucks Prospect Lukas Jasek Signs Two-Year Deal With SHL's Modo

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The Canucks still hold the exclusive signing rights of Czech winger Lukas Jasek, but he won’t be returning to the organization next season. He’s signed a two-year contract with Modo Hockey of the Swedish Hockey League (translated team release link).

Jasek, 26, was a sixth-round pick of the Canucks in 2015 and spent the following three seasons in the Czech Extraliga before signing his entry-level contract and joining their AHL affiliate, then the Utica Comets, in 2018. He played in parts of four seasons for the Comets, putting up overall decent numbers with 86 points (30 goals, 56 assists) and a +11 rating in 153 appearances, but didn’t get an NHL call-up during that time.

Jasek had 28 points in 49 games but couldn’t help them avoid relegation to the HockeyAllsvenskan, but he’ll stay in the top tier of the Swedish system next season with Örnsköldsvik’s MoDo. The Canucks must sign him before July 1, 2025, and buy him out of the second year of his new deal with MoDo, or he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.

  • One of the Flames’ top defense prospects, Hunter Brzustewicz, will finish 2023-24 on an ATO with AHL Calgary, the minor-league club announced. Brzustewicz, 19, was a third-round pick of the Canucks last year but had his signing rights dealt to Calgary in the Elias Lindholm trade. He inked his entry-level deal back in March and, given his November birthday, will be eligible to suit up full-time with the Wranglers next season. He finished the year with 92 points in 67 games for the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League.

Canucks Recall Arturs Silovs

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The Canucks have recalled netminder Arturs Silovs from AHL Abbotsford, per a team announcement. He’ll serve as the club’s emergency backup (EBUG) for tonight’s Game 1 of their first-round series against the Predators.

Unlike regular-season contests, there’s no designated amateur EBUG in the arena for postseason games. As such, teams are allowed to insert a third contracted netminder into the game if both their starter and backup leave with injuries, even if they were listed as a scratch on the roster report.

Silovs, 23, has spent most of the season on assignment to the minors. He’s had a strong campaign after backstopping Latvia to a bronze medal and being named the tournament’s best goaltender at the 2023 World Championship, recording a .907 SV%, 2.74 GAA and four shutouts in 34 games with Abbotsford.

The 2019 sixth-round pick saw some brief NHL action down the stretch with Thatcher Demko sidelined due to a lower-body injury. While he routinely backed up Casey DeSmith, who saw the majority of the starts in Demko’s absence, Silovs made four starts. His numbers weren’t impressive, logging a .881 SV% and 2.47 GAA, but those reflect some poor defensive efforts in front of him. He saved exactly as many goals as expected, per MoneyPuck, and Vancouver recorded a point in all four of his appearances (3-0-1).

Including five starts last season, Silovs has a .898 SV%, 2.62 GAA, and a 6-2-1 record in his brief NHL career. He won’t see any postseason action for the Canucks unless disaster strikes, but with DeSmith set to be a UFA this summer, Silovs will be in contention for a full-time backup job next season. He needs a new contract, too – his entry-level deal expires in a few months, and he’s set to be an RFA.

Canucks Sign Vasily Podkolzin To Extension

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed forward Vasily Podkolzin to a two-year contract extension with an average annual value of $1MM. The 22-year-old is in the final year of his entry-level contract and currently carries a cap hit of $925K. The timing of the extension is interesting as Podkolzin hasn’t shown much offensively at the NHL level over the past two seasons after a solid rookie year back in 2021-22.

As a rookie, Podkolzin dressed in 79 games for the Canucks and posted 14 goals and 12 assists while he averaged nearly 13 minutes of ice time per game and showed flashes of the skill that made him the tenth overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. However, the following season, Podkolzin’s offensive numbers fell off a cliff as he registered just four goals and three assists in 39 NHL games and was demoted to the AHL where he played 28 games and tallied seven goals and 11 assists.

This season has been more of the same offensively as Podkolzin has just two assists in 18 NHL games, however, he has been much more assertive physically and has shown more responsibility with the puck on his stick, leading to fewer turnovers.

The extension seems like a low-risk gamble by the Canucks to try and sign a player with a ton of potential to a low-cost deal that could pay huge dividends in the not-too-distant future. While Podkolzin hasn’t scored much in the NHL outside of his rookie season, he has solid underlying numbers and has other elements to his game to which he can contribute.

Vancouver Canucks Send Down Arturs Silovs

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  • Now that goaltender Thatcher Demko is preparing to return to the active roster, the Vancouver Canucks have sent down goalie Arturs Silovs to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Throughout his recall, Silovs only suited up in four games for the Canucks, and performed adequately in limited time. Over those four games, Silovs produced a 3-0-1 record, securing a .881 SV% which was largely brought down due to giving up four goals on 18 shots against the Arizona Coyotes.

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Thatcher Demko Returning To The Lineup Tomorrow

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Vancouver Canucks play-by-play voice Brendan Batchelor is reporting that netminder Thatcher Demko will be returning to the Canucks lineup tomorrow night against the Calgary Flames. Demko has been out since March 9th when he left a game against the Winnipeg Jets with a knee injury. The 28-year-old has missed 14 games with the ailment during which Vancouver has gone 7-5-2.

Demko was in the midst of a career year when he was forced from the lineup due to injury. In 49 appearances this season, the native of San Diego, California has a .917 save percentage and a goals-against average of 2.47. His 34-13-2 record is among the best in the league and his five shutouts have him tied for fourth in the NHL.

In Demko’s absence, career backup Casey DeSmith stepped up to fill the void but could not sustain a stretch of solid play as he posted just four wins in ten appearances since Demko went down. DeSmith started well as he gave up just 11 goals in his first five starts after Demko’s injury, but would go on to give up 17 goals in his four starts after that.

With Demko returning, the Canucks will be hoping he can pick up where he left off before the knee injury. The Canucks have two games left in the regular season to get Demko up to speed before the playoffs. Demko has only dressed in four NHL playoff games in his career and sports a sparkling 0.64 goals-against average and a .985 save percentage.

Filip Hronek Could Demand $8MM AAV On Next Contract

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The Canucks have one of the better defensemen on expiring deals this summer in top-pairing threat Filip Hronek. He’s broken out alongside Quinn Hughes in his first full season in Vancouver and is under team control this summer as an RFA with arbitration rights. Speaking on the Sekeres and Price podcast today, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli thinks that Hronek is in a position to land an AAV in the $8MM range this summer after Vegas blue-liner Noah Hanifin signed a max-term extension with a $7.35MM cap hit last week. With the far superior Hughes locked in at $7.85MM through 2027, however, it’s nearly unfathomable that Canucks GM Patrik Allvin would dole out that kind of cash. If the 26-year-old’s camp holds firm in that ask, a one-year deal awarded via arbitration to walk him to unrestricted free agency in 2025 could be the outcome if Vancouver doesn’t trade his signing rights.

Blackhawks Recall Ethan Del Mastro

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The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled defense prospect Ethan Del Mastro from the minor leagues (Twitter link). This is the first call-up of Del Mastro’s career, after playing through his rookie AHL season this year. He’s recorded seven goals and 37 points in 66 games with the Rockford IceHogs, leading the team’s defensemen in scoring.

The Hawks selected Del Mastro in the fourth round of the 2021 NHL Draft, selecting him with a pick acquired when Chicago sent Madison Bowey and a 2021 fifth-round pick to the Vancouver Canucks. Del Mastro returned to the OHL for each of the last two seasons, recording 100 points across 120 games. Scoring was never his forte – with Del Mastro’s draft-year hype instead coming from his stout defense – though his 59 points in 52 OHL games last season and his strong minor league scoring this year are certainly starting to flip that narrative.

Del Mastro, 21, will join a very talented, and very young, Chicago blue-line that has also featured Alex Vlasic, Kevin Korchinski, Isaak Phillips, Louis Crevier, and Wyatt Kaiser – all U22 defensemen. The latter three names are currently on the Rockford roster, and the former two likely won’t face competition from Del Mastro. He’ll instead challenge veteran fill-ins like Jarred Tinordi or Jaycob Megna. Neither veteran has recorded a goal this season – instead boasting nine assists and two assists respectively.

West Notes: Demko, Dunn, McCann, Rantanen

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The Vancouver Canucks welcomed starting goaltender Thatcher Demko back to practice on Tuesday and could return him to the lineup as soon as Saturday, head coach Rick Tocchet shares with TSN’s Farhan Lalji (Twitter link). Demko is currently on Vancouver’s long-term injured reserve with a knee injury. He hasn’t played since March 9th, missing Vancouver’s last 12 games.

While Tocchet added that the team wants to be careful in easing Demko back in, there’s no doubting they’re ecstatic to have him back in time for playoffs. Demko’s success has been a big part of the Canucks’ climb up the standings, with the 28-year-old posting 34 wins and a .917 save percentage across 49 appearances this season. He ranks third in the league in wins and fifth in save percentage, among starting goalies.

Demko’s strong performances this season have continued his ascension, with the three-year starter in a good position to receive Vezina Trophy votes for just the second time in his career – joining his seventh-place finish in 2022, after he posted 33 wins and a .915 save percentage in 64 games. But he’ll have bigger goals in mind, with Vancouver poised to make the playoffs for just the third time since 2014.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Both Jared McCann and Vince Dunn will miss the Seattle Kraken’s Tuesday game against the Arizona Coyotes, per team reporter Alison Lukan (Twitter link). Head coach Dave Hakstol shared that both players remain day-to-day, with McCann facing a lower-body injury and Dunn nursing an upper-body injury. The pair have been highly impactful this year, each ranked in the top-three of scoring in Seattle, with McCann boasting a team-leading 60 points in 75 games while Dunn has 46 points in 59 games.
  • Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar has shared that forward Mikko Rantanen could return on Saturday, per Ryan Boulding of NHL.com (Twitter link). The star winger has been in concussion protocol after taking a heavy hit from Edmonton Oilers defesneman Mattias Ekholm on Friday. Rantanen eclipsed the 100-point mark for the second-straight seaosn this year, currently carrying 40 goals and 102 points through 77 games.

Elias Lindholm Skates With Canucks

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The Calgary Flames have confirmed that defenseman Oliver Kylington is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Kylington left Saturday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers after a collision with teammate Nazem Kadri. The 26-year-old didn’t practice with the team today and could miss the rest of the season depending on the severity of the injury. The Flames have just six games left in the season and will miss this year’s playoffs.

Kylington returned to the Flames in late January after taking a year and a half away from the team and dressed in 28 games since then, posting two goals and three assists to go along with 18 hits and 44 blocked shots. He appeared to get more comfortable as the season went on before this past weekend’s unfortunate injury.

In other Pacific Division notes:

  • Vancouver Canucks play-by-play voice Brendan Batchelor tweeted that forward Elias Lindholm re-joined the team today for the morning skate after an extended absence. The 29-year-old last played on March 23rd and missed six games due to an undisclosed injury. The Canucks high-priced acquisition has not fit in with Vancouver the way they expected as he has a disappointing five goals and four assists in 22 games. The Canucks have struggled without Lindholm, going 2-4 in his absence, and their penalty kill has fallen off without him going 68.2% in the six games he missed.
  • Kate Shefte of The Seattle Times Sports tweeted that Seattle Kraken forward Jared McCann and defenseman Vince Dunn are unlikely to dress tomorrow night when the team takes on the Arizona Coyotes. Both players missed practice today and were labelled doubtful for tomorrow by Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol. McCann has had another strong season with 28 goals and 32 assists in 75 games, while Dunn has also been terrific with 11 goals and 35 assists in 59 games. The Kraken have just two home games left in a disappointing season that will see them miss the playoffs.

Canucks Notes: Joshua, Silovs, Garland, Gardner

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The Canucks have nine players eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer and they won’t be able to afford bringing them all back so they’ll have to prioritize who they want to try to keep around.  To that end, team president Jim Rutherford told Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre that forward Dakota Joshua is one of their priorities to keep around.  The 27-year-old is in the midst of a breakout year that has seen him set new career highs offensively, notching 15 goals and 13 assists in 57 games along with 221 hits.  A late-bloomer who wasn’t even a full-time regular until last season, Joshua has been a nice bargain for Vancouver, playing on a deal with an AAV of just $825K.  It will likely take three times that amount or more to keep him around for 2024-25 and beyond.

More from Vancouver:

  • One way they could try to save money to keep their UFAs around would be to spend less on their backup goalie position. Thomas Drance of The Athletic outlines (subscription link) how Vancouver could deploy Arturs Silovs next season, either as the outright second-stringer to Thatcher Demko or by shuffling him back and forth between AHL Abbotsford to take advantage of his waiver exemption.  Silovs is a pending RFA whose next contract shouldn’t be much higher than the minimum salary while current backup Casey DeSmith is a pending UFA and is likely heading for a raise on his $1.8MM AAV.
  • Conor Garland is still a long way from retirement but the 28-year-old is already thinking ahead to his post-playing days. In an interview with Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma, Garland indicated that he wants to “coach more than anything” and has coached at some tournaments in past summers.  He has bounced back relatively well this season after being prominently featured in trade speculation, notching 16 goals and 24 assists through 76 games, numbers that are close to last year’s despite a dip in playing time to 14:19 per night.
  • Prospect Daimon Gardner has entered the NCAA transfer portal, reports Brad Elliott Schlossmann of the Grand Forks Herald (Twitter link). The 20-year-old center was a fourth-round pick by Vancouver back in 2022 (112th overall) after a dominant showing at the high school level.  He averaged over a point per game in 2022-23 in the USHL before making the jump to college this season.  However, his role was quite limited with Clarkson as he had just a goal and five assists in 29 appearances, resulting in him landing in the portal.

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