Goodbye, Jacob Markstrom. Hello, Braden Holtby.
It was strange to see the first big signing of Free-Agent Friday be a two-year deal for Holtby to come to Vancouver, even before Jacob Markstrom had made a commitment to a new team.
As late as Thursday night, we were hearing that Markstrom's reps and the Canucks continued to grind away at a deal that would keep the two sides together. But Vancouver acted decisively and intelligently when it became clear on Friday morning that an agreement could not be reached.
Holtby signed for two years, with an average annual value of $4.3 million per season. With all the uncertainty surrounding what the 2020-21 season will look like and how players will get paid, it's not surprising to see that most of the cash comes in the second year.
The #Canucks have officially announced and signed the Holtby deal.
— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) October 9, 2020
Interesting structural element to the contract here as VAN has pushed as much cash as is permissible out to the 2nd year of the deal:
2020-21: $2.9 million
2021-22: $5.7 million
CapFriendly is also showing that Holtby has a small no-trade clause, where he can list four teams he can't be traded to. Seems like he has a few very specific ideas of situations that he'd like to avoid.
The structure of the contract means that the Canucks will be able to expose him in the expansion draft, keeping Thatcher Demko protected and saving themselves the drama of having to make decisions about potentially moving goalies at next year's trade deadline — which would be all-but-impossible if the team looks anywhere close to being a playoff contender.
I do find it a little big mind-boggling, though, that Markstrom was so dead set on getting expansion-draft protection from Vancouver — and then goes and signs on for six years in Calgary. Seattle has been a model organization as it has put its ducks in a row and is absolutely gunning to follow the Vegas model when launch date finally arrives. Would that have been so bad?
Or — maybe it really did just come down to money and term. Markstrom's six years and $36 million in total contract value are both the biggest numbers we've seen through 4 p.m. PT on Friday — although there are plenty of big names still on the board, weighing their options.
The only numbers we've seen that are close this week are for RFAs who have just been traded. Josh Anderson got seven years and a $5.5 million cap hit from his new team, Montreal, and Matt Murray got four years with a mind-blowing cap hit of $6.25 million from Ottawa.
I'm sad to see Markstrom go. His growth as a player since he was acquired as part of the Roberto Luongo trade has been phenomenal.
After he was acquired in March of 2014, he allowed 10 goals in three games plus one period over the rest of that season, and posted a save percentage of .868.
The following season, he cleared waivers before taking Utica all the way to the AHL's Calder Cup Final. He did get into three games with the Canucks but only played 60 minutes once. I remember how excited I was to see him make his season debut in Vancouver against the San Jose Sharks on March 3, 2015 — and how horrified I became when he got pulled after giving up three goals on four shots in 7:45 of ice time.
The team elected to keep Markstrom over Eddie Lack that summer, much to the consternation of the fanbase at that time. But Markstrom rewarded the Canucks for their faith with a .915 save percentage in 32 appearances in 2015-16, and stayed consistent enough that by the time Ryan Miller's contract expired at the end of the 2016-17 season, Markstrom was ready to take the reins as starter — first with Anders Nilsson beside him, then with Demko.
While the faces are changing, the good news for Vancouver is that Ian Clark remains as their goaltending coach. During his availability today, Jim Benning mentioned a couple of times that Holtby thrived when he was working with goaltending guru Mitch Korn in Washington, and that Korn and Clark come from the same school, so to speak.
I'm a little concerned that Holtby's game was already on the downswing while Korn was still in Washington. He's a Barry Trotz guy, who moved on to the Islanders with Trotz after the Stanley Cup run in 2018. But remember how Philipp Grubauer actually started those playoffs, and Holtby didn't get the net until the Capitals were already down 0-2 to Columbus?
But Holtby just turned 31 in September, so he's actually only four months older that Markstrom. He brings another Stanley Cup ring and 97 games of playoff experience into the Vancouver locker room, which is a positive. And if all goes according to plan, the most he'll be expected to do is to work in a 1A-1B situation with Demko, who now can finally see a clear path to the No. 1 role after a development process that must have felt excruciatingly long.
Also, as Benning points out today, Demko is in that same age cohort as the Canucks' other young stars. With any luck, the group and grow and thrive together — much like Holtby did with Ovechkin, Backstrom, Carlson and the rest of the crew in Washington.
If you'd asked me last night if I foresaw this outcome, I think I would have said "It makes sense, but I really think a deal will get done with Markstrom."
I'm not thrilled that Markstrom stays in the division. He'll have plenty of opportunity to stymie Vancouver over the next six years. But I certainly understand the Flames' desire to lock in a solid starter for the long term. Since Miikka Kiprusoff retired at the end of the 2012-13 season, the Flames have gone through 13 goaltenders over seven seasons. Out of that group, the games-played leader is David Rittich, who is under contract for next season but who saw only 16:35 of action during this summer's postseason, as Cam Talbot ran with the ball.
A few other bits of business from Vancouver on Friday:
• The Canucks re-signed Tyler Motte to a new two-year contract with a cap hit of $1.225 million per season. That's a nice little raise for him after he was on a one-year deal at $975,000 last year.
• The Oliver Ekman-Larsson trade is dead.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson's agent Kevin Epp tells me that OEL is staying with the Coyotes: "Time's up."
— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) October 9, 2020
When asked if he thought he was close to getting a deal done, Benning said we'd have to ask the Coyotes. Said he made one last offer this morning but when that was rejected, it was time to move on.
• No messing around for Jake Virtanen. Just two days after receiving his qualifying offer, he has already filed for salary arbitration.
Jake Virtanen has filed for salary arbitration. #Canucks
— Irfaan Gaffar (@irfgaffar) October 9, 2020
The spectacle of this negotiation should be fascinating. Benning said today that the club envisions him as a consistent 20-goal scorer going forward. I wonder if those words get used against him if the two sides can't come to an agreement before the arbitration hearing.
• When asked about Tyler Toffoli and Chris Tanev, Benning said that he had spoken with Tanev's agent. Sounds like an offer has been made, because he said he expected Tanev to sleep on it and get back to the team in the morning.
• There are rumblings that the Canucks are in the mix on Tyson Barrie, along with the Oilers and Flames. Barrie's a B.C. boy, of course, so he may be choosing to stick with teams in Western Canada.
With Holtby's contract on the books, CapFriendly is now showing the Canucks with about $8 million in cap space, and three roster spots to fill — two of them being Virtanen and Adam Gaudette. But they're currently showing just five defensemen on the main roster — including Jack Rathbone.
Benning reiterated today that the club is expecting Olli Juolevi to be a Canuck next season. As things stand right now, there's also room for Jalen Chatfield, Guillaume Brisebois and Brogan Rafferty to try to compete for roster spots on the back end.
Benning also said he figured the free-agency tail this year could extend for three or four more days, perhaps as long as a week. So keep your eyes and ears open for more news nuggets while you're enjoying your Thanksgiving weekend.