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Vancouver Canucks: Goaltender Thatcher Demko Signs Entry-Level Contract
April 21, 2016, 2:03 PM ET [267 Comments]
Carol Schram
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It's official. As expected, Thatcher Demko inked his entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.




Here are the terms of the deal:




In a nutshell, Demko is receiving the maximum allowable terms for an entry-level contract. Considering all the paranoia that the Canucks might not be able to bring him into the fold, we're OK with that, right? Not exactly the time to play hardball.




Two points here. First—I think it's perfectly fine at this point to pay Demko as if he's a first-rounder. His development over the past two years has elevated him to that status and, as Matt Larkin points out in this Hockey News article, Demko is now ranked second among all goaltending prospects in the NHL behind 2015 first-rounder Ilya Samsonov.

Second—AAV includes full payout of all possible performance bonuses. Here's a broad outline from Cap Friendly, explaining the different types of bonuses available to players on entry-level contracts.

Signing bonuses may not exceed 10 percent of the contract’s total compensation, and is paid to players annually. Performance bonuses for entry-level contracts, that are paid by the team and count against the salary cap cannot exceed a maximum of $2,850,000. Performance Bonuses are broken into 2 categories: Schedule A and Schedule B. Schedule A Bonuses may not exceed $212,500 per individual bonus, and $850,000 in total. There are two types of Schedule B Bonuses. League-wide award/trophy bonuses that are paid by the league and are not captured within the actual entry-level contract signed by the player, and player & club agreed upon bonuses, of which the maximum is $2million per season.


Also as expected, Trevor Linden is making it crystal clear that Demko will start his pro career next season in Utica.




Linden also makes mention of Demko's plan to be part of Team USA at next month's World Championships in Russia, which was announced last week.

There seems to be some uncertainty about when Demko will be available:




Even if he's the third goaltender who isn't expected to play, I would think the Americans would need to have him in the fold when the tournament gets underway on May 6, in case of an injury to Keith Kinkaid or Mike Condon. I guess we'll see how that plays out.

In that Hockey News article, Matt Larkin quotes Rollie Melanson's thoughts on what a goaltender gets out of learning the pro game at the AHL level:

“It’s always better to learn from your mistakes at the American League level, and the American League level is probably one of the best leagues in the world, with the travel and being close to the schedule of what the NHL has to offer, having to play sometimes three games in four nights and stuff of that nature,” Melanson said. “I really believe, even at a high talent level, that a year in the minors or close to a year in the minors is good for you. If you can get in 100 games, it would even better. I’m a big believer you can monitor and develop guys at a high level in American League, and when they come to the NHL, they’re going to be that much closer.”


Larkin also reminds us that Melanson oversaw Carey Price's development while he was with the Montreal Canadiens. That's a nice resume item!

Over at The Province, Ben Kuzma spoke with Canucks' goaltending consultant Dan Cloutier about Demko's career track.

“Goalies coming out of junior or college, the first month is always tough for a number of reasons. Especially the college game. I find with bigger ice, there’s more time to get in position and more time to get set. When you come to the AHL, there are more plays and you don’t have as much time to get set. And there are more turnovers.

“He’s going to have to bring it up another gear speed wise. All of a sudden, you’re up against guys who can pick the corners and in junior and college, you could just use your size to your advantage. He can do that at the next level, but usually the first two lines in the AHL are pretty talented with good shooters. He’s going to have to read releases and track pucks, but these are little things he can work on.”


“I like his competitiveness and net presence and the way he doesn’t give up,” Cloutier adds. “He tries to make every save, even if he’s out of the play."

That's why we've seen him make so many insane highlight-reel saves during his Boston College career.



Kuzma is supposed to speak with Demko today, so we should soon hear more about his immediate plans. He finally Tweeted about his signing this morning:




Playoff Thoughts

The Philadelphia Flyers avoided being the first team eliminated from the 2016 playoffs on Wednesday thanks to a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Tonight, the Detroit Red Wings and (gasp!) the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks will also try to stave off elimination.

It's a little surprising to see the Hawks and the Los Angeles Kings with their backs against the wall so early, both down 3-1. I'll wait and see, though, before writing my postmortems.

It wasn't so long ago, in 2014, that the Blackhawks were down 0-2 to the Blues before turning that series around, and the Kings fell into an 0-3 hole against the Sharks before rebounding to win the series, and the Stanley Cup.

Maybe the passage of time and the inevitable roster attrition of the salary-cap era will be too much for the two best teams of the decade to overcome this year, but I suspect they'll fight until the bitter end.

The Flyers and Caps reminded us last night that the fourth game is always the hardest to win. There could still be quite a long journey ahead before the story of this first round is written.
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