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Vancouver Canucks and Demko making major progress on contract extension: report

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
|
Jun 25 2025, 10:21 pm
Vancouver Canucks and Demko making major progress on contract extension: report
Bob Frid/Imagn Images

Vancouver Canucks fans shouldn’t be surprised to see goaltender Thatcher Demko sign an extension in the near future.

The 29-year-old has one more year remaining on his contract, meaning that he cannot sign an extension until July 1 at the earliest. Oftentimes, players go well past that date before signing an extension, but based on a recent report from CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal, it may not take a whole lot longer for the 6-foot-4 goaltender.

“There is a pathway to a Thatcher Demko extension in Vancouver by the end of the week,” Dhaliwal wrote on X. “Not done, but a pathway.”

Predicting Demko’s market value is difficult, as he had a disappointing and very injury-riddled season. Health has been a concern for the American goaltender, as he’s played north of 40 games just twice in his NHL career.

Demko was limited to just 23 games in 2024-25, posting a disappointing 2.90 GAA along with a .889 SV percentage. The previous season, however, saw him finish with a 2.45 GAA and a .918 SV percentage in 51 appearances, numbers that were good enough to earn him a Vezina Trophy finalist nomination for the first time in his career.

Despite the down season, AFP Analytics is predicting that Demko will wind up landing a five-year, $34.7 million deal, which would see him command $6.9 million annually. That would certainly be a risky move for the Canucks given his injury history, but would look like a bargain should he remain healthy going forward.

What makes this entire situation interesting is that in Demko’s absence this past season, Kevin Lankinen filled in as the Canucks’ number-one goaltender. He did an admirable job in the role and was trusted with a five-year, $22.5 million extension that will see him command a cap hit of $4.5 million. Should they indeed keep Demko around, they’ll have two goalies taking up a large portion of salary next season and possibly beyond.

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