Canucks Army Free Agent Profiles: Jason Demers

After a number of years as a fantastic bottom-pairing defenseman for the San Jose Sharks, Jason Demers definitively established himself as a top-four defender upon being traded to the Dallas Stars for fellow rearguard Brendan Dillon. Demers was a steady presence on a blueline that was in desperate need of one, while still contributing to the Stars’ quick and aggressive forecheck. 

Demers finds himself at the top of the second tier of defensemen in this year’s free agent class, just behind the likes of brand-name top-four defenders like Alex Goligoski, Dan Hamhuis, Keith Yandle, and Brian Campbell. He’s likely to net significant value to whichever team decides to pay for his services this off-season. Whether or not that team is the Vancouver Canucks is another story, however. We’ll discuss that after the jump.

 

Demers checks off just about every attribute a team would look for in a defender. He’s a strong skating, puck-moving defenseman who doesn’t shy away from the physical side of the game and can play both special teams. He’s attractive to the spreadsheet and pocket-protector crowd as well, playing significant minutes on second and third pairings for the majority of his career and crushing it in terms of possession metrics, remaining definitively in the black in all but one of his seven seasons in the NHL.

There isn’t one specific aspect of his game that stands out, but he hasn’t any glaring deficiencies either, save for occasional lapses in consistency. Demers would best be described as a steady two-way defenseman who’s responsible in his own end but also likes to join the rush and contribute to his team’s attack.   

 

Heading into free agency, Demers looks like a perfect fit for the Canucks. He plays the right side, he can move the puck, and at 28, he’s still young enough that he could continue to provide the Canucks with value towards the end of his next contract. The Erik Gudbranson trade has changed the landscape significantly, however. 

The key to the Canucks’ decision whether or not to wade into the free agent pool for help on the blueline lies in how they feel about their young defenders. The team currently has eight waiver-eligible defensemen on their roster (assuming Andrey Pedan receives a qualifying offer), but that doesn’t mean they’ll all be with the big club when the regular season begins. 

There are a number of question marks on the back end the Canucks will have to address before they decide how to approach free agency. Are Nikita Tryamkin and Andrey Pedan ready for full-time NHL duty? Is Ben Hutton a top-4 defenseman on a healthy team? Is Phillip Larsen enough to aid their puck-moving woes and cure their ailments on the powerplay? If Jim Benning is unsure about the answer to any of these questions, I’d imagine Demers would be an attractive option to insulate the team’s younger defensemen. If they’re confident enough in their growth to believe the team can be competitive, however, they’ll likely stand pat.

For better or for worse, management likely sees Gudbranson as a long-term solution in their #4 slot, so adding another right-shot defenseman doesn’t make a lot of sense. With the team’s current logjam of waiver-eligible defensemen it doesn’t appear that the team will be shopping for any more help on the back end unless significant moves are made between now and July 1st.

I wouldn’t count Demers out completely, though. The Canucks have the cap space to make it work, and some of their recent moves indicate that perhaps the team is more interested in attempting to be competitive than they are in following the conventional wisdom regarding how to execute a rebuild. Jim Benning’s shown he’s more than willing to ship out players he doesn’t see as a fit, be they young or otherwise, so don’t be surprised if a trade or two brings Demers back into the conversation.