Canucks sign Jacob Markstrom to three year contract extension

There were reports earlier this week that the Canucks were working on an extension for goaltender Jacob Markstrom, and that has come to fruition as it was announced this afternoon that the Canucks and Markstrom have agreed to a three year contract extension:

The deal is for an average annual value of $3.67 million, and the contract takes effect for the 2017-18 season, as the Swedish net minder has one year remaining in his current deal that pays him $1.55M AAV.

I had speculated that the Canucks would use James Reimer’s deal of 5 years at $3.4 million per season with Florida as a possible comparable, and this deal falls close to that range. It isn’t the closest comparable, as General Fanager on twitter provided some comparable goaltender deals around the league:

Have to give credit where it’s due, the Canucks management team are very smart to get this deal done now to ensure some cost certainty going forward. With Demko starting his pro career this fall, there is no reason to rush him and allows Demko to play through his ELC without having the weight being the ‘saviour’ on his shoulders.

For Markstrom, he has seen some very impressive growth over the last two seasons, and although he struggled at times last season – he was very dependable for the Canucks. He did have some leverage here, as he could’ve just played the season out, and then gone to UFA. That is likely why the dollar value is a little higher than perfect, but not a drastic amount to get upset about.

He will look to take over the net from Ryan Miller this season and going forward for the next three years.

Plenty to like about this deal – not long term and with a manageable cap hit, but also ensures there is some certainty in the crease for the next few seasons.