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Canucks: Why letting Jacob Markstrom walk isn’t a bad idea

By Joshua Rey

EDMONTON, ALBERTA - AUGUST 16: Brayden Schenn #10 of the St. Louis Blues scores the game winning goal at 15:06 of overtime against Jacob Markstrom #25 of the Vancouver Canucks in Game Four of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on August 16, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The Blues defeated the Canucks 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)
EDMONTON, ALBERTA - AUGUST 16: Brayden Schenn #10 of the St. Louis Blues scores the game winning goal at 15:06 of overtime against Jacob Markstrom #25 of the Vancouver Canucks in Game Four of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on August 16, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The Blues defeated the Canucks 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images) /
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Jacob Markstrom lets in a goal by Zach Parise in a play-in game vs Minnesota Wild (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)
Jacob Markstrom lets in a goal by Zach Parise in a play-in game vs Minnesota Wild (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images) /

Markstrom’s Age

Markstrom will be 31 in January and once players reach the wrong side of 30, their play can decline. Goalies, however, can be unpredictable. Some still remain great in their early to mid-30s, while some can decline rapidly.

One example of this is Sergei Bobrovsky, who signed a seven-year contract worth 10 million dollars AAV with the Florida Panthers in the summer of 2019. It looks like Bobrovsky’s decline has started and he has struggled in his first year of playing in the Sunshine state. That contract is not aging well (Maybe not having Ian Clark as goaltending coach was a factor).

This 2014 article from Hockey Graphs did a deep dive on goalies in their 30s.  You can check it out if you want but it concludes that goalies don’t improve as they get older, the decline is noticeable by 30, and by 35, their play quality falls as fast as Weezer’s discography of Pinkerton. Unfortunately, when goalies decline, they can’t recover. The article also concludes by saying teams should be really careful when paying goalies in their late 20s or early 30s.

The question for Markstrom is how long can he maintain his level of play? Once again, goalies can be unpredictable. He could continue his great form for the next year or two and slowly decline or could decline as early as next year. Should the Canucks give him all the money in the world? Is it worth the risk? What if Markstrom declines rapidly? If he does and God hoping he doesn’t, the Canucks could potentially have another anchoring contract on their hands.

The Seattle Expansion Draft

The Seattle Kraken will be the 32nd NHL franchise and the expansion draft is expected to be held in June 2021. Teams can protect six forwards, three defensemen, and a goalie. It seems that one of Markstrom or Demko will be exposed as the Kraken will be looking for an NHL-caliber goaltender.

If the Canucks were to re-sign Markstrom to a long term deal, there is a No-Trade Clause or No-Move Clause that would likely be implemented into the contact. Expansion Draft rules prohibit players with no-movement clauses to be exposed unless they agree to waive. As a result, the Canucks could potentially lose Demko to a division rival for nothing. If Markstrom does walk, the Canucks would still have the chance to protect Demko and let somebody else get exposed to Seattle.

It would suck if the Canucks lost Demko to the Kraken for nothing and a big contract for Markstrom might let that happen. In conclusion, letting him walk could do good for the future of the franchise and it looks like Demko is ready to be a bonafide NHL starter.

Next. Canucks: Big questions heading into the offseason. dark

Conclusion

These reasons are why I think letting Markstrom walk wouldn’t be a bad idea. However, Jim Benning has said he wants him to stay and we shall see if both parties agree to a deal. If they don’t, I will be sad to see Markstrom go. But it might be for the better of the team in the long-haul.

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