Markstrom’s strong play buttressing his clout in free agency

With his strong play in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Jacob Markstrom continues to build a case for himself ahead of unrestricted free agency.

His contract is up and he’s surely due for a raise over his current deal.

We spoke with a half-dozen people around the league, promising them anonymity, working in a variety of capacities, to build a picture of what Markstrom’s camp should be looking for in his new contract.

“Good, quick, cheap. Pick two,” is the mantra a Vancouver cabinetmaker once followed. The notion was that you could get good cabinets for cheap, but it wouldn’t be quick, or you get cheap cabinets quickly, but they wouldn’t be good, or good cabinets quickly, but they wouldn’t be cheap.

And so on. You get the point. For Markstrom, there are three big items: how long the contract will be, how much it will be worth per year in salary cap terms, and whether there will be no-movement clauses of some type, which could restrict his eligibility for next year’s Seattle Kraken expansion draft.

There is broad consensus that Markstrom should be asking for a yearly cap hit of at least US$6 million, perhaps even US$6.5 million.

“He’s at his all-time peak, market-wise, today in terms of performance and age, so I want this to be his cash-in deal first of all,” one NHL scout said.

And he should be after at least four years, more likely five years.

Then there’s the question of whether he’d be exposed in the expansion draft, let alone get some no-trade protection.

Markstrom can sign a deal with another team, so if he’s signing back on with the Canucks, it’s because he wants to stay for the duration and not face the risk of ending up down the I-5 in a year.

Those three items intertwine in the same way as the cabinet maker’s good/quick/cheap once did. If the Canucks hope they can get Markstrom down to a more manageable cap hit, they’re going to have to go for term and accept he’s going to be protected in the expansion draft. If the Canucks protect Markstrom they’ll have to leave Thatcher Demko unprotected unless they trade or sign another experienced netminder.

And even that presumes Markstrom doesn’t think he can get a better payday elsewhere. The Canucks, of course, are hopeful that his familiarity with Vancouver will help bring him closer to their offer, as happened with Alex Edler last summer.

THE MARKET

There are a few goalies likely to be on the move in the off-season.

Washington’s Braden Holtby is a free agent expected to test the market.

The Vegas Golden Knights have Marc-andre Fleury under contract but they also have Robin Lehner in the fold at the moment. Lehner also needs a new deal but has been dynamite for the Knights since he was picked up at the trade deadline.

Either way, one seems likely to be in new colours for 2020-21.