Thatcher Demko received a five-year contract from the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, according to a tweet by owner Francesco Aquilini. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The 25-year-old goalie could have become a restricted free agent after this season. He is 12-12-1 with a 2.77 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and one shutout in 25 games in his second full NHL season.
Demko is 8-3-0 with a 2.15 GAA and an NHL-high .937 save percentage in March (minimum 10 games). He was named the NHL Second Star for the week ending March 7 after going 3-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA, .969 save percentage and his first regular-season NHL shutout, a 4-0 win against the Winnipeg Jets on March 1.
Selected by Vancouver in the second round (No. 36) of the 2014 NHL Draft, Demko is 30-25-4 with a 2.92 GAA and .911 save percentage in 62 NHL regular-season games (59 starts) and 2-1 in four Stanley Cup Playoff games (three starts).
He helped the Canucks rally after they trailed 3-1 in the Western Conference Second Round last season against the Vegas Golden Knights, but Vancouver lost the best-of-7 series in seven games. Demko made 42 saves in a 2-1 victory in Game 5 to become the first rookie goalie to win an elimination game in his playoff debut since Jose Theodore for the Montreal Canadiens against the New Jersey Devils in Game 5 of the 1997 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. He made 48 saves for a 4-0 victory in Game 6, the most in a postseason shutout by an NHL rookie, and 128 saves on 130 shots in the series (0.64 GAA, .985 save percentage).
The Canucks enter their home game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday (10:30 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS, SNP, SNW, NHL.TV) tied with the Flames for fifth in the seven-team Scotia North Division, four points behind the Canadiens. The top four teams will make the playoffs.