On the opening day of NHL free agency, the Vancouver Canucks wasted little time in shoring up their depleted blue-line.
On Saturday, the team announced that they signed three defencemen, plus two forwards.
One of those defencemen is Carson Soucy, who spent the past two seasons with the Seattle Kraken.
The 6-foot-5 rearguard from Alberta, drafted 137th overall by Minnesota in 2013, had 3 goals and 16 points in 78 games last season. The season prior, he tallied 10 goals and 21 points in 64 games.
The team signed him to a three-year contract worth US$9.75 million.
“Carson will provide stability and size to our back end,” said Canucks GM Patrik Allvin.
“He is a player who uses his big frame to his advantage, plays a sound defensive game and also has the tools to chip in offensively. His experience playing a man down will be a great asset for our penalty kill this coming season.”
Also signed is blue-liner Ian Cole, 34, to a one-year contract worth $3 million.
The 34-year-old was drafted 18th overall by St. Louis in 2007. He had 3 goals and 17 points in 78 games last season with Tampa Bay.
The Canucks will be his eighth NHL team since 2010-11.
“Ian brings a lot of experience to our hockey team and will definitely bolster our blue line,” said Allvin.
“He knows what it takes to be successful in the NHL, knows how to compete, and he knows how to be a leader both on and off the ice. Bringing in someone with a Stanley Cup experience and pedigree is an important addition to our core group.”
The other defenceman was Matt Irwin, while the two forwards are Teddy Blueger and Tristen Nielsen.
The team said Irwin, a 35-year-old from Victoria, inked a one-year, two-way contract, but did not release the financial terms. He had 2 goals and 5 points in 61 games with Washington last season.
Blueger, a 28-year-old from Latvia, signed a one-year deal for $1.9 million.
In 18 games with Las Vegas last season, he had 2 goals and 6 points. The season prior, he had 2 goals and 10 points in 45 games with Pittsburgh.
Nielsen is a 23-year-old from Fort St. John who spent the last two seasons with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks. He signed a two-year, entry-level contract.
He had 14 goals and 41 points in 64 games last season.
Two weeks ago, the Canucks cut veteran blue-liner Oliver Ekman-Larsson, buying out the rest of his pricey contract that had four years left on it.
The 31-year-old from Sweden, drafted sixth overall by Phoenix in 2009, had US$29 million owing on the eight-year deal he signed with the Coyotes in 2018.
However, the Canucks, who acquired him in 2021, said they’ll pay $19.33 million over the next eight years.
“It was too good to pass up to get this cap flexibility, create the cap space this year and next year,” Allvin said at the time.
“It’s also given us a chance to plan for the future.”
On Saturday, reports began swirling that Ekman-Larsson was signing a one-year contract with Florida for $2.25 million.
The future of defenceman Ethan Bear, who is out of action until December, is also currently unknown.
The six-year professional from Regina underwent surgery in mid-June after injuring his shoulder while playing for Canada at the 2023 IIHF World Championship. H
Last season, his first in Vancouver, the 26-year-old tallied 3 goals and 16 points in 61 games and earned $2.2 million as a restricted free agent.
This week, though, the Canucks didn’t propose a qualifying offer, meaning Bear is now an unrestricted free agent and can sign with anyone.
The team also didn’t give qualifying offers to defenceman Travis Dermott and centre Carson Focht, though they did give qualifying offers to Akito Hirose, Nils Hoglander and Vitali Kravtsov.
— With files from The Canadian Press