The Vancouver Canucks continued to set the table for free agency on Wednesday, re-signing a key bottom-six forward to a very reasonable contract.
Among forwards that spent the whole season with the Canucks, Teddy Blueger was fifth in average ice time, playing 14:56 per game. He matched his career high with 28 points in 68 games, was 53.1% in the faceoff circle, and played a significant role on the penalty kill — he led all Canucks forwards in shorthanded ice time.
Blueger would have been a difficult player to replace for the Canucks, so thankfully they won't have to, as he signed a two-year contract on Wednesday with an average annual value of $1.8 million.
Despite the salary cap going up next season, that's actually a discount from Blueger's previous contract with the Canucks, which carried a cap hit of $1.9 million. That contract, however, was for just one year. The Canucks gave Blueger some security with a two-year deal, which likely helped bring the cap hit down.
The deal also includes a 12-team no-trade clause, which also could have helped keep the cap hit reasonable, as it gives Blueger a small measure of control over where he plays over the next two seasons.
“Teddy was a key addition to our team last year and we are really excited to have him back for a couple more seasons,” said Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin in a statement. “His versatility and experience really helped our group in both the regular season and playoffs. He is a strong leader and someone we will count on a lot more moving forward.”
The 29-year-old centre was part of one of the best third lines in hockey this past season, partnering with Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua to form a line that had many nicknames, such as the Good Job Boys, the No Name Line, and the 3st Line. While Garland is still under contract, Joshua could be on his way out of Vancouver as he'll be able to fetch a high price in free agency.
Re-signing Blueger became particularly important once it became clear that the Canucks were not going to be able to bring back Elias Lindholm. With few centres available in free agency, keeping Blueger on a reasonable deal makes a lot of sense to ensure the Canucks still have strong depth up the middle of the ice.
Adding Blueger's $1.8 million cap hit to the roster also provides some clarity to the Canucks' salary cap picture as free agency approaches on July 1.
The Canucks currently have approximately $17.7 million in cap space with 17 players on the roster. Their biggest needs are a top-six winger — potentially two if they would rather have Pius Suter lined up at centre — a right-shot top-four defenceman, and two bottom-pairing defencemen.
