On Tuesday morning the Vancouver Canucks signed defenceman Chris Tanev to a five-year contract extension through 2021.
Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the contract will be worth $4.45M per season.
Canucks announce Chris Tanev five year extension. AAV $4.45M.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 24, 2015
The 25 year old Ontario native has two goals and 14 assists this season and is making $2M this season. Tanev is currently in his sixth season with the Canucks and is second on the team with a +10 rating while leading the team in shorthanded ice time and blocked shots. He typically plays on the Canucks top pairing, beside Alex Edler.
Tanev has 10 goals and 33 assists in 216 games played with the Canucks.
Canucks GM Jim Benning stated “Chris has developed into an excellent NHL defenceman and is an extremely important part of our team. He’s a player you want on the ice in the most critical points of a game and we’re excited about having him with our group as we continue to play to win today, with an eye to the future.”
Tanev was scheduled to become an restricted free agent at the end of this season. He could have been an unrestricted free agent in 2017. With the deal the Cancucks have locked up three unrestricted years. Given the lack of notable big name defenceman in the upcoming free agency market, it makes sense for the Canucks to lock up a young, improving, defenceman while they can. They have done so, ensuring that Tanev will be under Canucks control for the next five years, with an extremely reasonable cap hit given the market for top four defencemen capable of playing twenty minutes or more per night.
Tanev was undrafted, and originally signed with the Canucks as a free agent out of the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2010.
