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It has been a busy 24 hours for Mike Gillis and the Vancouver Canucks.
About 12 hours after pulling the trigger on a multi-player trade with Carolina, the team has signed one of their own to a long-term extension.
Jannik Hansen, 27, will be sticking around for a while as he's signed a four-year extension with the Canucks. The new contract will see Hansen earn $10 million over the four-year extension for an annual average of $2.5 million.
I think that's very fair for what Hansen brings to the table and will only look better as the salary cap goes up over the next few years. This extension shows the Canucks didn't want to sit around and risk losing him as he was set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Hansen scored 10 goals and recorded 27 points in 47 regular season games last season. He was held scoreless in four playoff games.
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The Vancouver Canucks added some depth to their bottom-6 late Saturday night when they acquired Zac Dalpe and Jeremy Welsh from the Carolina Hurricanes.
In exchange for Dalpe and Welsh, Canucks general manager Mike Gillis traded Kellan Tochkin and a 4th rounder in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
Daple, 23, was a 2nd round pick of the Hurricanes in 2008. He hasn't panned out as planned but he has recorded 10 points in 41 career NHL games and still does have some potential. He would have to go through waivers to be assigned to the AHL so I'm assuming it's a safe bet to say he'll be on the Canucks opening night roster.
Dalpe only played 10 regular season games for the Hurricanes last year, but he was a 55% possession player which was 3rd on the team.
In Welsh the Canucks are getting a 6'3, 200lb winger who has some finish to his game. He scored 14 goals in the AHL last year during his first season playing pro hockey. He'll likely start the season in Utica with the Canucks AHL affiliate, but he'll provide organizational depth and could be called up at some point.
I imagine this doesn't bode well for the likes of Bo Horvat and Hunter Shinkaruk who have had decent preseasons, but didn't force themselves on the team. They still may get looks, but ultimately it's probably best to send one or both of them back to junior.
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Canucks nearing extensions with the Sedins; Gillis must be careful.
Eastern Conference playoff predictions.
Western Conference playoff predictions.
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