I was away from my computer on Tuesday, which saved me from writing an unnecessarily worried blog about the future of Derrick Pouliot.
When the Vancouver Canucks failed to issue him a qualifying offer on Monday, I wasn't sure if that meant that he wouldn't be back next season. But the management team assured us that the move was merely a tactic to avoid triggering his arbitration rights, and that both sides were still doing their best to make a deal.
Sure enough, the Canucks announced on Tuesday that they'd re-signed Pouliot.
It's a one-year deal worth $1.1 million—a tidy raise from the $800,000 deal he signed out of his entry-level contract with Pittsburgh last season, before being acquired by Vancouver.
Last season marked Pouliot's first full year in the NHL. Averaging 17:51 of ice time per game, his 22 points tied him with Michael Del Zotto for second in scoring among defensemen on the Canucks.
If you ever need a reminder that the groupthink that rules the NHL draft doesn't always end up leading to optimal outcomes, look no further than Pouliot's 2012 draft class.
Click here for the full walk down memory lane, or just take a peek at the top 10:
1. Nail Yakupov - 350 GP, 136 pts, currently a UFA after 16 points with Colorado last season.
2. Ryan Murray - 264 GP, 72 pts, currently an RFA at the end of a bridge deal that paid him $2.825 million a year over the last two seasons. Murray was fifth in average ice time on the Blue Jackets last season, with 12 points in 44 games.
3. Alex Galchenyuk - 418 GP, 255 pts, just got traded to Arizona. For all the bad press that Galchenyuk gets, he leads his draft class in games played and is tied with Filip Forsberg for top spot in total points. Going into the second year of a three-year deal that carries a $4.9 million cap hit.
4. Griffin Reinhart - 37 GP, 2 pts, didn't play at all in the NHL last year after being acquired by Vegas in the expansion draft. Had 12 points in 60 games with the Chicago Wolves.
5. Morgan Rielly - 388 GP, 171 pts, a solid top-four defenseman for Toronto, Brian Burke got this one right. Rielly's 46 points last season ranked him second in scoring among defensemen on the Leafs. He's going into the third year of a six-year deal that pays him $5 million per season.
6. Hampus Lindholm - 371 GP, 143 pts, another solid pick, Lindholm has been a steady 30-point defenseman on the Anaheim blueline. Last season, he hit a career high with 13 goals. He's going into the third year of a six-year deal that pays him $5.2 million a year.
7. Matt Dumba - 310 GP, 128 pts, Dumba has been a little slower in developing that Rielly and Lindholm, but he hit 14 goals and 50 points last season for Minnesota. One of the younger players in his draft class, Dumba's an RFA who's coming off a two-year bridge deal that paid him $2.55 million. He's gonna get paid!
8. Derrick Pouliot - 138 GP, 36 pts
9. Jacob Trouba - 326 GP, 129 pts, injuries limited Trouba to just 55 games last season, but he's a key member of Winnipeg's strong top four along with Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers and Josh Morrissey. Often rumoured to be wanting out of Winnipeg, Trouba's an RFA again this summer, coming off a two-year deal that was worth a total of $6 million.
10. Slater Koekkoek - 76 GP, 13 pts, still struggling to establish himself as an everyday NHL player, Koekkoek played 35 games with Tampa Bay last season and was a frequent healthy scratch. He's an RFA coming off a one-year deal worth $800,000.
Now-established NHL players from the 2012 who did not warrant a top-10 pick include Filip Forsberg (11th, 255 points), Tomas Hertl (17th, 170 points), Shayne Gostisbehere (78th, 150 points), Colton Parayko (86th, 103 points), Jaccob Slavin (120th, 84 points) and Tom Wilson (16th, 104 points). Teams could easily have gone for scoring, toughness or a different look on defense if they'd set up their lists differently.
Going into last season, Pouliot's closest comparable would have been Koekkoek. After spending significant time in the minors, both were subject to waivers for the first time and signed identical contracts.
Pouliot probably benefitted from playing on a Canucks team that is not as deep on defense as the Lightning. That allowed him to get into more games. He was scratched for three games right after he was acquired at the beginning of the season, then another eight games early in the new year. His last healthy scratch of the year came on February 8—after that, he solidified his spot above Ben Hutton on Travis Green's depth chart.
Despite finishing 26th overall defensively last year, giving up 3.15 goals per game, the Canucks are well on their way to bringing back their entire defense corps from last year. Seven defensemen from last season are now under contract and RFA Troy Stecher is also expected to be back, while the draft has come and gone and Chris Tanev's still here.
"The last two years, we were on our 10th or 11th defenceman and one thing I learned in our division is you better have a lot," Jim Benning told
Ben Kuzma of The Province after Pouliot's deal was announced.
A healthy Olli Juolevi should be in the mix at training camp, and my money's on Quinn Hughes to turn pro and push for a spot. There's an outside chance that we might see Guillaume Brisebois, Jalen Chatfield or Ashton Sautner make a push in September, but it's more likely that they'll head back to Utica and wait for their chance as injury call-ups.
I haven't heard Vancouver linked to any potential UFA defensemen; it seems like all the chatter is about centres—now including Tobias Rieder:
More on the search for a centre as we get closer to July 1. I expect some dominoes will start to fall once John Tavares concludes his interviews on Wednesday.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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