On Monday, Scott Maxwell of Daily Faceoff released his list of the top contracts signed so far in free agency. Among those is new Vancouver Canucks defenceman Vincent Desharnais.
Desharnais signed a two-year, $4 million contract with an average annual value of $2 million after spending the past two seasons with the Edmonton Oilers.
Here is what Scott had to say on his new contract:
“In terms of their market value, I’d say that both Vincent Desharnais and Blake Lizotte probably got close to what they’re worth in terms of these contracts… I wanted to mention them because I like the upside they could potentially bring to their new teams if they get put in the right roles, but for now, these contracts are just fair rather than total steals.”
Fair seems fair. Especially when considering the amount of negative feedback surrounding this deal among Canucks’ fans, who believe it is far too much cash for a player who seems a bit redundant on the Canucks’ blueline. For a 28-year-old defenceman with only 114 NHL games under his belt, $2 million per year seems a little steep. But here’s why he made this list.
Desharnais was a much-needed solid presence on the blue line for the Oilers in the postseason. In 16 games, he recorded one assist while averaging 17:14 of ice time. That experience should go far. He finished the playoffs at a minus-9 rating, but also played most of his games in the first three rounds before Stuart Skinner really found his game, so Edmonton as a whole was allowing quite a few goals.
His possession game is strong, with a 51 percent Corsi-For over his career, and he has racked up a plus-18 over the past two regular seasons. He is also a right-handed defenceman. There are not enough of those to go around in the NHL right now, and the Canucks believe he can fit into a role that they need.
Patrik Allvin made it clear that the coaching staff feels they can get more of Desharnais, and Desharnais himself even shared last week that a call from Rick Tocchet and Adam Foote helped make his decision to sign in Vancouver an easier one.
