Fan In Van

Scoop on Samuelsson

The Vancouver Canucks finally got their feet wet in the free agent market this morning when they signed rugged Swedish winger Mikael Samuelsson to a three-year contract worth $7.5M, which amounts to a $2.5M hit on the salary cap.

After watching the likes of Jay Bouwmeester, Marian Hossa and Marian Gaborik sign for much more lucrative contracts then the Canucks were willing to offer, it became clear the Canucks needed to add to their roster after already losing workhorse defenceman Mattias Ohlund to the Tampa Bay Lightning. After inking the Sedin twins for 5 years, the Canucks are currently on track to have almost an identical roster as last season, with Cody Hodgson and Michael Grabner fighting for roster spots.

Anyone thinking that Mikael Samuelsson’s arrival to Vancouver signals a boatload of offense is only joking themselves. But there’s still a lot to like about the Mariefred native; namely, the fact that Samuelsson has a Stanley Cup ring on his finger. It’s true when hockey players say that playoff experience is vital to winning the Stanley Cup, and last season the Canucks didn’t have a single player with a championship to his name. By adding Samuelsson, who has seen his fair share of playoff games with the Detroit Red Wings since the lockout, the Canucks finally have a player who knows what it takes to win the storied chalice.

In 2006, Samuelsson was part of the Sweden Olympic team that won Gold in Torino. Conveniently (or purposely) for Mike Gillis, he played on the same line as the Sedin twins, establishing some chemistry on an effective third line. By previously playing together on the Tre Kronor, the addition of Samuelsson will undoubtedly give coach Alain Vigneault an option on the powerplay or to mix and match his forward corps, which he will most certainly explore at some point during the season.

All that remains now for the Vancouver Canucks is acquiring another top-six forward. With few names remaining on the free agent market, Gillis and his cohorts would be wise to explore Mats Sundin’s options. If the big Swede is willing to return at a discounted price, the Canucks should have enough cap space to search for a puck-moving defenceman to offset the loss of Ohlund, whether it be via the free agent route (Marc-Andre Bergeron, Sergei Zubov) or trade (Cam Barker, Tomas Kaberle or Jack Johnson).

There’s a lot of work left to do for the Vancouver Canucks this offseason, but rest assured they are plugging the holes with strong additions. Today, it started with Mikael Samuelsson.