Canucks make a smart gamble with Zeev Buium extension

The Vancouver Canucks raised a lot of eyebrows recently when they signed defenseman Zeev Buium to an eight-year, $75.04 million contract extension. That type of term and money is not typically given to a relatively unproven player like Buium, who has just 76 games of NHL experience under his belt.

While the deal certainly comes with risk for the Canucks, it also has tremendous upside. The 20-year-old Buium, who was the centerpiece of Vancouver’s return from the Minnesota Wild in last season’s blockbuster Quinn Hughes trade, has already shown high-end flashes in the NHL, putting up promising stats on an awful Canucks team last year. If Buium develops into the number-one defenseman Vancouver expects, the $9.38 million average annual value (AAV) on this extension will look like a steal.

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton discussed the calculated gamble the Canucks made with Buium’s extension.

Tyler Yaremchuk: In his first NHL season last year, he put up 26 points in 76 games splitting between the Vancouver Canucks and the Minnesota Wild. What I like about it is he showed he a lot of promise at a super young age. At 20 years old, if you go back and look at Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar and Evan Bouchard, Bouchard wasn’t in the NHL at 20, Makar wasn’t in the NHL at 20, and Quinn Hughes put up eight goals and 45 assists for 53 points in 68 games, with 25 of those points coming on the power play. You look at Buium, with more power play time, you’re going to see those offensive numbers shoot up.

Here’s the big difference for me, Hutts, when I compare the Canucks giving Buium this deal and the Bruins giving Fraser Minter his deal. if Minten turns into a 2C who’s putting up 55 points, that’s a fair contract for him. His ceiling is a lot closer to what his $7.2 million AAV is. If Buium becomes anywhere close to one of the top 15 or top 10 offensive defensemen in the league, which I think a lot of people would recognize that he certainly could be, this contract’s going to be a bargain. The other difference is Boston’s a contender right now. This is a gamble that takes away from their ability to add to their current team. I look at Vancouver and I go “Yeah, take this chance on Buium because you’re going to suck for the next four years. What else do you need the money for? Why not see if this can turn into a bargain four years from now when you’re hopefully contending for a Cup.”

You can catch the full discussion and the rest of Wednesday’s episode here…