Canucks forwards Boucher, Chaput file for salary arbitration

A pair of Canucks forwards have filed for salary arbitration, it was announced on Wednesday.

Left winger Reid Boucher and centre Michael Chaput are among 30 NHL players to do so, as they look for pay raises from last season.

Both Boucher (23) and Chaput (25) are restricted free agents and will have their salary arbitration hearings held in Toronto sometime between July 20 and August 4.

Boucher is an intriguing player.

A waiver wire favourite last year, he was claimed by three different teams (Nashville, New Jersey, and Vancouver) within a 32-day timespan.

The Michigan native scored seven points (5-2-7) in 27 games after being acquired by the Canucks, despite limited minutes. Boucher has 37 points in 112 career NHL games.

He’s looking for a raise on the $715,000 he made last season.

Michael Chaput was an under-the-radar free agent signing last summer. Expected to play primarily in Utica, Chaput appeared in 68 games for the Canucks in 2016-17.

He scored eight points (4-4-8), doubling his career totals. He has 16 points in 126 career games with Columbus and Vancouver. He’ll want a raise on his modest $600,000 2016-17 salary.

Both players are opposites in size and ability. Boucher is 5-foot-10 and a talented scorer, who needs to improve defensively. Meanwhile, Chaput (6-foot-2) is offensively challenged, but has good grit and defensive awareness.

Both players are unlikely to hit any sort of jackpot in arbitration, given their track records. Neither player is guaranteed a spot on Vancouver’s roster next year, particularly with the influx of unrestricted free agent signings on July 1.

They’ve got a lot to prove, no matter what their salaries turn out to be.

Teams and players are able to sign new contracts up until the arbitrator’s final decision. If the team is unhappy with the arbitrator’s decision, they can walk away from the contract and make the player an unrestricted free agent.

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