Canucks sign Ian Cole and Teddy Blueger in free agency

The Vancouver Canucks have made their first moves of free agency, signing defenceman Ian Cole and centre Teddy Blueger.

Both contracts are one-year deals, with Cole getting $3 million, while Blueger will earn $1.9 million. The team also announced the signing of Tristen Nielsen to a two-year entry-level contract.

General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the #Canucks have agreed to terms with the following players:
– Ian Cole (one year, $3M)
– Teddy Blueger (one year, $1.9M)
– Tristen Nielsen (two-year, entry-level contract)

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) July 1, 2023

Both Cole and Blueger have ties to Jim Rutherford, Patrik Allvin, and Rick Tocchet, as they are former Pittsburgh Penguins players. They also appear set to fill important roles for the Canucks.

Cole, 34, was a top-four defenceman with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, averaging 19:23 of ice time. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound blueliner was also one of their most relied upon penalty killers (2:53 average shorthanded ice time). The native of Ann Arbor, Michigan scored 17 points (3-14-17) in 78 games. He has 748 games of NHL experience with St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Colorado, Minnesota, Carolina, and Tampa Bay.

“Ian brings a lot of experience to our hockey team and will definitely bolster our blueline,” Allvin said in a media release. “He knows what it takes to be successful in the NHL, knows how to compete, and he knows how to be a leader both on and off the ice. Bringing in someone with a Stanley Cup experience and pedigree is an important addition to our core group.”

Blueger is a 28-year-old centre that won a Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights, after being traded late in the season from the Penguins. The 6-foot, 185-pound Latvian scored 16 points (4-12-16) in 63 games last season. He’s only one year removed from a career-best season in Pittsburgh, when he scored 28 points (9-19-28) in 65 games.

Blueger is a left-shot centre that won 52% of his faceoffs last season. He’s also an experienced penalty killer, averaging over two minutes of shorthanded ice time per game in each of the last four seasons.

“Teddy is someone we are familiar with and will fit in nicely with our club,” said Allvin. “We needed some veteran experience down the middle to help us improve this coming season. Teddy has been a part of two Stanley Cup winning teams and will add a lot to our lineup, including the ability to kill penalties, an area we know we have to be better this year.”

Nielsen, 23, has spent the past two seasons with the Abbotsford Canucks. The Fort St. John, BC native scored 41 points (14-27-41) in 64 AHL games with Abbotsford last season. A 5-foot-10 centre, Nielsen is also former member of the Vancouver Giants.

Not long after the Canucks signed Cole and Blueger, they announced the signing of defenceman Carson Soucy. Both Cole and Soucy are left-shot defencemen, but both have experience playing the right side.

Three former Canucks defencemen have also found new homes today, as Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Luke Schenn, and Kyle Burroughs have inked new free agent deals.

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