Desharnais leaves Oilers for Canucks in free agency

The Vancouver Canucks have added another defenceman in free agency. Vincent Desharnais is leaving the Edmonton Oilers for their west coast rival, signing a two-year contract worth $2 million per season.

Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the club has agreed to terms with defenceman Vincent Desharnais on a 2-year contract with a $2M AAV.

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) July 1, 2024

Desharnais has just 16 points (1-15-16) in 114 career games, so needless to say, the Canucks didn’t get him for his offence. He brings size and defensive ability to Vancouver’s blue line.

A 28-year-old right-shot blueliner, Desharnais was a late bloomer. The 6-foot-7 defender was drafted in the seventh round of the 2016 draft by Edmonton, but didn’t make his NHL debut until the 2022-23 season.

In 2023-24, Desharnais became an NHL regular for the first time, appearing in 78 regular season games and 16 in the playoffs.

The Laval, Quebec native ranked fifth in average ice time (15:44) among Oilers defencemen (minimum 30 games) last season. He was one of their most relied-upon penalty killers, playing 2:02 shorthanded per night.

It’s been a busy day for the Canucks. After losing out on Jake Guentzel and Chris Tanev, who were rumoured to be their free agent top targets, the Canucks spent money on four players in the first hour of free agency.

The biggest name is Jake DeBrusk, a top-six winger from the Boston Bruins. DeBrusk wasn’t the only player Vancouver stole from Boston, as they added Langley-born winger Danton Heinen and big defenceman Derek Forbort. Former Nashville Predators winger Kiefer Sherwood was also signed by the Canucks today.

Vancouver also said goodbye to a number of players in free agency today, including Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Ian Cole, and Casey DeSmith.

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