The Vancouver Canucks took a swing on Zeev Buium, and it’s the kind of move that could look brilliant or reckless depending on how the 20-year-old develops.
Vancouver handed the defenseman an eight-year, $75.04 million extension, a deal that carries a $9.38 million average annual value. For a player with just 76 games of NHL experience, that’s a hefty commitment. It also says plenty about how the Canucks see Buium: not as a finished product, but as the centerpiece of what they got back from the Minnesota Wild in last season’s blockbuster Quinn Hughes trade.
The appeal is obvious. Buium already flashed real upside in his first NHL season, when he totaled 26 points in 76 games between Vancouver and Minnesota.
On a Canucks team that struggled last year, those numbers stood out even more. If he keeps climbing and turns into the kind of number-one defenseman Vancouver believes he can be, the price tag could end up looking downright cheap.
That was the read on Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, where Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton broke down why the Canucks might be willing to bet big here.
Yaremchuk pointed to Buium’s age and early production as the key reasons the contract makes sense. “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.”
Yaremchuk also drew a sharp contrast between Vancouver’s bet and Boston’s extension for Fraser Minten. In his view, Minten’s ceiling lines up more closely with his $7.2 million AAV, while Buium’s upside is much higher.
“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.””
For the Canucks, that’s the calculation: pay now for a player they believe can become a difference-maker later. The risk is obvious. So is the upside.
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