Canucks Need To Extend Zeev Buium Before Training Camp

With the Stanley Cup being handed out on Sunday night, the offseason has now begun for every team in the NHL. Now is the time for teams to look at potential trades, signings, and the upcoming draft in Buffalo. For the Vancouver Canucks, a big piece of business is an extension for Zeev Buium, as the young defenceman will be eligible to sign a new contract on July 1. If the Canucks are serious about Buium being the next great star in Vancouver, they need to lock him up before training camp begins.

Why Sign Him Now?

Buium will not officially become a restricted free agent (RFA) until July 1, 2027. As an RFA, the Canucks will be able to hold onto his rights once his current contract expires, so they will still have control over him. But the Canucks should learn from teams that have made mistakes, look at other good moves, and lock up their star players early. Buium will be a great defenceman in this league. I look at him and see a lot of similarities to a player like Lane Hutson, and the Canucks should emulate what the Montreal Canadiens did with their contract negotiations with him and get a long-term deal signed before the 2026-27 season begins.

What Montreal did was make it clear that they wanted to sign Hutson before the 2025-26 season began, so they wouldn’t have it hanging over their heads this offseason. Also, if Hutson played better than anticipated, his cap hit would end up skyrocketing to a number the Canadiens didn’t anticipate paying. So the two sides agreed on an eight-year deal before the season began, and it turned out to be a magnificent signing for Montreal. Hutson’s cap hit is only $8.85 million over the next eight years, which is an incredible discount given how he played this past season. If the Canadiens still had to negotiate with him during this offseason, his cap hit would definitely be above $10 million.

Vancouver has to look at that with Buium and emulate what Kent Hughes did and how it set up his team for future success. If they do not sign Buium this offseason to an extension, you run the risk of him having an incredible season and bumping up his cap hit. Right now, the Canucks can most likely sign Buium to a team-friendly contract that keeps his average annual value (AAV) down and gives Vancouver more money to spend on other players as the salary cap rises. But if he performs better than expected, he will end up costing the Canucks more than what they were originally intending to spend on him. They should also try their hardest to get Buium signed this offseason because eight-year deals will become extinct when the new CBA kicks in on Sept. 16.

What Could His Contract Look Like?

There are two ways the Canucks can look at a Buium contract. Either they do a long-term deal, which is probably what they want, or a bridge deal. Right now, I could see Vancouver signing Buium to an eight-year contract at an AAV of $8 million. That, to me, is a deal that works for both Vancouver and the Buium camp. Add on the fact that the salary cap will be rising at rates we have never seen before, and this could be a gigantic win for the Canucks, as they were able to lock down their future stud defenceman at a great cap hit and keep him under contract for a little under a decade.

With a bridge deal, this could be more favourable for Buium as the cap rises. On a short-term deal, he will still be able to make in the neighbourhood of $5 million AAV and will be under contract with the Canucks for potentially the next three or even four years. The San Jose Sharks signed a similar contract with William Eklund this past offseason, where he signed a three-year deal at an AAV of AAV of $5.6 million. Buium could sign something similar, and then when that contract expires, and the cap is at a number that is higher than we have ever seen, he can do a major cash-out and sign for upwards of $12 million per season.

Whichever path the Canucks go down, either a long-term deal or a bridge, they need to lock down Buium quickly. If they don’t do that, it becomes a story that will bleed into training camp, and then preseason, and then the regular season, and so on. Signing him now would be a gigantic win for the team and a commitment to the future that is starting to look brighter.