Canucks General Manager Mike Gillis has been one of the busiest GM's in the NHL this Summer, making several key moves in order to shore up some of the team's weaknesses that were so very evident in last season's playoffs.
In arguably the team's biggest acquisition, Gillis signed free agent defenseman Dan Hamhuis to a 6 year deal worth 4.5 million a season. Hamhuis, a 27 year old Smithers, B.C native, played his first 6 seasons with the Nashville Predators after the Preds made hm the 12th overall pick in 2001. The soft-spoken, hard-hitting d-man is known for his solid overall game - he doesn't excel at anything in particular, but is good at every aspect of the game. Canuck fans can expect a gritty, hard-nosed style mixed with some offensive ability. Most importantly however, Hamhuis has only missed only a handful of games in his NHL career (9 to be exact), something most Canuck defensemen can't attest to. Hopefully the Canuck Curse doesn't fall upon the usually reliable blueliner.
Another move meant to bolster the Vancouver backend saw Gillis trade for d-man Keith Ballard from the Florida Panthers for Michael Grabner, Steve Bernier and the Canucks 1st round pick in this year's draft. Ballard is another reliable blueliner who has only missed 13 NHL games in his career (all in 2006'2007). He has played in every game for 4 of his 5 NHL seasons.
Ballard is known as one of the top shot-blocking defenseman in the game, and is also known as one of the biggest hitters in the game despite his small stature (5'11, 200 lbs). The American rearguard is especially known for his hip-checks (view highlights here ), an art-form almost extinct since Darius Kasparaitis left the game.
Gillis also solidified his 3rd line with the signing of Manny Malhotra to a 3 year-7.5 million dollar deal. The Indo-Canadian forward spent last season with the San Jose Sharks, and was widely considered the team's MVP in last year's playoffs. Malhotra is a useful penalty-killer and faceoff man who should replace the services of the departed Kyle Wellwood and Ryan Johnson (both UFA's who remain unsigned). He is also a physical player who can play both Center and Left Wing, and can chip in here and there offensively.
In a less publicized signing (and for good reason), Gillis inked former 1st rounder Jeff Tambellini, the son of former Vancouver Asst. GM Steve Tambellini. The left-winger had 14 points in 36 games for the New York Islanders last season, and should compete for a third line spot on the Canucks.
With the acquisitions of Hamhuis and Ballard, Vancouver now has 9 defensemen on one-way contracts on their roster, including Sami Salo, Christian Ehrhoff, Alex Edler, Kevin Bieksa, Aaron Rome, Shane O'Brien and Andrew Alberts.
With the log-jam of rearguards and with the team being slightly over the salary cap, Gillis undoubtedly needs to move a d-man or two. Kevin Bieksa, whose play has been widely criticized over the last few years (especially by me), is rumoured to be on the block. Bieksa makes 3.75 million a year and is under contract for another couple years.
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