When Christian Ehrhoff had his rights traded to the Islanders and then to Buffalo where he ultimately signed a 10-year, $40 million deal, the Vancouver Canucks were going to have to do a little bit of upkeep to make sure their defense held strong.
Their way of handling things was to lock up one of their more productive guys on the blue line in Sami Salo. Salo signed a one year deal worth $2 million to stick around in Vancouver and provide the Canucks with a big shot from the point and an offensive threat.
Salo’s bugaboo is his ability to stay healthy. In his 12 seasons in the NHL with Ottawa and Vancouver, Salo has yet to play a full 82-game season. Last year he played in just 27 games in the regular season but saw action through the entire playoffs as well. When he does play he’s capable of producing 25-30 points in a season. That kind of production in Vancouver is more than helpful and with Ehrhoff gone, they’ll need him to stay healthy and help produce from the point.