The Vancouver Canucks landed winger Radim Vrbata with a two-year contract reportedly worth $10 million overall on Wednesday.
Here are a few extra contract details regarding the 33-year-old winger’s deal:
Vrbata is far from a household name, yet he’s developed into a nice scoring winger during his days with the then-Phoenix Coyotes.
He tends to hover around the 20-27 goal area, although he peaked with the Coyotes back in the 2011-12 season when he set career-highs in goals (35) and points (62). Some like to joke that h e just plays better in the desert because he sandwiched an unsuccessful run with the Tampa Bay Lightning between successful first (2007-08) and second seasons with the Coyotes.
FINISHING THE CYCLE
The most exciting prospect is to imagine how he might fit in with the Sedin twins. With all due respect to the players he skated with in Glendale, none can get him the biscuit like Henrik and Daniel Sedin can, especially if last season’s struggles were an aberration.
With the possible exception of Alex Burrows, Vrbata is likely the best finisher the Sedins could skate with on regular even-strength shifts. The fact that Vrbata boasts a right-handed shot can’t hurt matters for the two left-handed twins, either.
TROUBLE FOR ARIZONA?
With the buyout of Mike Ribeiro and departure of Vrbata in mind, the Arizona Coyotes might struggle to score goals next season. Still, in this case, the demands were just too rich for the Coyotes’ blood:
$2 million more a season for Vrbata. That explains why he isn't remaining with #Coyotes.
— Sarah McLellan (@sarah__mclellan) July 3, 2014
The Canucks are primed to be a very different team in 2014-15, but this could very well help them to find a nice bit of balance on offense.