The Vancouver Canucks announced that they have signed RFA forward Nils Höglander to a two-year contract carrying a $1.1M AAV. Höglander, 22, will be a restricted free agent at the end of the deal and will hold arbitration rights.
The move all but finishes up the Canucks’ outstanding offseason (barring any trades on the horizon) as their only remaining RFA is Vitali Kravtsov, who is off to play in the KHL next season and only received a qualifying offer from Vancouver so the organization could retain his NHL rights.
Höglander earns this deal after a season where he split time between the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks and Vancouver. He began the season with the Canucks and posted nine points in 25 games.
But Höglander’s average ice time had declined to a career-low 12:03 per night, and the organization opted to have him play in Abbotsford as the better choice for his development.
The Swedish winger acquitted himself well in the AHL, posting 32 points in 45 regular-season games and six points in six postseason contests.
That’s still a far cry from Höglander’s rookie season, though, when at the age of 20 he scored 27 points in 56 games and got some down-ballot Calder Trophy consideration.
Set to turn 23 in December, he will be waiver-eligible this season for the first time in his career. He hasn’t yet played any games for Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet (he was sent down to the AHL before Tocchet was hired) and therefore he presumably has a clean slate as he looks to earn a role in Tocchet’s training camp in the fall.
Although Andrei Kuzmenko and Anthony Beauvillier are likely to occupy the two left-winger slots in Vancouver’s top-six, Höglander has an opportunity to earn a top-nine role playing as Tocchet’s third-line left winger. In that role, he could potentially play with an established NHL scorer such as Conor Garland or Brock Boeser, as well as an experienced center in Teddy Blueger.
It’s a big year for Höglander, and this new contract shows the Canucks’ believe that Höglander is an NHL player moving forward. While his $1.1M cap hit can be fully buried in the minors, this contract gives the winger a solid opportunity to deliver on some of the upside he showed in his rookie season.
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