Canucks Sign Chase Wouters To One-Year Contract

The Vancouver Canucks have continued to retain some of their depth from the past season. According to a team announcement, the Canucks have signed forward Chase Wouters to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2026-27 season.

Wouters, 26, is a product of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. He spent his entire major junior career with the Blades, scoring 75 goals and 181 points in 280 games across five seasons with a +22 rating. Although the Blades never made much noise in the WHL throughout Wouters’ tenure, he was named the team’s captain for the last three years of his time there.

Undrafted, Wouters landed with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks on an AHL deal ahead of the 2021-22 season. He performed relatively well toward the bottom of the forward corps, scoring five goals and 18 points in 60 games with a +16 rating. Clearly, his leadership abilities carried over well to the professional ranks, as the Canucks named him captain ahead of the 2022-23 season at only 22 years old.

Over the next four years, as Abbotsford’s captain, Wouters typically stayed around 20 to 30 points a year, registering 38 goals and 102 points in 278 games. Additionally, Wouters was the first player on the team to lift the Calder Cup after the 2025 postseason, scoring two goals and five points in 24 games.

The new NHL contract is likely a reward for Wouters’ years of service to the organization. According to PuckPedia, Wouters will earn $850K at the NHL level and $450K in the AHL. Although his talent ceiling may prohibit him from a call-up, it’s clear he’s well-liked by his teammates, which could be enough to earn him his NHL debut during the 2026-27 campaign.