Vancouver Canucks sign Thomas Vanek

Thomas Vanek remained available into September, but the Vancouver Canucks have brought him aboard.

Rumors of interest came to fruition on Friday, as the Vancouver Canucks announced the signing of veteran winger Thomas Vanek to a one-year, $2 million deal.

The 33-year old split last season between the Detroit Red Wings and Florida Panthers, totaling 48 points (17 goals, 31 assists) in 68 games played. Prior to that he spent two fairly disappointing with the Minnesota Wild, as he returned to where he played college hockey and was part of a national title team in 2003.

Coming off a season with the second-worst point total in the Western Conference and the league(69 points, 30-43-9), Vancouver is in rebuilding mode. The Sedin twins are nearing the end of the line, and with no playoffs in three of the last four years a shift to youth was necessary.

Canucks general manager Jim Benning offered some glowing words about Vanek upon the announcement of the signing.

"“Thomas has been a prolific scorer throughout his career and we’re excited to add his offence and experience to help with the continued growth of our forwards,” said Benning. “His skill and ability to contribute on the scoresheet, combined with his lead-by-example style will help our team this year, and will benefit our younger players as they continue to develop their game.”"

Most importantly for a team like the Canucks, Vanek will be a trade deadline asset if he performs well.

After spending the first eight-plus seasons of his career with the Buffalo Sabres, the team that drafted him fifth overall in 2003, Vanek has become very well-traveled. The Canucks will be his sixth team since being traded by the Sabres in October of 2013, following the New York Islanders, the Montreal Canadiens, the Wild, the Red Wings and the Panthers.

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Since entering the NHL in 2005-2006 Vanek has 697 points (333 goals) in 885 regular season games, including 129 power play goals. Vancouver scored the second-fewest goals in the league last year (182), so they can use that scoring prowess even if Vanek is allergic to playing the other end of the ice.