Sportsnet's Dan Murphy is reporting that Mathieu Schneider is close to signing a one-year deal with the Canucks. There is no word on the financial terms but it will certainly be less than the 5.625 cap hit that Schneider was worth in 08-09. The Canucks have roughly 3.4 million worth of cap space to play with so as a result, signing Schneider would likely be Mike Gillis' final offseason acquisition baring any trades. He had 9 goals and 23 assists in 67 games last season with Atlanta and Montreal.
Schneider is clearly not the player he once was, however, he should help fill in a gap on the Canucks blue line that was left by Mattias Ohlund which, until now, has not been addressed. Mike Gillis had been on the record saying that signing another defenseman has been one of his top priorities this summer. Schneider will likely find himself playing on the third pairing with Shane O'Brien when the season faces off in October. Where Schneider's real value will hopefully be felt is on the power play where he has 99 career goals and 389 career points. There will also be questions about his durability as he has missed significant time in the last three years due to injury.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment