Teddy Blueger is staying put, as the veteran centre has re-signed with the Vancouver Canucks.
Blueger signed a two-year contract, paying him $1.8 million per season. The 29-year-old Latvian was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
“Teddy was a key addition to our team last year and we are really excited to have him back for a couple more seasons,” Canucks GM Patrik Allvin said in a media release. “His versatility and experience really helped our group in both the regular season and playoffs. He is a strong leader and someone we will count on a lot more moving forward.”
Blueger is taking a $100,000 pay cut, though he gets a two-year term instead of the one-year deal he signed last year.
The two-way forward was Vancouver’s most-used forward on the penalty kill, as he averaged 2:06 of shorthanded ice time per game. He also tied a career-high in points (28) and assists (22) in 68 games, finding success centring a surprisingly good third line with Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua.
The Blueger signing leaves the Canucks with seven unsigned unrestricted free agents with just five days to go before the start of free agency: Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Tyler Myers, Dakota Joshua, Ian Cole, Sam Lafferty, and Casey DeSmith.