Canucks sign Tanev to five-year extension
The Vancouver Canucks have inked defenseman Chris Tanev to a five-year, $22.5 million contract extension.
Tanev, 25, has played in 60 games for the Canucks this season. He has two goals and 14 assists, playing primarily alongside Alexander Edler as the team's top pair. His $4.45 million average annual salary will make him the fourth-highest paid defenseman on the team, though his fellow defensemen teammates Yannick Weber and Luca Sbisa are also due for contracts as restricted free agents this offseason.
This season, Tanev is the only Canucks defenseman that has played at least 50 games and drawn more penalties (10) than penalties taken (5). He is also Vancouver's leading penalty killer, averaging 2:46 penalty kill minutes per game, and he's third on the team in total time on ice per game, averaging 21:02 minutes. Tanev also leads Canucks defenseman in takeaways (23), as well as total blocked shots (153).
In addition to putting up excellent numbers, Tanev is also outstanding at generating more offense than his opponents. Despite being utilized primarily as a defensive defenseman (and generally starting his shifts in his own defensive zone), the Canucks generate more unblocked shots (695) than their opponents (578) when Tanev is on the ice. Tanev's unblocked shot attempts rating is the third-highest on the team, behind only the Sedin twins.
When considering how he is deployed, Tanev is relied on to play against the opponent's top lines virtually every night, Vancouver signed him to a highly valuable contract. Tanev is currently defensively statistically comparable to top defensemen like the Winnipeg Jets' Dustin Byfuglien and the Washington Capitals' Matt Niskanen.
Statistics are from WAR-on-Ice and NHL.com.
