The Vancouver Canucks have signed 20-year-old defenceman Zeev Buium to an eight-year contract worth US$9.38 million annually, the team announced Friday. The second-year blueliner was among the pieces coming back to Vancouver when former captain Quinn Hughes was traded to the Minnesota Wild last season. General Manager Ryan Johnson called Buium a “key member” of the team’s young core, and a player the Canucks want to build around moving forward. “Zeev has a lot of upside, and we feel with his abilities he will flourish in the system and environment we are creating inside our locker room. We look forward to working together and creating a strong partnership and foundation for our future,” he said, in a statement. Buium scored three goals and provided 11 assists in 45 games after being traded to Vancouver last season, and projects to play a larger role with the team in 2026-27 after fellow left-handed defenceman Marcus Pettersson was traded to New York in the offseason. The NHL and its players’ association recently axed eight-year deals as part of the new collective bargaining agreement, dialling the max term eligible for players to seven years—Buium’s deal fell just before the Sept. 16 deadline. Buium and the rest of the Vancouver Canucks start training camp in Penticton on Sept. 17.
