The Vancouver Canucks continued their overhaul of their defence on the first day of free agency.
According to a report from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the Canucks signed defenceman Carson Soucy to a three-year deal worth $3.25 million per year.
The deal includes a full no-trade clause in the first two years of the deal, which then becomes a 12-team no-trade list in the third year.
Soucy has size on his side at 6'5" and used that size to play a smothering defensive game for the Seattle Kraken over the past two seasons. While he shoots left, he can play on either side of the ice, giving the Canucks some versatility in how he's deployed.
Soucy's underlying numbers were strong with the Kraken: he had a 51.7% corsi last season and was on the ice for the lowest rate of goals against at 5-on-5 among Kraken defencemen.
That said, Soucy was also sheltered on the third pairing. He averaged just 16:18 per game in ice time, which was sixth among regular Kraken defencemen. According to PuckIQ's quality of competition metric, Soucy spent the lowest percentage of his ice time against elite competition among Kraken defencemen and didn't put up strong results in those minutes.
With that in mind, if the Canucks are intending to use Soucy in a top-four role, either alongside Quinn Hughes or Filip Hronek, it's a risk. He hasn't averaged more than 17:40 per game at any point in his career. It's entirely possible that playing with a high-end puck-mover like Hughes or Hronek would be a good fit but he has yet to prove himself in that role.
On the plus side, Soucy is a strong penalty killer, using his reach to cover a lot of the ice. That's a significant need for the Canucks, who had an absolutely dreadful penalty kill last season.
If Soucy can boost the penalty kill and be a steady presence in the top four, this is a big win for the Canucks. If he instead struggles in a top-four role and ends up on a third pairing, his three-year deal, which looks very reasonable now, might look suspect.
On the other hand, if Soucy can leverage his size and strength into throwing some massive hits and standing up for his teammates in scrums, Soucy will quickly become a fan favourite for the Canucks no matter where he ends up in the lineup.
