Canucks re-sign Phil Di Giuseppe to league minimum deal

The Vancouver Canucks have agreed to terms on a one-year, two-way contract extension with forward Phil Di Giuseppe. The deal is worth the league minimum of $750,000.

Di Giuseppe signed as a free agent with the Canucks last summer. He spent the entire season with the Canucks’ AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.

In 42 AHL games this year, the left-shot left winger totaled 12 goals and 36 points, as well as 37 penalty minutes. He missed a large portion of the season due to a broken bone in March, although which bone he specifically broke was not disclosed. He also missed two weeks spanning December and January due to COVID protocol.

In 201 games at the NHL level, Di Giuseppe has 16 goals and 53 points, split between the Carolina Hurricanes, Nashville Predators and New York Rangers.

The Hurricanes took the 6’0”, 192-lb 28-year-old in the second round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, 38th overall. He played parts of four seasons for the Hurricanes before the Predators claimed him off of waivers. He played three games in a Predators jersey and then signed with the Rangers the summer of 2019.  Vancouver picked him up in free agency two years later.

The Toronto native will likely spend the majority of the season in Abbotsford once again, but will be available for NHL call-ups when needed throughout the season.

Di Giuseppe is the fourth depth player to sign a contract with the Canucks today. Earlier in the free agent frenzy, they picked up forward Dakota Joshua, defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk and goalie Collin Delia. The Canucks also signed forward Ilya Mikheyev as a projected top-six forward.

The Canucks will have some work to do in order to remain compliant to the salary cap. They are now $2,751,667 over the cap, but will likely work out a trade or two over the next couple of days.