‘Things are starting to go the right way’: Canucks’ Zeev Buium on extension

When the losses inevitably start piling up for the rebuilding Vancouver Canucks, it might not be so simple for Zeev Buium to smile through it. 

Yet he won’t have to worry about his paycheck or where he’ll call home for the next eight years, after the 20-year-old signed an eight-year deal with an average annual value of $9.38 million through to the end of the 2034-35 season, when he’ll be 29. 

Days after signing the deal, getting pen to paper before eight-year contracts become a thing of the past as of Tuesday night’s deadline when the new CBA comes into effect, Buium joined NHL Network to break down his deal and his future on the West Coast. 

“I think a big thing is just the belief they had in me to want to get this done as well,” Buium said. “The second I got here last year, I just really fell in love with the city, the fans, the organization itself.”

Buium came to the Canucks as the headline return in the deal, which sent franchise defenseman Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild. While his three goals and 12 points in 45 games with the Canucks down the stretch last season aren’t yet worthy of his new contract’s value, the organization saw plenty of hope in the young blueliner. 

And while the Canuclks finished last in the standings and had a dismal home-ice record, the California native sees hope for the future, between his new deal and the upcoming youngsters, headlined by recent first-round picks Braeden Cootes and Caleb Malhorta. 

“We were last in the league, having a tough go, and they’re showing up every night, and they’re cheering; they were so passionate,” he said of the Vancouver fanbase sticking through the rough spell and into the rebuilding phase, now with Ryan Johnson as general manager and Henrik and Daniel Sedin as co-presidents. “It just really seems like things are starting to go the right way…I think we all kind of align in our vision and what we want this organization to look like down the road.”

With the rebuild vision clearer, Buium is ready to take on his first full season with the Canucks, looking to prove himself worthy of his new deal and keep moving forward, with the hope of being a key part of the team for the next decade.