Chris Tanev signed to five-year extension by Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks locked up 25-year-old defenseman Chris Tanev to a five-year contract extension. And while his numbers may not look fantastic (two goals, 16 points in 60 games) there’s more to him being signed to a reported AAV of $4.45 million.

For one from an advanced stat perspective, he’s quite good. According to Behind The Net, his Corsi 5-on-5 is plus-5.44, which ranks third in regards to Canucks players who have played a full season – just behind the Sedin twins.

Also, beyond the advanced numbers, he has been quite good. From The Province:

Tanev, signed as a free agent out of U.S. college Rochester Institute of Technology by the Canucks in 2010, has become a key part of their defence, partnering on the No. 1 unit with Alex Edler and, at 25, will be an important piece of their young core going forward.

Tanev, a late-bloomer who’s still getting better, is already one of the better shut-down Ds in the league and is the Canucks’ best puck-mover from the back end.

This is also reflected in Behind the Net, which lists Tanev’s quality of competition as third-best on Vancouver. So he’s able to keep these positive puck possession stats regardless of how tough his match ups have been.

Signing young defensemen to long-term contracts have been quite the rage since the Nashville Predators locked up Roman Josi for seven years two summers ago. But if you get a good one – like Josi for example – then said defenseman will come cheaply in his prime years … again like Josi who is having a Norris Trophy worthy campaign at just $4 million this year. And young players like this because it gives them financial security at a young age, even if it goes into their potential unrestricted free agency seasons.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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