Bieksa signs a one day contract with the Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks have signed defenseman Kevin Bieksa to a one day contract so that he can officially sign his retirement papers as a member of the team.

Bieksa played 597 of his 808 career NHL games with the Canucks and is 6th all-time on the team's points and 7th all time on the team's games played list by a defenseman. Only Doug Lidster, Dennis Kearns, Jyrki Lumme, Mattias Ohlund and Alex Edler have more points in a Canucks jersey by a defenseman. Now... Quinn Hughes may have something to say about that before everything is said and done, but there's still no denying that Bieska is one of the team's all-time fan favourites. 

Never a high scoring defender and never a tried and true defensive defenseman, Bieksa was an old school, steady blueliner who was effective at both ends of the ice. He was tough as nails, solid defensively and a shot blocking machine. On the other side of the coin he was smooth skating, crisp passing, PP quarterback. He was an old school guy in some ways and a total new-age defender in other ways. All of this is to say that Bieksa was a very versatile defender with the tools to play any way necessary. He, along with Edler, Dan Hamhuis and Sami Salo made up a very underrated defense corps for the Canucks during their prime years in the late 2000s to early 2010s.

He, of course, moved on to play three seasons with the Anaheim Ducks at the end of his career but, to me, he'll always be a Canuck. He's probably most remembered for scoring one of the most bizarre playoff clinching goals in NHL history.

Remember this?

Um... what? 

Edler's dump in hits the stanchion and nobody saw it except Bieksa. The puck comes back to Bieksa and he fans on the biggest shot of his life. Wild stuff.

Since hanging up the skates Bieksa has transitioned into a media career for CBC and Sportsnet and, for my money, he's the most entertaining analyst in the game.