Canucks sign Jason Dickinson to multi-year deal.

The Canucks made a relatively significant addition to their forward this summer when they pulled off a trade with the Dallas Stars, and on Saturday they announced the final piece of that deal.

According to an official report from the Canucks organization, veteran forward Jason Dickinson has agreed to a new 3 year deal and will now play for just the second NHL team of his career. Dickson's new deal will carry an average annual value and salary cap hit of $2.65 million per season, which marks a significant upgrade in pay for the forward who was earning an AAV of just $1.5 million on his previous deal with the Dallas Stars.

Prior to today's signing Dickinson had spent his entire career as a member of the Stars, the team that drafted him in the first round (29th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Thus far Dickinson has appeared in 221 career games and over that stretch he has 25 goals and 38 assists for a career total of 63 points. In his most recent season with the Stars he appeared in 51 games, recording 7 goals and 8 assists for 15 points.

Canucks general manager Jim Benning made the following statement in the Canucks press release:

"Jason was an important addition for our forward group this summer and we're pleased to have agreed to terms with him on a three-year deal," said Benning. "He's a versatile player that can play on both the wing and at centre, and is also a strong penalty killer.

Dickson was of course acquired earlier in the offseason when Benning acquired him from the Dallas Stars in a trade, a sign that this was a player that the veteran general manager has had his eye on. The Canucks forked over a 3rd round draft pick in the deal, but with Dickson now locked in for the next 3 years I suspect that they will be happy with the price that they paid.

It is believed that the Canucks were looking to buy some free agent years on this deal and it would appear that they have managed to do just that with this 3 year deal, one that importantly will come with no trade protection. Dickinson was a restricted free agent and had limited leverage and limited options this summer.