Canucks sign veteran defenseman Danny DeKeyser to PTO

The Vancouver Canucks are bringing in some extra defensive depth, signing free agent Danny DeKeyser to a professional tryout. The veteran will attend training camp with the Canucks and try to earn an NHL contract.

DeKeyser, 32, has spent his entire career to this point with the Detroit Red Wings, playing in 547 games over parts of 10 seasons. Undrafted, he was a hometown kid who made good, playing for Western Michigan before going almost directly to the NHL as a steady two-way presence.

With a career-high in points set way back in 2014-15, there isn’t a lot of offense left in the veteran. DeKeyser registered just 11 assists last season and failed to score a single goal, but for experience and defensive ability – especially on a PTO – you could certainly do worse.

The Canucks, which are currently over the salary cap ceiling, may even have a deal done with DeKeyser, whose agent told ESPN just a week ago that he was confident his client would get a contract before training camp. As we’ve seen in the past, sometimes teams that have little cap flexibility bring a veteran in on a PTO only to sign him just as the season begins, once some other mechanisms (like in-season LTIR) can be used.

If DeKeyser does land a spot with the Canucks, he will join a defense corps that has both aging veterans and young talents. Quinn Hughes leads the way. Travis Dermott was brought in as a younger option, but Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Tyler Myers and Luke Schenn are all on the wrong side of 30 and likely not bringing as much to the table as they once did.

Adding another piece for a low cost (even perhaps league minimum in this case) certainly seems prudent, especially when Tucker Poolman’s status is still up in the air.