Photo Credit: Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports

The Vancouver Canucks have continued to bolster their defense corps, signing former Boston Bruins defender Matt Bartkowski to a one-year contract, the club announced on Wednesday morning. The deal is reportedly worth $1.75 million.

Bartkowski has never scored an NHL goal, but he’s a useful transitional defensive defenseman who can help a good team win the neutral zone and can play a middle-of-the-lineup role effective. A left-handed shooter and an under-rated passer, Bartkowski is a near perfect fit for a team that has struggled to breakout the puck over the past two seasons.

The deal will pay Bartkowski $1.75 million, according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli:

That’s decent value. Though Bartkowski was an occasional healthy scratch for a non-playoff team, he played major minutes for the Bruins the season previous. Throughout last season I personally felt that the Bruins had misevaluated Bartkowski, who is so good at preventing zone entries against, and can ably key the rush.

It’s interesting that the deal is a short-term one, which perhaps speaks to a lack of interest in Bartkowski around the league. Or perhaps the Canucks pitched another player they particularly liked on the fit, in order to keep the cap-hit down.

The Canucks would now appear to have a full NHL-level roster, but they still have some money to spend (even beyond what they’ll need to spend to re-sign their restricted players). With Brad Richardson heading to the Arizona Coyotes, perhaps the Canucks would do well to target a right-handed centre who can win a few draws.