The Vancouver Canucks have made four signings so far on day one of NHL free agency. We’ve had coverage of all those signings, but we’re also keeping an eye on where some ex Canucks are ending up. You can keep up with all the moves from the day by checking back in with our live blog.

The Washington Capitals have signed Vincent Desharnais to a four-year contract with an annual average value of $4.2 million — a total value of $16.8 million. Desharnais is a big-bodied right-handed defenceman, listed at 6’7″, 225 pounds.

He began his career with the Edmonton Oilers after being selected in the seventh round of the 2016 NHL Draft. The Canucks signed him in free agency 2024, but flipped him to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a cap-dump in the trade that netted the Canucks Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor not long after. The Canucks also parted ways with a first-round pick in that deal.

The Penguins traded Desharnais to the San Jose Sharks for a 5th-round pick at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. With San Jose, Desharnais improved his stock, averaging a career-high 18:11 of ice time in 53 games with the San Jose Sharks last season. Now, he’s being rewarded with a nice new contract from the Capitals.

The Philadelphia Flyers have signed ex-Canucks prospect Danila Klimovich to a one-year contract with an NHL cap hit of $850,000.

The Canucks decided not to qualify Klimovich’s contract this week, allowing him to hit unrestricted free agency.

Klimovich, 23, tallied 18 goals and 16 assists through 63 games with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks last season. Klimovich has spent the entirety of his pro career with Ryan Johnson as his GM in Abbotsford, and the past two seasons with Manny Malhotra as his coach.

The Canucks originally drafted Klimovich with the 41st overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Klimovich has played 281 regular-season games with the Abbotsford Canucks, but never got the chance to make his NHL debut with Vancouver.