The Vancouver Canucks have made their first signing of day two of NHL free agency and their fifth overall signing since the period opened.

General manager Ryan Johnson announced that the organization has signed forward Matthew Stienburg to a one-year, two-way contract. According to PuckPedia, Stienburg will earn $850,000 in the NHL and $160,000 in the AHL.

Stienburg, 25, was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the third round (63rd overall) by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2019 NHL draft. In his draft year, Stienburg captained St. Andrew’s College of the Prep Hockey Conference, where he scored 31 goals and 35 assists for 66 points in 48 games. After his draft season, Stienburg jumped over to Cornell University of the NCAA.

The Halifax, Nova Scotia native spent three seasons at Cornell, where he played 73 NCAA games, scoring 20 goals and 26 assists for 46 points. Following the 2022-23 NCAA season, Stienburg turned professional, logging four games with the Colorado Eagles in the AHL. He picked up his first professional point and added another assist in the postseason.

After his first full year in the AHL, Stienburg got his first cup of coffee in the NHL, playing eight games for the Colorado Avalanche in 2024-25. He was held pointless but picked up 22 penalty minutes. Unfortunately, Stienburg played just 13 games that season (eight in the NHL and five in the AHL), and a shoulder injury limited him to eight AHL games last year.

The 6’1″, right-shot centreman/winger will have a shot to earn his spot in Vancouver next season, but given he’s played just 21 games over the past two years, conditioning in the AHL is the more likely path for Stienburg. He will compete with Riley Patterson, Ty Mueller, and Chase Wouters for minutes down the middle in Abbotsford next season, and is an option to slide over to the wing if Braeden Cootes does not make Vancouver’s roster. Stienburg is the third potential AHL signing for new general manager Ryan Johnson, after adding Akil Thomas and Trey Fix-Wolansky in free agency on Day 1.