The Vancouver Canucks have signed winger Linus Karlsson to a two-year contract extension with an annual average value of $2.25 million. The club announced the signing Friday afternoon.

“Linus has taken a number of big steps since joining our organization,” said Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin via a press release. “He has worked hard on his game, and we have been impressed with his development both on and off the ice. A leader last year for our Calder Cup Championship team in Abbotsford, Linus used that momentum and experience to solidify a position this year in Vancouver. We look forward to helping him continue to grow moving forward.”

Karlsson, who turned 26 in November, has established himself as an everyday NHL player with the Canucks this season after producing above a point per game pace in both the AHL regular season and in the Calder Cup Playoffs with the Abbotsford Canucks last season. Through 36 NHL games so far this season, Karlsson has tallied nine goals and seven assists, good for eighth among Canucks forwards in points. Karlsson has managed to produce despite limited ice time, as he has been averaging just 10:31 of ice time per game this season, the second-lowest among regular Canucks skaters.

The Canucks originally acquired Karlsson in a February 2019 trade with the San Jose Sharks, sending Jonathan Dahlen back the other way. Throughout his time with the organization, Karlsson has had a few brief stints in Vancouver, but struggled to put up points and eventually always found his way back down to the AHL. His good habits and work along the walls made him a favourite of Canucks coaches as a fill-in guy, but he was never able to establish himself as much more than that.

This season, however, Karlsson has paired a strong training camp and preseason with a solid NHL season, where he’s recorded career-highs in games, goals, and assists with over half the season to go. And now, he’s earned himself a brand new contract. Karlsson’s deal kicks in next season and runs through the 2027-28 season, at which point Karlsson will become an unrestricted free agent.