Chris Higgins re-signs with Canucks for four years, $10 million

Chris Higgins signing his extension, via the Canucks' Instagram.

It's been a busy Tuesday afternoon for the Vancouver Canucks. Only a few hours after acquiring Derek Roy from the Dallas Stars, the club has announced an extension for winger Chris Higgins.

The owner of Vancouver's most famous abs has re-signed with the club for $10 million over the next four years. It's a cap hit of $2.5 million. It's a raise of just over half a million for Higgins, who is in the second and final year of a deal that was paying him $1.9 million annually.

While he hasn't exactly been putting up contract year numbers with just 14 points in 34 games, this is a good signing for Vancouver.

With both Higgins and Mason Raymond slated to become unrestricted free agents, the Canucks were going to need a top-six winger come summer, and paying for one on the open market could have cost them upwards of $4M. With the cap coming down and the Canucks already up against it, retaining the versatile Higgins on the cheap is just shrewd asset management.

In exchange for a manageable deal, however, the Canucks did have to sacrifice some wiggle room. Four years is a lot, and Higgins also apparently gets a modified no-trade. Provided he continues to produce, this deal will keep looking good. But if Higgins slows down and the deal begins to look like a bad one, the Canucks really have no way to get out from under it.

As mentioned, this likely spells the end of Mason Raymond in Vancouver, and if it does, it's worth noting that Higgins' extension came the day before the deadline. Might the Canucks consider moving Raymond?