Former Sting Reid Boucher has signed a one year contract to stick with the Vancouver Canucks.
Boucher split time between New Jersey, Nashville and Vancouver, playing 27 games with the Canucks after being claimed off waivers from the New Jersey Devils.
He says he's happy to be in Vancouver after learning a lot as a pro last season.
"I had a lot of ups and downs last year, getting waived three times is definitely a wake up call. I had to battle through some adversity this year but I'm happy to settle in Vancouver," says Boucher.
It was a hectic month and a half for Boucher, who joined Nashville in early December after being waived by New Jersey, the team that drafted him in 2011. He was reclaimed by the Devils less than a month later when he was put on waivers by the Predators. Nashville was calling him up from their AHL affiliate in Milwaukee and he needed to clear waivers to do so. Just days later, when the Devils put him on waivers for the second time in just over a month, he was picked up off of waivers by the Vancouver Canucks.
The deal helps Boucher and the Canucks avoid arbitration, the one-way deal will earn the Michigan native $687,500 this season. He says he was hoping to work at a deal that would keep him in the Canadian market.
Reid Boucher, Connor Murphy, Alex Basso, Charles Sarault and Alex Galchenyuk celebrate a goal during the 2012-13 season (Photo by Terry Wilson/OHL Images)
"It's something I noticed my first day in the locker room with all the media in the locker room, but it's something you get use to and I loved playing in front of the fan base," says Boucher.
Boucher sees plenty of familiar faces in the NHL, with several former Sting teammates in the mix.
"It's nice having familiar faces playing around the league, you can see them before the game, or maybe grab a bite to eat with them after. It's really a nod to the Sting organization for putting so many former players in the NHL," he says.
During his two years with the Sting, Boucher played with Ryan Spooner, Nail Yakupov, Connor Murphy, Anthony DeAngelo, Brett Ritchie, Alex Galchenyuk, and Nikolay Goldobin. Boucher and Goldobin are now teammates once again, this time in Vancouver.
Boucher's 62 goals in the 2012-2013 is the most by a Sting player in a single season. He scored 90 goals and 145 points over two seasons in Sarnia.