4:19 p.m.: Felton’s ELC carries a cap hit of $870K and is signed for next season, per CapFriendly. He’ll be an RFA upon expiry in 2025. The deal will pay him $775K in base salary, $95K in signing bonuses, and up to $80K in performance bonuses along with a $82.5K minors salary.
12:06 p.m.: The Vancouver Canucks have joined in on NCAA free agency, signing defenseman Christian Felton to a one-year, entry-level contract. Felton joins Vancouver as an undrafted free agent after spending the last three seasons with Merrimack College, which he joined after one year with Bentley University. Felton has been out of action since February, battling with an upper-body injury. He’ll join the Abbotsford Canucks and is poised to make his pro debut when healthy.
Felton was the only undrafted defenseman invited to Vancouver’s development camp last year and he clearly made an impact, now signing his first pro contract with the club despite a shortened season. Felton, who had many teams interested in him per Rick Dhaliwal of Chek News, is a stout defender who mans the defensive side of the ice well – using good physicality, an active stick, and cheeky passing to gather and maintain possession. While he could benefit from improved foot speed, Felton’s awareness and reaction speed help him keep up with any opponents. His calm demeanor was a key piece of both Merrimack’s power-play and penalty kill, speaking to his versatility.
Felton is also a right-hand shot, something highly coveted to a Canucks organization that’s currently boasting 14 left-handed defenders to 11 right-handed defenders. That could give Felton a leg-up in the depth chart, though he’ll still have to carve his teeth in the AHL before he earns a role with the Canucks. If he’s able to adjust to pros well, Felton could start to challenge Jett Woo as the team’s de facto right-handed call-up.
It’s only a matter of time before Dean Brown drops a mention of Christian Felton, of Felton Guitars. Unless he gets pipped by Nick Nickson. Before Peyton Krebs was shipped off to Buffalo, Nick dropped the “Peyton Krebs, famous grandson of Maynard G.” reference. Surprisingly, Daryl Evans didn’t get the reference. Back in the ’60s, it seemed like everybody watched “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis”.