The big defender checks many of the boxes for team in need of help on blueline

At first glance, Carson Soucy looks to be exactly what the Vancouver Canucks are seeking to bolster their beleaguered blueline for next season.

At 28, the pending UFA stands a towering 6' 5" and weighs in at 208 pounds. But being big isn't enough on on its own. That size needs to be able to play in today's National Hockey League and Soucy appears to have come into his own in the past two seasons with the Seattle Kraken.

In 78 games this past season, the Viking, Alberta native recorded three goals and 16 points while averaging 16:18 of ice time. A year earlier, on an expansion team, Soucy found the back of the net 10 times. But more than his counting statistics, Soucy has developed into a dependable defender capable of tilting the ice in his team's favour.

Seattle outscored opponents by 15 at 5-on-5 this past season when Soucy was on the ice. And in his first two full seasons in the NHL with Minnesota, the Wild held a 75-41 edge in even-strength goals with Soucy on the ice.

The Kraken controlled 53.7% of all shots last season with Soucy on the ice and Seattle had a slight edge in scoring chances (50.3%) as well.

In the playoffs, Soucy was paired primarily with Justin Schultz on the team's third defensive duo and Seattle outscored opponents 10-4 at evens in 14 tough post-season games this spring against Colorado and Dallas. So he provided the Kraken with solid depth minutes in high-stakes games against top calibre opponents.

During the regular season, Soucy finished fourth on the Kraken in hits (143) and third on the team in blocked shots (96). To add some context, those totals would have placed him fifth and second respectively on the Vancouver roster.

During his two seasons in the Emerald City, Soucy has dropped the gloves three times -- two against Canuck forwards. He duked it out with Tanner Pearson two seasons ago and last year took on JT Miller.

With Quinn Hughes likely to log anywhere from 25 to 30 minutes a night on the left side for the Canucks, Vancouver doesn't need Carson Soucy to step in and fill a massive gap. However with the Oliver Ekman-Larsson buyout last week, the team very definitely has an opening for a second pair left side guy. And it doesn't seem like the Canucks would be asking much more out of Soucy than he is already proving he can handle. On top of that, the former fifth round pick out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth was deployed as a second pair penalty killer this past season in Seattle. That is another area he could certainly contribute for the Canucks.

Like all unrestricted free agents, cost will be a concern for the Canucks. Soucy is coming off a three-year deal that carried a $2.75M cap hit and will surely be seeking a raise on the open market. But Vancouver may be able to mitigate the dollars by offering a reasonable amount of term.

At his age and with what he's shown the past two seasons with the Kraken, Carson Soucy should absolutely be of interest to the Canucks when the NHL free agent window opens on July 1st.