Vancouver Canucks sign free agent Raffi Torres

After a relatively quiet six weeks, the Vancouver Canucks have dipped back into the National Hockey League free agent pool in an effort to bolster their roster for the coming hockey season.

According to multiple Internet reports, the Canucks have inked winger Raffi Torres to a one-year deal worth a reported $1 million. The 28-year-old Toronto native split last season between Columbus and Buffalo scoring 19 goals and adding 17 assists.

The fifth overall pick in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Torres was a 20-plus goal scorer in three consecutive seasons (2003-4 through 2005-6). At his best, he's a fiesty forward who isn't afraid to bang and crash and mix things up with opponents, although serious knee and shoulder injuries seem to have limited his ability to play that rambunctious style of game.

Torres was a name that was linked to the Canucks at last season's trade deadline before he was shipped to the Sabres. So perhaps there was legitimate interest in adding him to the fold last March.

However, the Torres signing this late in the summer seems to raise as many questions as it answers. Why had a player seemingly in the prime of his career and in demand six months ago been unable to land a contract for the coming season? Has he been brought in to fill a spot in the team's top six forward group because the Canucks think leading goal scorer Alex Burrows will be out longer than anticipated after off-season shoulder surgery? Was Torres signed because the Canucks don't believe former first round picks Cody Hodgson and/or Jordan Schroeder are ready to make the jump to the NHL as rookies?

Regardless the answers to those questions, Raffi Torres is now a Vancouver Canuck. He gives the team another NHL-calibre forward and certainly bolsters the club's top nine forward group whether he can find a fit on the top two lines remains to be seen.

He seems to be capable of giving the Canucks everything Kyle Wellwood and/or Steve Bernier did over the past couple of seasons, at a lower price point and with more all-around upside in terms of offense and being more difficult to play against.

All things considered, getting Raffi Torres at $1 million could very well be a bargain for the Vancouver Canucks.

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