Forward Raffi Torres signs one-year, $1 million contract with Vancouver Canucks

VANCOUVER - Free agent forward Raffi Torres signed a US$1-million, one-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks, the team said Wednesday.

Torres split last season between Columbus and Buffalo, scoring 19 goals and getting 17 assists in 74 games.

He is expected to add a physical, scoring presence to the Canucks' third line. He should also get a chance to play with the first line as winger Alex Burrows recovers from summer shoulder surgery expected to keep him out at least the first month of the season.

Torres made $2.75 million last season, the final one in a three-year, $6.75-million contract he signed in 2007. But he failed to score with Buffalo after being acquired at the trade deadline for defenceman Nathan Paetsch and a second-round draft pick.

He managed only five assists in the final 14 regular-season games and was a healthy scratch after recording two assists in the first four games of the playoffs, as the Sabres were upset by Boston in the first round.