Zeev Buium Signs $75M Canucks Deal: Israeli Star's Rise

Zeev Buium, the Israeli-American defenseman for the Vancouver Canucks, signed an eight-year contract extension worth $75.04 million on September 4, 2026, carrying an average annual value of $9.38 million. The deal locks in the 20-year-old, born in San Diego to Israeli parents, through the 2034-35 season.

What Are the Terms of Zeev Buium's Contract?

The extension runs eight years for $75.04 million, an AAV of $9.38 million, according to NHL.com and PuckPedia. It begins with the 2027-28 season, since Buium is completing the final year of his three-year entry-level contract signed with the Minnesota Wild on April 13, 2025. The deal includes a full no-movement clause and a modified 15-team no-trade list for its final three seasons, per PuckPedia's contract database.

Buium was 12 games away from restricted free agency eligibility when the extension was signed. Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson called Buium "a key member of our young core and a player we will build around moving forward" in the team's official announcement. Buium's agent, Kurt Overhardt, negotiated the deal; Rick Dhaliwal of Donnie & Dhali reported Overhardt described Johnson as "first class" throughout the process.

At $9.38 million a season, the extension places Buium among the higher-paid young defensemen in the league relative to games played, a bet by Vancouver on a player who has appeared in only 76 career NHL games. Buium told reporters after signing: "It wasn't a hard decision to make. Personally, I wanted to be here for eight years, I didn't want it to be shorter."

How Did Zeev Buium End Up With the Canucks?

Buium was drafted 12th overall by the Minnesota Wild in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. He was traded to Vancouver in a package that also sent forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren and a 2026 first-round pick to the Canucks, in exchange for star defenseman Quinn Hughes.

Buium appeared in 45 games with Vancouver last season, recording three goals and nine assists for 12 points. Across 76 career NHL games split between Minnesota and Vancouver, he has posted 26 points on six goals and 20 assists, per NHL.com's game log. He also won the Pavel Bure Award as the Canucks' most exciting player last season, according to CanucksArmy.

What Is Zeev Buium's Israeli Background?

Buium was born December 7, 2005, in San Diego to Sorin and Miriam Buium, who immigrated to the United States from Ashdod, Israel, according to Hebrew-language reporting by Ynet. Miriam Buium played competitive basketball before her children were born. The family holds dual Israeli-American citizenship, and Buium is part of what Israeli outlets have called a wave of Jewish and Israeli-connected players entering the NHL, a trend that includes Deni Avdija's rise as the first Israeli NBA All-Star in basketball.

Buium has an older brother, Shai, who also played hockey at the University of Denver. The two made their NCAA debuts together on October 7, 2023, the same day Hamas launched its attack on Israel. Their mother relayed news of the attack to them hours before that game, Ynet reported. Denver went on to win the NCAA championship that season.

Buium has three Hebrew dates tattooed on his arm, marking the day of that college championship and two gold medals he won at IIHF World Junior Championships, according to Ynet's May 2025 profile. Numerous relatives traveled from Israel to attend his NHL Draft night in 2024.

What Has Zeev Buium Achieved With Team USA?

Buium was the youngest player on the U.S. men's national team roster that won the 2025 IIHF World Championship in Sweden and Denmark, the country's first title in the tournament since 1933. He recorded two assists and a goal against Finland in the quarterfinal, a 5-2 U.S. win, en route to the gold medal.

Team USA reached the final after eliminating Canada in an early upset and defeating Sweden, then needed overtime to beat Switzerland after trailing 3-0 in group play, according to Ynet's coverage of the tournament. Buium's path to that roster ran through an early playoff exit: Minnesota's first-round loss to the Vegas Golden Knights freed him to join Team USA mid-tournament.

Where Does Buium Fit in Israeli Sports Business?

Buium's contract adds a hockey chapter to a broader pattern of Israeli and Israeli-connected athletes reaching major U.S. professional leagues, a trend mapped in Olam's overview of Israel's sports and entertainment capital, which tracks Israeli clubs, athletes, and sports-adjacent business ventures from European football to the NBA. Unlike Avdija, who was born and raised in Israel and played professionally for Maccabi Tel Aviv before the NBA, Buium represents the diaspora side of that pattern: American-born to Israeli immigrant parents, developed entirely within U.S. hockey systems, but publicly identified with Israel through family, tattoos, and press coverage in both English and Hebrew.

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