Zeev Buium is an American defenceman with the Vancouver Canucks, the 12th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and part of what Minnesota gave up to get Quinn Hughes. Zeev Buium signed an eight-year contract with Vancouver on 4 September 2026 worth $75,040,000. He was born in San Diego to parents who had emigrated from Israel and knew almost nothing about ice hockey.
| Fast facts: Zeev Buium | |
|---|---|
| Current team | Vancouver Canucks, NHL |
| Shirt number | 8. He wore 24 in Vancouver until the summer of 2026 |
| Position | Defense, left side |
| Shoots | Left |
| Born | 7 December 2005, San Diego, California |
| Height / weight | 6’0″ (183 cm) / 183 lbs (83 kg). No source disagrees |
| Drafted | 2024, first round, 12th overall, Minnesota Wild |
| Contract status | Eight years, $75,040,000 at a $9,380,000 cap hit, signed 4 September 2026, running 2027-28 through 2034-35 |
| Previous clubs | Minnesota Wild, University of Denver, U.S. National Team Development Program |
Is Zeev Buium a good hockey player?
Buium arrived in the NHL with about as much college decoration as a defenseman can collect in two seasons: NCHC Player of the Year in 2025, NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year in 2024 and 2025, a first-team All-American in both, and one of three Hobey Baker finalists in 2025 alongside Ryan Leonard and Isaac Howard, who won it.
He has also won a lot: under-18 world gold in 2023, world junior gold in 2024 and 2025, and senior World Championship gold with the United States in 2025. In the 2025 World Junior Final, he was an alternate captain and set up both the equalizer and the overtime winner against Finland.
The channels for every Vancouver game are in our guide to how to watch the Vancouver Canucks.
Why did Vancouver trade for Zeev Buium?
Because Minnesota wanted Quinn Hughes and Buium was part of the price. On 12 December 2025, Vancouver sent its captain to the Wild for Marco Rossi, Liam Öhgren, Buium and Minnesota’s 2026 first-round pick.
Patrik Allvin, Vancouver’s general manager at the time, did not pretend it was comfortable: “Trading away a player of this calibre is never an easy decision to make, but it was one we had to do to make our team better.” Minnesota’s Bill Guerin, asked why he would do it at all, answered, “Because it’s Quinn Hughes.” Of Buium he said, “Look, Zeev, I love that kid,” and, later in the same answer, “you have to give something to get something.”
Buium’s own reading was notably generous. “I don’t think anything they told me was a lie. I really don’t,” he said. On what the trade meant about Minnesota’s view of him: “I don’t think it’s [Guerin] saying, ‘You’re not good enough’ or ‘We don’t believe in you.’ But I think he sees me needing to develop a little bit more.” He added: “I’m going to do my best to show the Canucks that they made a good trade.”
What are Zeev Buium’s career stats?
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | P | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | U.S. National U17 Team | NTDP | 49 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 16 |
| 2022-23 | U.S. National U18 Team | NTDP | 63 | 5 | 35 | 40 | 44 |
| 2022-23 | United States U18 | U18 Worlds | 7 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| 2023-24 | University of Denver | NCAA | 42 | 11 | 39 | 50 | 20 |
| 2023-24 | United States U20 | World Juniors | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| 2024-25 | University of Denver | NCAA | 41 | 13 | 35 | 48 | 44 |
| 2024-25 | United States U20 | World Juniors | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| 2024-25 | United States | World Championship | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 2024-25 | Minnesota Wild | NHL playoffs | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2025-26 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 31 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 8 |
| 2025-26 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 45 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 33 |
Completed seasons. His NHL regular-season totals through 2025-26 are six goals and 26 points in 76 games, with 41 penalty minutes. His NHL debut was a playoff game, Game 1 at Vegas on 20 April 2025, where he played 13:37. His first NHL goal came on 11 October 2025, on the power play against Columbus.
Buium finished his college career with 98 points in 83 games, a rate of 1.18 per game, and that total ranks tenth among all Denver defencemen ever. Denver records that as the most by one of its defencemen across the first two seasons since 1975-77.
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What is Zeev Buium’s contract with the Vancouver Canucks?
Vancouver signed Buium to an eight-year deal on 4 September 2026, worth $75,040,000 at a $9,380,000 cap hit. It runs from 2027-28 through 2034-35, and from the season it starts, he becomes the highest-paid defenceman on the roster, ahead of Filip Hronek. It follows a three-year entry-level contract at a $966,500 cap hit.
On the clauses: per CapWages’ contract table, he holds a modified no-trade clause in the last three seasons, 2032-33 through 2034-35, filing a 15-team list in 2034-35. CapWages’ own running text says the clause covers the final year only. The table is the one to use.
Ryan Johnson, the general manager who signed it, said the term was Buium’s idea: “He didn’t want anything other than eight years so that he could do this and do it properly.” Buium agreed: “Personally, I wanted to be here for eight years. I didn’t want it to be shorter, and I’m really glad.”
Who is Zeev Buium’s brother?
Shai Buium, his middle brother, is also a defenseman. Detroit drafted him 36th overall in 2021; he played three seasons in Denver and has since been with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL, without an NHL game.
The two were Denver teammates in 2023-24, and that is where the story is. Zeev’s college debut, in Alaska in October 2023, was the first time they had been on the same team since childhood, and they won the NCAA championship together that season against Boston College. Both finished that year at plus-33, sharing the Denver record since the statistic was first kept.
“I’m my brother’s biggest fan and supporter,” Shai said after one of Zeev’s world junior golds. Zeev’s version is drier: “He’s hard on me, but he’s my older brother and wants what is best for me.” A third brother, Ben, is the eldest.
Who are Zeev Buium’s parents?
Sorin and Miriam Buium emigrated from Ashdod, Israel, to San Diego in 1999, knowing almost nothing about ice hockey. Miriam had been a professional basketball player in Israel until an injury ended her career, and later worked as a general manager in the sport. Sorin has his own company and stayed home working so the family could afford the hockey.
The family got into the sport by accident, on a trip to watch a cousin play club hockey. Craig Sterling, a director at the San Diego Oilers, got the boys hooked; Zeev took the longest and started on roller skates. Then came the Jr. Kings in Los Angeles, two hours each way. The brothers missed 45 to 50 school days to travel over two years before moving to Shattuck St. Mary’s in Minnesota.
“My brothers and I are super grateful for what our parents have sacrificed for us,” Zeev has said. Miriam, on sending them away: “It was the best thing I ever did for them.”
Has Zeev Buium been injured?
Buium took a puck to the face against Pittsburgh on 25 January 2026. Vancouver put him on injured reserve the next day, and beat reporters described the problem as an upper-body injury. A fractured cheekbone was reported on 27 January and attributed to head coach Adam Foote. Buium returned on 25 February 2026.
He was not named to the United States squad for the 2026 Olympics.
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Does Zeev Buium have a girlfriend?
There is no publicly confirmed information about Zeev Buium’s relationship status.
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