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Maple Leafs Linked To Mikael Granlund, Pius Suter

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The Maple Leafs have displayed interest in centers Mikael Granlund and Pius Suter to bolster their depth at the position after free agency opens next week, according to Kristen Shilton of ESPN.

They’re expected to pursue them for a bigger punch down the middle, even if they agree to a new contract with No. 2 center John Tavares, also a pending UFA. If they can’t extend the latter, though, pursuing one or both of Granlund and Suter this summer immediately becomes their top priority instead of a “nice-to-have” pickup in addition to a partial replacement for Mitch Marner on the wing. That’s an increasingly likely outcome with Tavares and the Leafs not being close on a new deal as of Saturday.

If the Leafs manage to retain Tavares, they’d presumably be more interested in Suter as a minute-munching third-line option while keeping Tavares in favorable offensive deployment with William Nylander on the second line if he’s not moved up to Auston Matthews’ unit in place of the departing Marner. Granlund, on the other hand, is far less of a two-way player than Suter but has a significantly higher offensive ceiling that could, at least feasibly, be a near-direct replacement for Tavares in favorable usage if they can’t re-sign him. The 33-year-old Finn totaled 22 goals and 66 points in 83 games this year, split between the Sharks and Stars. That’s 0.19 fewer points per game than Tavares gave Toronto, but playing with Nylander could help him cover the gap.

Suter would be an expensive third-line piece, but the 29-year-old would be worth the price of admission to give the club its best option at the position since their deadline pickup of Ryan O’Reilly in 2023. The 5’11” Swiss native had a career-high 25 goals and 46 points last year with Vancouver, averaging north of 17 minutes per game and often seeing duties as a matchup forward. He played far more at center than he had in the past, and while faceoffs remain an issue (42.7 FOW%), he had favorable possession metrics in the most difficult defensive deployment of his five-year NHL career. He saw significant time on both special teams units as well, particularly shorthanded, where he averaged 2:17 per game to lead Vancouver forwards.

Shilton named Claude Giroux as a more speculative/tertiary option. He’s not mentioned in the same tier of interest as Granlund and Suter for good reason. The 37-year-old remains in productive talks with the Senators on a contract extension and hasn’t consistently played down the middle in quite some time, although he still takes a good deal of faceoffs and does so quite well. He won 59.1% of his draws over the last three years in Ottawa.

Free Agent Focus: Vancouver Canucks

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Free agency is now under a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Canucks.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Aatu Räty – Vancouver has a sneaky list of talent headed to the RFA market. The group is headlined by Aatu Räty, who split this season between the major and minor-league rosters. He performed beautifully in the AHL, netting 17 goals, 40 points, and a plus-nine through 43 appearances. The performance was a strong step up on Räty’s 52 points in 72 AHL games last season, though his impact at the NHL flight left something to be desired. The 22-year-old center did manage seven goals and 11 points through 33 appearances – a stat line complemented by his 57.7 percent faceoff win-rate. Those are stout numbers, but despite them, Räty wasn’t able to command more than a third-line role in the lineup. He’s shown flashes at the minor-flight, but will sign his next deal hoping for the promise of a hardy NHL chance next season. That could cap the potential price tag and term Räty can receive this summer, though he’ll be a must-sign option based on upside alone.

F Arshdeep Bains – The only Abbotsford Canuck to score more than Räty this year was Arshdeep Bains, who finished the season with 11 goals and 43 points in 50 games.  The performance was a slight dip from the 55 points he scored in 59 games last season – but held Bains as one of the most important pieces of Vancouver’s minor-league lineup. Bains racked up 136 points in 175 AHL games, and one point in 21 NHL games, on the entry-level contract that pulled him out of undrafted free-agency in 2022. But he hasn’t yet found the imposing, physical edge that’d push him into Vancouver’s bottom-six. Vancouver would be hard-pressed to find a way to replace Bains’ top-end drive in the minors – and his performances so far suggest NHL upside in the near future. But with no breakout just yet, Bains is likely to also earn a cheap, prove-it deal this summer.

F Vitali Kravtsov – Once a top-10 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, there now seems no certainty that Kravtsov will ever have a full NHL career. He returned to Russia’s KHL last season, after spending parts of two seasons trying and failing to earn standing in the New York Rangers and Canucks lineups. He’s totaled just 12 points, split evenly, across 64 career games in the NHL – but had an incredible breakout season in the KHL this year. Kravtsov finished the year with 27 goals and 58 points in 66 KHL games, then added six goals and seven points in 19 playoff games. He looked every bit like the dangerous prospect that was once headed for NHL stardom. There seems to be a scant chance he entertains an NHL contract anytime soon, but his player rights will be invaluable for Vancouver to retain should he ever want another change of scenery.

Other RFAs: F Ty Glover, F Max Sasson, F Tristen Nielsen, D Jett Woo, D Cole McWard, D Christian Felton, G Nikita Tolopilo

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Brock Boeser – The Canucks’ off-season will be headlined by their handling of Brock Boeser. The high-scoring winger has been on the fastrack to a separation with the Canucks for much of the year, with the team even shopping him around, unsuccessfully, at the NHL Trade Deadline. It will be the end of an era if and when Boeser leaves the Canucks lineup. He has been a perennial scorer since the 2017-18 season, and either paced for or exceeded the 25-goal mark in every single season excpet for the 2019-20 campaign. His career year came in 2023-24, when Boeser potted 40 goals and 73 assists – the most goals from any Canuck since Daniel Sedin and Ryan Kesler reached 41 in the 2010-11 season. That scoring upside will earn Boeser a hardy contract on the open market, though teams will need to be careful to not overpay a player who fell back to 25 goals this season.

F Pius Suter – Pius Suter will be another name to follow closely as Vancouver approaches the open market. He scored a career-high 25 goals and 46 points in 81 games this season – while holding down a reliable role in Vancouver’s middle-six. But Suter’s 18.1 shooting percentage this season stands five percent higher than his career-average of 13.1. He’s seemingly due for some regression, and there’s a good chance Vancouver doesn’t want to be the one holding a pricey bill when that comes. They also have to find ways to promote Räty into a notable role on his next deal, which will directly hurt Suter’s ice time. Should the Canucks get him signed to a reasonable contract, Suter would be a stout veteran to have in the lineup. But an expensive asking price should push the cap-strapped Canucks elsewhere.

D Noah Juulsen – For the last four seasons, Juulsen has served as a depth defender for Vancouver to lean against when they’re faced with injuries or slow play. But his quiet play hit a trench this year, as he posted no scoring and a minus-12 through 35 games in the lineup. With a new contract due, it seems unlikely that Vancouver brings back Juulsen into an NHL depth role. He’ll instead be set for a minor-league option, or change of scenery, as the Canucks attempt to open more space for their young prospects.

Other UFAs: F Philip Di Giuseppe, F Nathan Smith, D Guillaume Brisebois, D Christian Wolanin, D Akito Hirose

Projected Salary Cap

Vancouver faces a busy summer with little in the way of financial capital. They have just $12.16MM in projected cap space – a number that could be cut by as much as a third after Vancouver signs Suter, Raty, and Bains. With so little to work with, the Canucks’ summer should be headlined by cap-clearing moves and free agent additions, rather than re-signings.

Contract information courtesy of PuckPedia. Image courtesy of James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images.

Canucks Reportedly Make Offer For Marco Rossi

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In an article by Michael Russo and Joe Smith from The Athletic, which was later confirmed by Patrick Johnston of The Province, there is a growing consensus that the Vancouver Canucks have made a formal offer to the Minnesota Wild for Marco Rossi. While the complete trade offer remains unclear, the trio of writers believes the Canucks proposed the 15th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft along with a player.

Johnston elaborated in his article stating that it’s unclear whether the player offered to the Wild was a prospect, or one currently rostered with the Canucks. Still, the news confirms that Vancouver is being aggressive in their pursuit of upgrading their second-line center.

While it’s essentially understood that the Canucks and scoring winger Brock Boeser will be parting ways this summer, Vancouver has over $12MM in salary cap space for the offseason. That means the Canucks could comfortably offer Rossi his desired seven-year, $49MM contract, while leaving room for a few further upgrades.

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Hughes Earns 2024-25 All-Star Team Honors

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D Quinn Hughes (Canucks) – Hughes rightfully received the most Second Team votes of his counterparts. As the primary reason the Vancouver Canucks had any sense of competitiveness this year, Hughes scored 16 goals and 76 points in 68 games, averaging 25:44 of ice time a game. Had Hughes remained healthy for the entire 2024-25 campaign, he likely would have presented a bigger challenge to Makar and Werenski as the league’s top blueliner.

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Canucks Have Shown Interest In Marco Rossi

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A handful of Canadian teams have spoken with the Wild regarding pending RFA center Marco Rossi, but the Canucks are the club with the highest level of interest in the youngster, writes Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. LeBrun adds the Flames have also expressed a mild degree of interest but are looking for a pivot with more size to complement their top six, while the Canadiens have kicked tires but haven’t been remotely progressive in their pursuit.

Rossi is one of the biggest names to watch on the trade market over the next few weeks, especially among centers, unless Vancouver decides to shop their own Elias Pettersson again before his no-trade clause takes effect on July 1. Minnesota has been more aggressively soliciting calls on Rossi since the season ended, after previously denying they were looking to move the 23-year-old pivot. There’s been widespread interest so far, but no team has emerged as a true frontrunner.

That’s due mostly to Rossi’s disinterest in a bridge deal and a desire for a long-term contract worth $49MM over seven years for a $7MM cap hit, according to reports. He’s coming off a strong platform year, finally elevated into consistent top-six deployment and responding with a 24-36–60 scoring line in 82 games despite not having superstar Kirill Kaprizov available on his wing for half of the season. He was second on the Wild in points and only three goals behind Matt Boldy for the team lead. He also hasn’t missed a game since emerging as a full-time NHL option in 2023-24, a notable development for someone who experienced significant post-COVID complications shortly after being drafted No. 9 overall by the Wild in 2020.

Rossi’s leap in production, especially since he was able to shoulder the responsibility of being Minnesota’s top center for a decent portion of the campaign with Joel Eriksson Ek missing time as well, still points to the Austrian having a point-per-game ceiling (or close to it). There’s one limiting factor he has to overcome: his size. Checking in at 5’9″ and 182 lbs, teams generally prefer to have that type of skillset on the wing. Whether justifiable or not, his evaluation by the Wild has been negatively impacted. His minutes were slashed in the postseason as he was reduced to a fourth-line role, still managing three points in six games against the Golden Knights despite seeing a decrease of over seven minutes per game from his regular-season deployment.

The lack of cost certainty and the fact that Rossi only has two full years of NHL experience also hurt, not help, his trade value. As such, it’s hard to identify a solid comparable deal to speculate a return. The Wild have no intention of taking a step back in their competitiveness level next season, though, so as Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff speculated earlier this month, they won’t just be looking for futures in return. If they’re losing center depth, they’ll look to bolster their skill on the wings to compensate.

Few destinations make more sense for Rossi than Vancouver. The Canucks are in desperate need of more offensive depth at every forward position but particularly at center, where they took a temporary hit by swapping J.T. Miller for Filip Chytil in an in-season blockbuster with the Rangers. Slotting in Rossi as their No. 2 center behind Pettersson, as they await the latter’s return to form, would allow Chytil to drop down to a much more comfortable third-line role to begin 2025-26 and give Vancouver three legitimate scoring threats down the middle.

It’s unclear who Minnesota might want in return on the wing, though. They’d presumably prefer a similarly-aged piece to Rossi but the Canucks wouldn’t likely value him high enough to deem him worth parting ways with top prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki. A return based around the 23-year-old Nils Höglander, plus other assets to equal Rossi’s higher trade value, would be more realistic.

That’s a decent step back in offensive ceiling for Minnesota, but Höglander is cost-controlled at a $3MM cap hit through 2027-28. That would still allow the Wild to be aggressive in pursuing a name like Matt Duchene or Mikael Granlund in free agency to replace Rossi down the middle, while the Canucks would still open up more flexbility compared to a futures-based return and might still have the space to pursue a replacement for Höglander on the wing on the open market.

How The Canucks Need To Approach This Summer

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The Vancouver Canucks are fresh off one of the most tumultuous years in franchise history, which is saying something, given some of the unusual seasons the team has had over the past 20 years. The relationship between star forwards Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller cast a black cloud over a team expected to compete for a Stanley Cup in 2024-25. Still, the Canucks ultimately missed the playoffs and have a lot of work to do this summer if they want to get back into contention. This summer will be crucial in their re-emergence and could be one that either reopens their window to win or slams it shut, forcing Vancouver to consider another potential rebuild.

At some point very soon, the Canucks are going to need to decide who the core members of this team are. Pettersson is locked up for another seven years, and it’s hard to imagine him being a trade candidate, given his play last season. This locks him in as a core member, whether or not the team wants him to be. He is indeed a candidate to bounce back; if he does, it would be welcome news for the team. Beyond Pettersson is where it starts to get murky concerning the core Canucks.

Any team in the NHL would want defenseman Quinn Hughes in their defense core, but there is a lot of speculation as to whether or not the 25-year-old wants to remain in Vancouver long-term. Hughes has two years remaining on a six-year deal and carries a cap hit of $7.85MM. He isn’t eligible for an extension until July 1, 2026, and rumors will run wild until he signs one with the Canucks or is traded.

Hughes has made it known that he would like to play with his brothers in the NHL, and Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford has commented publicly on the idea of acquiring the other Hughes brothers to keep Hughes in Vancouver. One thing is for sure, the Canucks are never dull when it comes to storylines off the ice, and the Hughes story will continue until a resolution is met.

The Canucks also have a tough decision to make on goaltender Thatcher Demko, who has dealt with numerous injury issues and was limited to 23 starts last season, during which he posted a .889 SV%. Demko has one year left on his contract at $5MM and will be eligible to sign an extension this summer. It will be interesting to see if that happens, given how last season unfolded for the 29-year-old.

Vancouver will have to decide very shortly whether or not they view Demko as part of their future, or if they can rely on recently extended Kevin Lankinen as their starting goaltender going forward. The hitch with Demko is that he is just a year removed from finishing second in Vezina Trophy voting and could very well recapture his form next season, or he could continue to struggle with injuries. Either way, there is a considerable risk for Vancouver and Demko.

Besides making a call on their core, Vancouver must address the hole left by trading Miller to the New York Rangers. The Canucks acquired Filip Chytil in the trade; however, he is likely best suited for third-line duties, given the stage of his career. Vancouver’s general manager, Patrik Allvin, might be hard-pressed to find a suitable replacement given the demand for centers around the NHL, but there are options available.

In free agency, the Canucks are in a position where they could target Sam Bennett, Matt Duchene, or John Tavares. Vancouver has roughly $12.156MM under the salary cap and has 21 of 23 roster slots filled (as per PuckPedia). This means they could sign any of the players mentioned and still have money left over to fill their final roster spot. Nothing suggests that any of those players would have Vancouver at the top of their list, particularly after the past 12 months. However, financially, the Canucks have as good a shot as just about any other team.

Outside of free agency, Vancouver could look to trade for a center such as Minnesota’s Marco Rossi. The Canucks might not want to explore that option if they can help it, as it might cost them one or both of their top prospects, Jonathan Lekkerimaki or Tom Willander. Vancouver doesn’t have a great prospect pool (21st in the NHL, as per Scott Wheeler of The Athletic) and likely wouldn’t want to deplete it further if they can help it. Lesser targets such as Trevor Zegras and Mika Zibanejad might be options, but given the circus that went on in Vancouver last season, they might steer clear of those two.

The Canucks should also look to bolster the right side of their defense core to allow Tyler Myers to slot in lower in the lineup. Vancouver dealt with many injuries at the end of the season (including Myers) and could use the added depth. The Canucks have several promising young defensemen who could be solutions on the ride side in the future, but they need someone for the short term to patch them over until Willander is ready for a significant role. The free agent market doesn’t offer much help for Vancouver unless they want to go big-game hunting for Aaron Ekblad.

If the Canucks wanted to make a trade for a top-four defenseman on the right side, they could look to Pittsburgh for Erik Karlsson or Philadelphia and Rasmus Ristolainen. While those are both big names, they have massive warts to their game and might not be a good fit in a dressing room that is as fragile as the Canucks have. Right-shot defensemen are always in demand, and even those with obvious flaws generally command a premium, which could force the Canucks to look at other areas of their roster to improve.

Regardless of whether Vancouver addresses their second-line center position and the right side of their defense, they have to add scoring to the lineup. The Canucks finished 23rd in the NHL in goals last season and desperately need to add to their offense, particularly in the bottom six. There are two ways Vancouver could achieve this. The first is to add a top-six forward to the group, and they might need to do this to balance the scales and replace the potentially departing Brock Boeser. The second option would be to add some depth scoring to the bottom six.

Vancouver likely won’t be in on wingers Mitch Marner or Nikolaj Ehlers, which means they will need to look at secondary options to try to add scoring by committee. Mikael Granlund could be an interesting option, as he is an excellent passer and almost always finds a way to put up numbers. Fit could be a concern with him, but he could be a cheaper option for the top six forwards, and Vancouver could use the remaining cap space to find the bottom six forwards to fill out their depth.

Photo by Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Canucks Hire Brett McLean, Scott Young As Assistant Coaches

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The Vancouver Canucks are nearing the finalization of their coaching staff for the 2025-26 NHL season. The organization announced that it has hired Brett McLean and Scott Young as assistant coaches, and confirmed a report from a few days ago, indicating that Kevin Dean would also be joining the staff.

McLean earns his first stint back in the NHL since his time as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Wild from 2020 to 2023. He’s spent the last two years serving as the head coach for the AHL’s Iowa Wild, managing a 54-74-10-6 record in 144 games.

Young is the only one of the trio who’s not an outside hire. He’s spent the last three years as the organization’s Director of Player Personnel, after joining Rick Tocchet’s staff during the 2022-23 campaign. Before his tenure in Vancouver, Young had served as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Director of Player Development, joining the team the year after Tocchet had departed in 2017.

Although the Canucks’ on-bench coaching staff is taking shape around Adam Foote, some non-bench coaches aren’t expected to return next season. According to Rob Williams of Daily Hive Vancouver, development coach Sergei Gonchar and video coach Dylan Crawford won’t be a part of Foote’s staff.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Gonchar join Tocchet’s staff with the Philadelphia Flyers in a similar role. The two have inconsistently coached together since the 2015-16 season in Pittsburgh, with Gonchar joining Tocchet upon his move to Vancouver in 2022-23.

Flyers Hire Yogi Svejkovský, Jay Varady As Assistant Coaches

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June 5: The Flyers made Svejkovský’s hiring official while also naming Jay Varady as an assistant coach, per a club announcement. Varady, 47, had spent the last three seasons with the Red Wings as an assistant coach and survived their in-season coaching change, but now finds himself on the move. He spent the four seasons prior in the Coyotes organization, including three years as the head coach for AHL Tucson and one year as an assistant on the NHL bench, during which he worked under Tocchet.

June 4: The Flyers are bringing over Canucks assistant coach Jaroslav “Yogi” Svejkovský to join ex-Vancouver bench boss Rick Tocchet in Philadelphia, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reports.

Svejkovský and Tocchet developed a “great relationship” during the duo’s three seasons together with the Canucks, Dhaliwal writes. While Vancouver didn’t grant permission for Svejkovský to interview elsewhere, it doesn’t appear they had much of a choice. Dhaliwal reports that Svejkovský had some form of an out clause in his contract to allow him to leave for Philly.

The former NHL right-winger had only spent one year behind the Canucks bench as an assistant with Tocchet. His prior two seasons with the NHL club saw him work as a skills coach, not working directly on Tocchet’s staff.

Svejkovský, 48, has been working in the Vancouver area since 2006, when he started as an assistant coach with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants. The Czech native transitioned into a skills coach role with the junior club in 2014 before leaving altogether four years later. He resurfaced as a skills coach with the Canucks’ AHL affiliate in Abbotsford in 2021-22 before getting the call to join the NHL staff the following season.

His responsibilities in Vancouver included supervising the power play, a significant issue for the Flyers for the last four years. Their 15.0% success rate this season was third-worst in the league, ahead of only the Islanders (12.6%) and Ducks (11.8%). The Canucks’ 22.5% conversion rate with the man advantage was still close to average at 15th in the league but a marked improvement over what Philadelphia’s been able to produce in the past few years.

Svejkovský will be the first assistant named to Tocchet’s staff. None of Philadelphia’s three assistants under John Tortorella last year are returning to the club.

Canucks Set To Hire Kevin Dean As Assistant Coach, Update On Suter Contract Talks

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  • The Vancouver Canucks and new head coach Adam Foote continue to overhaul the coaching staff and are expected to hire Kevin Dean as an assistant coach, per Thomas Drance of The Athletic. Dean, a former assistant for the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins, is known for his ability to coach defense, something that Foote is clearly familiar with as well. With Vancouver having a host of young, talented defenders, it makes sense that they would go after Dean, who Drance notes was highly sought after this spring.
  • While defensively responsible forwards like Yanni Gourde and Noah Cates are landing lucrative deals around the league, there appears to be no progress between the Canucks and pending free agent Pius Suter on a new contract, Drance reports. Suter, who recorded a career high 25 goals and 46 points this season, is perhaps best known for his strong defensive play, highlighted by receiving Selke Trophy votes for the first time in his career. Coming off his first 20-goal season, Suter now brings the kind of versatility that could make him one of the more sought-after names on the open market. While Vancouver has a little more than $12 million in cap space (per PuckPedia), they will likely have to cut that figure in half if they hope to retain Suter.

Vancouver Canucks Sign Derek Forbort To One-Year Deal

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The Vancouver Canucks will have some added continuity to their defensive core next season. Vancouver announced they’ve re-signed defenseman Derek Forbort to a one-year, $2MM contract.

Forbort’s new deal won’t have any negative side effects on other defensemen on the roster, but it likely spells the end of Noah Juulsen’s tenure in British Columbia. The Canucks now have seven defenseman signed through the 2025-26 season, including youngsters like Victor Mancini and Elias Pettersson.

He was as advertised for the Canucks this season. Injuries limited Forbort to 54 games played, yet he still scored two goals and 11 points, making for one of the better point-per-game metrics of his 10-year career. Despite the increased offensive (for his standards), Forbort missed the playoffs for the first time in five years.

Still, if the Canucks could make a move for another right-handed defenseman, Forbort represents a nice defensive option to place next to Tyler Myers in the bottom-pairing. He’s a like-sized blue liner who takes care of the puck in the defensive zone, as evidenced by his 46.4% CorsiFor% at even strength and 90.6% on-ice save percentage at even strength.

Unfortunately, retaining Forbort won’t help what plagued Vancouver this season. The Canucks boasted one of the top penalty kills, and had a respectable goals-against average, but their lethargic offense cost them dearly. Now that the defensive core is settled, the Canucks can spend the rest of the summer re-imagining their forward core.

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