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Canucks Rumors

Canucks Re-Sign Teddy Blueger

June 26, 2024 at 5:42 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 3 Comments

5:42 p.m.: Blueger’s deal includes a 12-team no-trade clause in both seasons, PuckPedia reports. He’ll be paid a $775K base salary, with the remainder of the deal paid via signing bonuses ($1.175MM in 2024-25, $875K in 2025-26).

5:05 p.m.: The Canucks announced Wednesday that they’ve re-signed pending free agent center Teddy Blueger to a two-year deal worth $3.6MM, carrying a $1.8MM cap hit.

It’s a good bit of work for GM of the year finalist Patrik Allvin, who retains some solid fourth-line depth for a $100K pay cut from last season’s cap hit. Blueger arrived in Vancouver via free agency last summer, inking a one-year, $1.9MM pact. He was coming off a 2022-23 campaign that saw him dealt from the Penguins to the Golden Knights at the trade deadline, but he played in only six of Vegas’ 22 playoff games in their run to the Stanley Cup.

The Canucks banked on Blueger’s solid play in a bottom-six role in Pittsburgh over the years prior, though, and they got rewarded. The Latvia native isn’t a big-time goal-scorer – he’s never hit double digits in his career. He’s dealt with a decent amount of injuries, too, never playing more than 70 games in a season, but he provides decent offensive production when healthy.

In 2023-24, he rebounded after a difficult campaign that resulted in him scoring only four goals and 16 points in 63 games, his lowest offensive output as a full-time NHLer. Making 68 appearances for the Nucks, he had 28 points (six goals, 22 assists) and excelled in the faceoff circle, winning 53.1% of his draws while averaging 14:56 per game. He provided good possession results despite being used primarily in defensive situations at even strength, controlling 50.8% of shot attempts and 51.3% of expected goals, per Hockey Reference. Blueger also averaged 2:06 per game shorthanded, second among Vancouver forwards behind Elias Lindholm.

He was worth the money last year, and he’ll cost less to retain annually in exchange for an extra year’s worth of commitment. His deal comes in at nearly exactly what Evolving Hockey projected he’d cost on the open market (two years, $1.814MM AAV).

Blueger will likely reprise a fourth-line role next season with heavy PK usage plus some slight upward mobility at even strength. The Canucks still have $16.75MM in projected cap space after the signing with Tucker Poolman on long-term injured reserve, per CapFriendly. They have five roster spots to fill.

Transactions| Vancouver Canucks Teddy Blueger

3 comments

Morning Notes: Toffoli, McGroarty, Buyouts

June 22, 2024 at 9:04 am CDT | by Josh Cybulski 8 Comments

Elliotte Friedman (32 Thoughts) believes that the Vancouver Canucks could target Tyler Toffoli if they are unable to land pending free agent Jake Guentzel. The Canucks have been linked to Guentzel on several occasions and will likely face stiff competition to acquire the former Stanley Cup Champion. Toffoli is familiar with the Canucks organization as the 32-year-old was traded to the team in February 2020 and dressed in ten regular season games, notching ten points.

Friedman also linked Toffoli to the New York Rangers, saying that he wouldn’t be surprised to see the Rangers in the mix for Toffoli. New York recently moved Barclay Goodrow’s contract off the books and has almost $13MM in cap space heading into the offseason. Although they have some pending restricted free agents who will eat up a lot of that cap room and the pending Igor Shesterkin extension to deal with.

In other morning notes:

  • Friedman noted on the 32 Thoughts podcast that teams have inquired about former Winnipeg Jets first-round pick Rutger McGroarty (14th overall), and the Jets have engaged in trade talks about him. Friedman doesn’t get too far into the details but says that he’s heard that McGroarty is being talked about in trade discussions. The Jets hold the 20-year-old’s rights for two more years, and McGroarty decided in April to return to Michigan for another season in the NCAA. With Winnipeg in win-now mode, it would make sense for the team to look at moving him for a player that they can insert into their roster right away, particularly if they are concerned about losing his rights in two years.
  • Jeff Marek reported on the 32 Thoughts podcast that there will be buyouts in the coming days as the first buyout window will open 48 hours after the completion of the Stanley Cup final and will stay open until 5 p.m. Eastern Time on June 30th. Jeff Skinner of the Buffalo Sabres has been a name that’s been mentioned often when it comes to a buyout, as have Jack Campbell of the Edmonton Oilers and a pair of Philadelphia Flyers in Cam Atkinson and Cal Petersen. With the salary cap rising, teams have become creative when it comes to dumping salary, as evidenced by Barclay Goodrow being placed on waivers and the Washington Capitals and Los Angeles Kings swapping Pierre-Luc Dubois for Darcy Kuemper. Buyouts have long-term salary cap ramifications and teams have become more strategic about using them.

Vancouver Canucks| Winnipeg Jets Rutger McGroarty| Tyler Toffoli

8 comments

Offseason Checklist: Vancouver Canucks

June 21, 2024 at 2:26 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

The offseason has arrived for all but the two teams who are still taking part in the playoffs.  For the rest, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Vancouver.

The Canucks were one of the surprises of the season, going from a non-playoff team to winning the Pacific Division and getting deep into the second round despite being without their starting goalie.  GM Patrik Allvin has already checked one significant item off his summer to-do list with the recent re-signing of Filip Hronek to a long-term extension but he still has some items to check off in the coming weeks and months.

Reload The Back End

Even with Hronek under contract, Vancouver has just three full-time blueliners signed for next season – Hronek, Quinn Hughes, and Carson Soucy.  Noah Juulsen is also under contract, but he profiles as a sixth option at best and preferably a seventh who comes in when injuries arise.  That leaves three spots to fill, either by re-signing or replacing their pending unrestricted free agents.

The most notable of the trio is Nikita Zadorov.  The 29-year-old did well after being acquired early in the season from Calgary and then was a difference-maker for them in the playoffs.  He has struggled to get a long-term deal so far in his career, but that shouldn’t be the case this time around, with some suggesting that he could get six years and $6MM per season.  There’s mutual interest in having Zadorov stick around, but with how well-positioned he is to cash in, it’d be hard to pass up testing the market.

Tyler Myers had a contract that made him a target from the moment it was signed.  Miscast in a top role, the 34-year-old had arguably his best season in five years with Vancouver in 2023-24 as he was moved down the lineup.  He won’t get $6MM this time around, but there’s believed to be mutual interest in him coming back at the right price.  Meanwhile, that isn’t expected to be the case for Ian Cole, with the 35-year-old being set to possibly land with his sixth organization since 2020.

With nearly $17MM in cap space per CapFriendly, there’s room to potentially have one contract of significance as they re-sign or replace these veterans, although if they want to add up front – more on that shortly – then they’ll need some more cost-effective options as well.  Notably, Myers and Cole logged the most minutes shorthanded, so as they look to fill those spots, it’s likely that they will be looking to bring in some players with a track record of success on the penalty kill.

Boeser Extension Talks

As it stands, the Canucks won’t have nearly as much roster turnover via free agency in 2025 as they will this year, at least among their star players. They do have one big fish to get extended before next summer, though.

Brock Boeser finally hit his potential in earnest in 2023-24. After posting middling stat lines the past two seasons while dealing with a variety of personal struggles, which he opened up about to The Province’s Ben Kuzma last year, he erupted for a career-best 40 goals and 73 points in 81 regular-season contests. Averaging 18:36 per game and flourishing under head coach Rick Tocchet, he’s made himself an irreplaceable part of their core group of forwards and has set himself up well heading into a contract year.

As of today, he’d earn a significant raise on his current $6.65MM cap hit. Evolving Hockey projects a max-term eight-year deal in the $8MM AAV range as the most likely scenario if Boeser were to be extended shortly after becoming eligible to sign one on July 1. But with their aforementioned large plate of free agents to deal with this summer, extension talks with Boeser will likely take a while to get going.

Injuries were a concern early on in his career, but he has flashed the potential to consistently produce in the 70-point range in the past. His 0.90 points per game this season was a career-high, but he did get close on multiple other occasions (0.89 in 2017-18, 0.81 in 2018-19, 0.88 in 2020-21).

Add Impact Forward

A quick glance at the Canucks’ depth chart next season reveals a painstakingly clear need for a top-six winger (or two) to help complement J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. Boeser has one spot locked down, and Conor Garland should likely find himself further up in the lineup after a strong 2023-24 campaign, but Ilya Mikheyev is currently slated for a second-line role alongside Pettersson. He’s not expected back next season anyway, and assuming they can clear the entirety of his $4.75MM cap hit, that’s more money for their front office braintrust of Patrik Allvin and Jim Rutherford to play with.

Their top target is clear. They were linked to former Penguins forward Jake Guentzel at the trade deadline, and while they lost a bidding war to the Hurricanes, he’s available again this summer, with Carolina dangling his signing rights before he reaches UFA status. As expected, they’re checking in on him again.

He’d be the most expensive option available to meet the ’impact forward’ moniker, likely save for Panthers winger Sam Reinhart. Guentzel is likely to cost a team around or more than $9MM per season, and Vancouver would need to pounce quickly. Can they get certainty in the coming days that they’ll be able to accommodate such a deal under the salary cap? That’ll be a story to follow as next week’s draft nears.

Other cheaper options to complement Miller or Pettersson on the wing include Jonathan Marchessault, Teuvo Teräväinen, or a reunion with Tyler Toffoli. All would be significant short-term upgrades over Mikheyev or other oft-used options higher up in the lineup, like youngster Nils Höglander.

Clear Poolman’s Contract

We’re all but certain that defenseman Tucker Poolman won’t play again due to migraine issues. He hasn’t skated in an NHL game since October 2022 and spent all of the 2023-24 campaign on long-term injured reserve.

While some criticized the four-year, $2.5MM AAV deal Poolman received from the Canucks in free agency, few thought it would yield just 43 games of service from Poolman in a Vancouver sweater. Regardless, the 31-year-old Iowa native now has just one year left on his deal, and it’s gumming up the offseason salary cap works. Could a team desperately in need of salary cap relief, such as the Golden Knights or Lightning, acquire Poolman’s $2.5MM cap hit next season and place it on LTIR for some much-needed in-season relief? It would be a win-win situation.

PHR’s Josh Erickson contributed significantly to this article.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Checklist 2024| Pro Hockey Rumors Originals| Vancouver Canucks

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Evening Notes: Maple Leafs Defense, Goligoski, Mikheyev

June 20, 2024 at 6:02 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley Leave a Comment

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be prioritizing size as they gauge potential additions to their defense, shares David Pagnotta and The Fourth Period.

That news comes as no surprise from a Toronto team that acquired 6’4” Joel Edmundson and 6’2” Ilya Lyubushkin at the Trade Deadline, sending a third-round pick for each defender. Neither seemed to make much of a splash in the year’s second half, with Lyubushkin potting just four assists in 19 regular-season games, while Edmundson went pointless through nine games while battling injury. The duo were two of many vying for ice time on Toronto’s bottom pairing, competing with the likes of Simon Benoit, William Lagesson, Conor Timmins, and Maxim Lajoie. Nobody on the list was able to push into routine top-four minutes, though the Leafs found reasons for optimism, with Pagnotta adding that the team is interested in re-signing Edmundson – at least ahead of other pending free agents Lyubushkin and Lajoie. That deal would return Edmundson to a crowded Toronto depth chart, though his stout defense on both sides of the ice could provide nice flexibility for a Leafs team that always seems to face nagging injuries.

In that way, Edmundson’s role would mirror former St. Louis Blues teammate Robert Bortuzzo, who’s stood strong in spot starts with the Blues and New York Islanders. In fact, Toronto may be drawing a lot of interest from the Blues defense, also showing renewed interest in trading for veteran big-man Colton Parayko, shares Pagnotta. Toronto has been tied to Parayko for many years, though he becomes a more palatable trade chip with the more time he spends on his pricey eight-year, $52MM contract. That deal is set to carry Parayko through the 2029-30 season – posing a major hurdle to any interested buyers. Parayko scored 10 goals and 26 points in 82 games this season – with strong goal-scoring lifting up an otherwise slowed season. Now 31 and on a very pricey deal, Parayko certainly isn’t an ideal trade target – though his veteran presence and Stanley Cup precedent could make him a strong acquisition with salary retention.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Minnesota Wild aren’t expecting aging defenseman Alex Goligoski to return next season, shares Anthony Di Marco of The Fourth Period (Twitter link). Goligoski became a routine healthy scratch in the second half of the season, ceding ice time to Dakota Mermis and Declan Chisholm. The 38-year-old veteran ultimately appeared in just 36 games, recording 10 points, all assists. Now set for the free market, he’ll face the question of if now is the right time to retire, having accumulated 1,078 games, 475 points, and one Stanley Cup across 17 seasons in the NHL. Meanwhile, Di Marco adds that Minnesota could look externally for a new depth defenseman.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have granted player agent Dan Milstein permission to find a trade for client Ilya Mikheyev, shares Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK News (Twitter link). Mikheyev has muddled through the last two seasons with the Canucks, with untimely injuries making it hard to find a comfortable role. He ultimately totaled 59 points in 124 games with the club, and will now look to find a spark with a change of scenery. Mikheyev has two seasons left on a contract carrying a $4.75MM cap hit.

Minnesota Wild| Toronto Maple Leafs| Vancouver Canucks Alex Goligoski| Colton Parayko| Ilya Mikheyev| Joel Edmundson

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Canucks Sign Linus Karlsson, Cole McWard To One-Year Extensions

June 20, 2024 at 4:43 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley 1 Comment

The Vancouver Canucks have signed forward Linus Karlsson and defenseman Cole McWard to matching one-year, two-way contracts. The details of the contracts, including cap hit and potential bonuses, haven’t yet been revealed.

Vancouver traded away the rights to Jonathan Dahlen to acquire Karlsson in 2019. He’s since spent two full seasons with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks, totaling 24 goals and 49 points in 72 games last season and a team-leading 60 points in 60 games this season. The performances have cemented Karlsson as one of Vancouver’s top prospects, even if he’s yet to record a point in the four NHL games he’s played. He’ll be one of many top prospects vying for a spot on the opening night roster, competing with players like Aatu Raty, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, and Arshdeep Bains. Karlsson’s new short-term, easily-movable deal suggests he could be on the backend of this group – though another strong season in the minors would certainly force Vancouver’s hand.

Meanwhile, McWard vindicates his first pro contract with this extension – after signing as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and playing through his first year of pro hockey this season. The right-shot managed 17 points in 57 games while operating down Abbotsford’s lineup, looking well-adjusted to the professional scene. He’ll return to a rife competition for ice time on Abbotsford’s blue line, fighting for a spot above Jett Woo and Filip Johansson. McWard could warrant NHL ice time should he perform well, having already scored one goal in six NHL games over the last two seasons.

Transactions| Vancouver Canucks Cole McWard| Linus Karlsson

1 comment

Abbotsford Re-Signs Chase Wouters To Two-Year Deal

June 19, 2024 at 7:58 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

  • Vancouver’s farm team in Abbotsford announced that they’ve signed captain Chase Wouters to a two-year contract extension. The 24-year-old has spent the last three seasons with the Canucks’ affiliate and posted nine goals and 14 assists in 66 games in 2023-24.  Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the deal pays the forward $225K per season.

Calgary Flames| Vancouver Canucks| Vegas Golden Knights Anthony Mantha| Chase Wouters| Daniel Vladar| Jonathan Marchessault

2 comments

Canucks Sign Mark Friedman To One-Year Extension

June 19, 2024 at 3:30 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain Leave a Comment

Acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in an early season trade — it appears that defenseman Mark Friedman will continue his time in British Columbia. The Vancouver Canucks announced they have signed Friedman to a one-year contract extension that will pay him $775K at the NHL level.

Friedman was originally brought into the Canucks organization to serve in a depth role and the team may have to elevate him into a consistent bottom-pairing role depending on how their offseason plays out. Vancouver got a head start on their defensive core yesterday signing pending restricted free agent Filip Hronek to an eight-year extension but Ian Cole, Nikita Zadorov, and Tyler Myers are set to hit the open market in a few short weeks.

In his role as a depth defenseman, Friedman suited up in 23 games for the Canucks this season while tallying only one assist after averaging just over 12 minutes of ice time per game. Outside of his offensive production, Friedman did post solid defensive and possession metrics in limited action with a 50.3 CorsiFor% and a 92.6% on-ice save percentage in all situations.

Additionally, Friedman spent a brief period with Vancouver’s AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. In mid-January, the Canucks placed Friedman on a six-day conditioning loan allowing him to suit up in four games for the AHL Canucks which saw him post one goal and four points in total.

After the Canucks offseason finally reaches its conclusion, Friedman should once again be bumped into a depth role, but he now serves as one of five defensemen on the roster with a contract for the 2024-25 NHL season. Nevertheless, General Manager Patrik Allvin will allow Friedman to see more minutes by saying, “Mark’s addition to our group last year gave us some much needed depth and he is someone we can count on if plugged into our lineup. He is a team first player and is always ready to step in if called upon. We expect him to come into camp and compete hard for a regular spot this season“.

Transactions| Vancouver Canucks Mark Friedman

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Canucks Sign Filip Hronek To Eight-Year Extension

June 18, 2024 at 4:49 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley 16 Comments

The Vancouver Canucks have signed defenseman Filip Hronek to a maximum eight-year contract extension, shares the team (Twitter link). The deal will carry an annual cap hit of $7.25MM, for a total value of $58MM. This deal will carry Hronek, 26, through his age-34 season in 2031-32. The deal featured signing bonuses in all but one year, costing the Canucks as much as $4MM annually, per Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff (Twitter link). Seravalli also shares that Hronek will carry a full no-move clause from 2025 to 2028 – suggesting the first year of the deal will be clause-free – and a partial no-move clause from 2028 to 2032.

The Canucks take care of a major piece of business with this extension, locking up the first defenseman capable of keeping up with Quinn Hughes. The pair spent nearly every second of their even-strength ice time together – and to good effect, with Hronek posting 48 points in 81 games, both career-highs. It was an incredibly successful start to Hronek’s career in Vancouver, building nicely on his pair of 38-point seasons to end his time with the Detroit Red Wings.

Hronek’s strong scoring slowed down substantially in the postseason – the first appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs of his six-year career. He totaled just two points across 13 games, though he did his best to curb the low-scoring with a lofty 25 hits and 15 blocks, respectively ranking second and fourth among Vancouver’s blue-line. The Canucks don’t seem bothered by Hronek’s meager postseason, now solidifying his spot next to Hughes for the foreseeable future.

With this extension, the Canucks are down to $16.83MM in projected cap space with 10 pending free agents. Headlining the list is now forward Elias Lindholm, who Vancouver acquired in exchange for top prospect Hunter Brzustewicz, depth forward Joni Jurmo, and two draft picks earlier this season. Lindholm posted just 12 points in 26 games with the Canucks, never finding a perfect fit in the team’s lineup. He’s been rumored to be asking for a hefty extension for quite some time – something that may be difficult for Vancouver to stomach with less than $17MM to spend.

Lindholm is joined atop Vancouver’s list of pending free agents by defenseman Nikita Zadorov – Vancouver’s other trade acquisition from the Flames this year. Zadorov came into his own with the Canucks, recording 14 points and 102 penalty minutes across 54 games with the team – matching his scoring pace from his 21-point season last year. Zadorov has expressed a very strong interest in returning to Vancouver, though limited cap space could make that a challenge. Of course, Vancouver will be helped along by the ceiling Hronek’s deal sets, giving them a better gauge of what price they could hand out to Zadorov.

Still, the Canucks will likely focus their spending much more on solidifying depth pieces, with late-season breakouts Dakota Joshua and Arturs Silovs both up for new deals as well. Joshua became a core piece of Vancouver’s lineup late into the year, totaling eight points and a team-leading 75 hits in 13 postseason games. His claim as Vancouver’s playoff workhorse is only challenged by Silovs, who recorded five wins and a .898 save percentage in 10 playoff appearances – filling in for Thatcher Demko following an untimely injury.

After weeks of speculation, the Canucks have now made their first big step of the off-season – placing their priority on rounding out their defense rather than their top-six forwards or goaltending duo. With a stake now planted, the Canucks can begin to turn their free agent attention towards the open market, where they’ve already been connected to star winger Jake Guentzel. Guentzel posted 77 points across 67 games this season, adding nine points in 11 postseason games. He could be a fantastic replacement for Lindholm should the Canucks get priced out of the latter’s negotiations.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Newsstand| Transactions| Vancouver Canucks Filip Hronek

16 comments

Canucks Interested In Jake Guentzel

June 18, 2024 at 2:29 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 7 Comments

Jake Guentzel’s pending free agency could lead him to the West Coast. The Hurricanes left winger has yielded strong interest from the Canucks, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports. They’re expected to make a “strong play” for his services amid likely interest from the Capitals, Panthers, Maple Leafs and Rangers, said Seravalli.

An extension in Carolina doesn’t appear to be in the cards for Guentzel, and his signing rights have been made available for trade for teams to get an inside track on a deal before July 1. He’ll have plenty of suitors after drawing a similar level of attention at the trade deadline a few months ago.

Guentzel is nearing the end of a five-year, $30MM extension he signed with the Penguins in December 2018, midway through a breakout campaign that saw him hit the 40-goal and 75-point marks for the first time. His $6MM cap hit since served as a bargain for Pittsburgh as he continued flourishing on Sidney Crosby’s wing, averaging just north of a point per game over the life of his extension. With the Penguins struggling to stay in the playoff race this season, though, they dealt him to Carolina at the deadline to avoid losing him for nothing this summer – a fate the Hurricanes are also trying to avoid by recouping at least some value for his signing rights.

An upper-body injury limited him to 67 games this season, but it didn’t stop him from having the best offensive campaign of his career on a per-game basis. He finished the season with a sparkling eight goals and 25 points in 17 games for the Canes, bringing his season average up to 1.15 points per game. Only 14 players in the league had more.

In all likelihood, he’ll land a max-term contract this summer, whether it’s a seven-year deal on the open market or an eight-year extension with a team that acquires his signing rights. At age 29, he likely won’t get the chance for another big payday. Seravalli believes his cap hit should come in around $9.5MM per season, close to what we’ll predict on our Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents list dropping next week.

That’s something the Canucks can stomach at first glance with $24.078MM in projected cap space next season, which jumps to $26.578MM if you account for defenseman Tucker Poolman’s likely long-term injured reserve placement, per CapFriendly. But like the team he’s parting ways with in Raleigh, Vancouver has a large slate of pending free agents to re-sign or part ways with. As Seravalli points out, signing Guentzel almost surely means letting Dakota Joshua and Elias Lindholm hit the open market, pawning off most or all of Ilya Mikheyev’s $4.75MM cap hit in a trade, and making other tough decisions with a defense group that includes Filip Hronek, Tyler Myers and Nikita Zadorov.

Guentzel does seem to fit like a glove in Vancouver’s lineup, though. Arguably their biggest weakness in their breakout 2023-24 campaign was a lack of support for budding superstar center Elias Pettersson, who spent most of the season with depth wingers Nils Höglander, Sam Lafferty and Mikheyev as his linemates. Getting a player with a lengthy history of meshing well with star centers could do wonders for the 25-year-old Swede as he kicks off his massive eight-year, $92.8MM extension.

It’s not as if there’s no history between Guentzel and Vancouver, either. Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford was the one who signed Guentzel’s current deal as GM of the Penguins, and the club was one of the finalists for his services at the deadline in March.

Newsstand| Vancouver Canucks Jake Guentzel

7 comments

Canucks To Make A Final Offer To Zadorov Soon

June 14, 2024 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

Defenseman Nikita Zadorov is one of several notable pending unrestricted free agents in Vancouver.  It appears that they’re going to make one last push to try to sign him as CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reports (Twitter link) the Canucks are preparing to tender the blueliner a final offer soon.  Vancouver acquired the 29-year-old back in November and while he didn’t light it up following the move (14 points in 54 games), Zadorov had a big showing in the playoffs that has certainly bolstered his value.  He picked up four goals and four assists in 13 games while averaging nearly four and a half hits per game in just over 20 minutes a night.  Dhaliwal adds that some think he could get six years at $6MM per season if he gets to the open market.  It would be surprising to see the Canucks go that high with who else needs to be signed but they’ll make one last attempt to try to bridge the gap.

Colorado Avalanche| Vancouver Canucks| Winnipeg Jets Eric Comrie| Logan O'Connor| Nikita Zadorov

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