Canucks don't qualify Ethan Bear and could lose him for nothing
Ethan Bear is a pending unrestricted free agent after the Vancouver Canucks decided not to extend a qualifying offer to him today.
The 26-year-old defenceman will be out for the next six months with an injury, which reportedly factored into this decision.
Today is the deadline for extending qualifying offers to pending restricted free agents, which the Canucks did with Nils Höglander, Akito Hirose, and Vitali Kravtsov, ensuring they retain their rights.
None of Bear, Travis Dermott, and Carson Focht were qualified, making them UFAs when free agency opens tomorrow.
General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the #Canucks have extended qualifying offers to the following three players:
– Akito Hirose
– Nils Höglander
– Vitali KravtsovThe club did not issue qualifying offers to:
– Ethan Bear
– Travis Dermott
– Carson Focht— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) June 30, 2023
Bear was due a $2.2 million qualifying offer, which matched his salary last season. CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reported earlier this month that the Canucks were planning to qualify him, but the shoulder injury Bear suffered while playing for Canada at the World Championship made them reconsider. The right-shot defenceman suffered the injury, which required surgery, during the quarter-finals.
Bear scored 16 points (3-13-16) and logged an average ice time of 18:32 in 61 games with the Canucks, after being acquired in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Dermott, 26, has battled concussions since being acquired by the Canucks from the Toronto Maple Leafs last year. He appeared in just 11 games for the Canucks this season, and none since January 25. It’s not a surprise that the Canucks are letting him walk given he was due a $1.75 million qualifying offer.
Carson Focht leaves the Canucks after spending three years in the organization. The 23-year-old was a fifth-round pick by Vancouver in 2019 but spent the majority of last season in the ECHL.
The Canucks are expected to be busy when free agency opens across the NHL tomorrow at 9 am PT. Vancouver has just three defencemen under contract that were NHL regulars last season, in Quinn Hughes, Filip Hronek, and Tyler Myers. Two pending UFAs the Canucks have had rumoured interest in are Carson Soucy of the Seattle Kraken and Ian Cole of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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