Canucks asked Edler about waiving no-trade clause before deadline

It’s the question Canucks fans have been asking for months. Maybe years.

Would Alex Edler be willing to waive his no-trade clause?

On Monday, after the NHL trade deadline came and went, we got an answer: no. At least not for the options presented to him.

Canucks GM Jim Benning revealed that Edler had been approached about waiving his no-trade clause after some teams asked about his availability in a potential trade.

“Some teams phoned and asked about his availability,” Benning said at a media conference this afternoon. “We contacted the agent and [Edler] wouldn’t waive his no-trade. There were no options for us there, but Alex has been a great player for us for a long time and we’d like for him to continue to be part of our team.”

Edler was asked about waiving his no-trade clause “three or four days ago,” according to Benning, who would still like to get a contract extension signed with the 32-year-old defenceman.

Believe Edler may have considered waiving NTC IF team acquiring him would extend. Not sure it got to that point though. #canucks

— Dan Murphy (@sportsnetmurph) February 25, 2019

“We’ve negotiated in good faith with [Edler] and his agent to try to get a deal done. Obviously it hasn’t gotten finished off yet. We’re going to continue to work on trying to get the deal done.”

Edler is in the final year of a contract paying him $5 million. All reports to date have indicated that he wants to stay in Vancouver, so you can understand why he wouldn’t want to facilitate a trade.

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