Crushing blow: Canucks defenceman Ethan Bear out for six months
For a team that’s already paper thin on the blue line, this is a crushing blow. Ethan Bear underwent successful shoulder surgery today, the Vancouver Canucks announced, and will be out for six months.
Bear injured his shoulder at the IIHF World Championship, late in Canada’s quarter-final game against Finland.
It’s the second year in a row that a Canuck has suffered a significant injury at the World Championship, as Oliver Ekman-Larsson suffered a broken foot while playing for Team Sweden in 2022. Ekman-Larsson later said he felt like the injury contributed to his poor 2021-22 season for the Canucks, given it affected his offseason training.
Not only will Bear’s injury affect his summer workout plans, he figures to be playing catch up next season too. He’ll miss all of training camp and the first two months of the regular season if his six-month timeline is accurate.
The #Canucks can either give Ethan Bear a QO ($2.2M) and retain his rights, not QO him and allow him to become a UFA, or sign him to an extension and then place him on LTIR until he returns in 6 months.
If he does receive a QO and signs it, they can also then placeĀ himĀ onĀ LTIR. https://t.co/YdYPODpWlF
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) June 15, 2023
The timing is interesting for Bear, as the 25-year-old is set to become a restricted free agent and is in line for a $2.2 million qualifying offer. The Canucks are famously in salary cap hell, but they can ill-afford to lose Bear on their back end, given defence is their thinnest position.
Bear had 16 points (3-13-16) in 61 games for the Canucks last season, averaging 18:32 per game.