Canucks lose four players to other teams in free agency so far
The Vancouver Canucks will be missing a few fan favourites from last season’s roster when next year begins.
In the last 24 hours, they have lost four players to other NHL teams. Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Ian Cole, and Casey DeSmith have found new homes on the first day of free agency.
The full list of Canucks free agents who signed elsewhere, along with the details of their new contracts, can be found below.
- Elias Lindholm: Boston Bruins, seven years, $7.75 million AAV
- Nikita Zadorov: Boston Bruins, six years, $5 million AAV
- Ian Cole: Utah Hockey Club, one year, $3.1 million AAV
- Casey DeSmith: Dallas Stars, three years, $1 million AAV
While all four players had regular roles on the team last season, the pair of mid-season trade acquisitions — Zadorov and Lindholm — who left for the Bruins will likely hurt the most.
The Canucks were unwilling to offer either player top dollar and now they’ll be teaming up for a rival squad.
Both players were among the best on the team during the playoffs and played a key role in a second-round finish where the Canucks pushed one of the league’s best teams to a Game 7.
While the Bruins managed to snag two of the now-former Canucks players, there were a few free agents from the Eastern Conference team who went the other way. Jake DeBrusk, Derek Forbort, and Danton Heinen, all Bruins players last season, joined the Canucks on July 1.
Those additions, along with other free agent additions like Kiefer Sherwood and Vincent Desharnais, will help replace the production gone because of the departure of some key Canucks contributors.
The league’s free agent period has just started and the Canucks will likely add and lose more players as the summer goes on. The roster that starts next season will look very different from the one that lost Game 7 during last year’s playoffs.
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