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Canucks out on Lucic, could be interested in former Pens in free agency: report

Rob Williams
Rob Williams
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Jun 26 2023, 7:17 pm
Canucks out on Lucic, could be interested in former Pens in free agency: report
Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

Milan Lucic will not be coming home, at least not in free agency. The 35-year-old East Van native won’t be signing with the Vancouver Canucks when free agency begins on July 1, according to CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal.

Lucic is a pending unrestricted free agent, and it appears his days in Calgary are numbered. The Flames have given Lucic’s agent permission to talk to other teams prior to the start of free agency on Saturday.

The Canucks were one of the teams that talked to the hulking winger’s agent, Dhaliwal said.

“I’ve been told this morning Vancouver is out on Milan Lucic. It’s not going to happen, for whatever reason… but they did investigate. They were one of the teams to talk to Lucic’s agent,” Dhaliwal said on Donnie and Dhali today.

Lucic is a bottom-six forward at this stage of his career and will be making considerably less than the $6 million annual salary he collected for the last seven years. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound winger scored a career-low 19 points (7-12-19) in 77 games with Calgary last season.

Lucic has collected 584 points and 1,299 penalty minutes during his 1,173-game NHL career spent with the Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, and Boston Bruins.

The Vancouver native played all his junior hockey in the Lower Mainland, including a Memorial Cup championship with the Vancouver Giants in 2007.

Canucks interested in former Penguins players in free agency?

Speculation continues to grow over who the Canucks will sign in free agency, with many expecting the team to be active. The Canucks have just three established NHL defencemen under contract following the buyout of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and the team has a decision to make on restricted free agent Ethan Bear.

The Canucks have talked about Seattle Kraken defenceman Carson Soucy, Dhaliwal reported last week. Today, he floated Ian Cole’s name.

“Another defenceman to keep an eye on for Vancouver… if he hits the free agent market, is Tampa Bay 34-year-old left-shot D Ian Cole,” said Dhaliwal. “This is a player [that], if he hits the market Saturday, I would expect the Canucks to check in on. I think Rutherford likes this guy.”

Cole won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017 while a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, so his connection to Rutherford, GM Patrik Allvin, and head coach Rick Tocchet is obvious.

The veteran blueliner scored 17 points (3-14-17) in 78 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season while playing 19:23 per game. Cole was one of Tampa Bay’s most relied-upon penalty killers, averaging 2:53 of shorthanded ice time per game.

Another former Penguins player Dhaliwal believes the Canucks have their eye on is centre Evan Rodrigues, who scored 39 points (16-23-39) in 69 games with the Colorado Avalanche last season.

Rodrigues was brought to Pittsburgh via trade in 2020 when Rutherford was the team’s general manager, and blossomed with the Penguins in 2021-22, posting career-highs in goals (19), assists (24), and points (43). The Toronto native turns 30 this summer and is set to become an unrestricted free agent for the second year in a row following the completion of a one-year, $2 million contract he signed with Colorado last year.

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