Vancouver Canucks really wanted Duchene but now pivoting back to Suter: report
The Vancouver Canucks’ search for a top-six centre hit another snag on Thursday.
That’s because Matt Duchene, who was eligible to become an unrestricted free agent July 1, re-signed with the Dallas Stars.
“There is no question, Duchene was on the Canucks’ radar big time,” CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal said in an interview with Mike Halford and Jason Brough on Sportsnet 650. “This one hurts for the Canucks. Some people feel that he was Vancouver’s No. 1 free-agent target.”
Duchene signed a four-year contract worth $4.5 million per season to remain with the Stars, though the cost would have surely been higher to lure him to Vancouver.
The pool of free-agent centres is quickly dwindling.
Of the nine suitable pending-UFA centres we highlighted two months ago, four have already re-signed with their current teams. That doesn’t include Sam Bennett, who has said he’s not leaving the Florida Panthers.
John Tavares, Mikael Granlund, Claude Giroux, and Jack Roslovic remain as pending UFAs.
Maybe that’s why the Canucks have circled back on Pius Suter.
"I believe the #Canucks have re-connected with the Pius Suter camp in the last 24 hours…"@DhaliwalSports updates the latest on Conor Garland, Pius Suter, and Brock Boeser.https://t.co/h4e2SKM7eJ pic.twitter.com/pNGyDFORSq
— Donnie & Dhali (@DonnieandDhali) June 20, 2025
“I believe the Canucks have reconnected with the Pius Suter camp in the last 24 hours. I believe contract talks are back on,” Dhaliwal said on Donnie and Dhali.
Suter is reportedly looking to make at least $4 million per season on his next contract. AFP Analytics projects that he’ll get $4.98 million annually on a four-year deal.
The 29-year-old Swiss centre is coming off a career year that saw him score 25 goals and 46 points in 81 games. Suter has been a strong addition to the Canucks lineup since signing a bargain contract worth $1.6 million per season two years ago, though he was always pencilled in as a third-line centre.
That changed when J.T. Miller was traded in January, and to his credit, Suter excelled with the increased responsibility.
In fact, Suter led the Canucks in scoring after Miller was traded, totalling 23 points (12-11-23) in 32 games. Canucks management will need to decide if that was a blip or if Suter can handle second-line centre duties full-time.