Bear wants to return to Vancouver despite Canucks cutting him loose: report

The door has not closed on Ethan Bear returning to the Vancouver Canucks.

But it’ll take some moves to make it happen.

Bear told Patrick Johnston of Postmedia that he would “love” to come back but that Canucks GM Patrik Allvin told him he needs to clear cap space.

That’s nothing new. The current Canucks management regime has been talking about clearing cap space since the minute they got here. But the quotes in the Postmedia story are an indication that the door isn’t closed on a Vancouver reunion.

The Canucks were said to be interested in keeping Bear before his shoulder injury suffered at the World Championship. Instead, they chose not to give him a qualifying offer, making Bear an unrestricted free agent.

The 26-year-old blueliner is expected to be out of action until December, giving him time to wait.

Injuries and trades will surely happen between now and then, perhaps opening up space for Bear to sign a new deal.

But will it be with the Canucks? If contract offers are underwhelming for a player coming off a major injury, don’t bet against a return to Vancouver. It may be Bear’s preferred destination, given recent events.

The Saskatchewan-born defenceman makes his offseason home in Kelowna. He just got married last weekend in BC, and his wife Lenasia gave birth to their first child back in January.

There also appears to be a hole on the back end that Bear could help fill.

Five defencemen appear to be locked into spots on Vancouver’s blue line, in Quinn Hughes, Filip Hronek, Ian Cole, Carson Soucy, and Tyler Myers. As currently constructed, there would be a battle for the No. 6 defenceman spot at training camp between the likes of Akito Hirose, Matt Irwin, Guillaume Brisebois, Noah Juulsen, Jack Rathbone, Christian Wolanin, and Cole McWard.

Bear would give the Canucks a lot more certainty at that position as an experienced puck-mover that could play up and down in the lineup.

Will there be space to sign him?

Bear is coming off a $2.2 million contract, but he’s likely to take a pay cut next season. If both sides can make the money work, Bear might be back after all.

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