Every star was aligned for Ethan Bear to return to the Canucks at the end of the season. Jim Rutherford issued his letter to the season ticket holders confirming that he was a part of this team moving forward, but the the parties had just not agreed to an extension yet.
Then, the worst case scenario happened. The Defenseman was given the opportunity to represent Canada at the World Championships where he suffered a terrible injury that would eventually have him sidelined until December.
The Canucks then elected not to extend a qualifying offer to their number 74 and he's as free as it gets, recovering and waiting to sign a new contract. The latest reports from Donnie and Dhali suggested that Bear had been in touch with four teams, we know he's spoken to the Flyers, but it appears the Canucks haven't closed the door on a return:
Bear joined the Canucks after Patrik Allvin struck a deal with the Hurricanes. At that time, the Canucks desperately needed help on the right side and he came in handy as he eventually built his confidence up to be the team's top Defenseman partner, Quinn Hughes.
Bear collected 16 points through 61 games and he's proven that he deserves a job in an NHL top six, does he deserve steady top four minutes, that remains to be seen. At the moment, the Canucks are still over the cap. It would make sense if they were waiting for a Tyler Myers trade to come through before bringing back Bear.
