The main reason Bear hasn't put pen to paper on a new contract yet is because of his injury. Bear suffered a shoulder injury while with Team Canada at the 2023 IIHF World Hockey Championship, which required surgery and he was given a six-month recovery timeline. He was then not issued a qualifying offer by the Canucks and became an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.
Throughout the summer, Bear has been linked to a few teams including the Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes and even a potential return to the Vancouver Canucks, but a new team has reportedly entered the mix - the Philadelphia Flyers.
Bear would have some stiff competition in order to win a roster spot on the Flyers. On the blue line currently, the Flyers have Travis Sanheim, Cam York, Sean Walker, Rasmus Ristolainen, Victor Mete, Helge Grans, Emil Andrae, Nick Seeler and Marc Staal, so it would be tough to see him getting ice time in Philadelphia. There might be better options out there other than Philadelphia, including Anaheim, who was mentioned earlier this summer.
Bear, 26, appeared in 61 games during his first and only season with the Vancouver Canucks in 2022-23, tallying 16 points (three goals, 13 assists), 25 penalty minutes and was a plus-six.
