Former Vancouver Canucks Forward Signs New NHL Contract One Week Before Becoming a Free Agent

Teams around the National Hockey League are gearing up for what's expected to be quite a busy few weeks with the start of the Entry Draft on Friday, followed up by the opening of the free agent market on Canada Day.

While the Vancouver Canucks are hoping they'll be aggressive this summer to fill certain holes on their roster, some of their former players have already gotten ahead of the curve and found their new homes for the 2025-26 campaign including Nic Petan in the KHL and Juho Lammikko, who is returning to the NHL with the New Jersey Devils.

On Monday afternoon, another former Canucks forward put pen-to-paper on a new deal, eight days before he was set to become an unrestricted free agent.

After a solid season for the American Hockey League's Texas Stars, their NHL affiliate, the Dallas Stars, announced that they're bringing back former Vancouver Canucks forward Kole Lind for another year.

In a post on their team website on Monday, the Dallas Stars shared that they've agreed to terms on a one-year, two-way contract worth the league minimum of $775,000 US with Kole Lind.

Lind, a native of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, was drafted in the second round, 33rd overall, by the Vancouver Canucks in 2017 and went on to spent parts of four seasons with the club, including seven games at the NHL level during the covid-shortened 2021 campaign.

In the summer of 2021, the Vancouver Canucks opted not to protect Lind heading into the NHL Expansion Draft and he was ultimately selected by the Seattle Kraken, where he would spend the next three seasons of his career, albeit mainly in the AHL.

On July 1st last year, after back-to-back appearances in the Calder Cup Final, Lind became an unrestricted free agent and quickly found a new home with the Dallas Stars, inking a one-year deal with them, but once again, only suited up in the AHL, registering 52 points (23 goals, 29 assists) in 71 games for Texas.

After three consecutive seasons with 50+ points in the American Hockey League, the 26-year-old is ready to prove to the Dallas Stars that he's ready for a full-time role in the National Hockey League and will get his chance to do so in training camp in September.

Source: Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars sign Kole Lind to one-year, two-way contract extension