Insider Says Vancouver Canucks Are Expected to Target Former First Round Pick on July 1st

Back in May, Vancouver Canucks President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford promised to fans that the team would be aggressive this summer and they certainly have been already, landing Evander Kane in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers last Wednesday.

As the National Hockey League's free agent market is set to open in less than 12 hours, the Vancouver Canucks still have a few needs they need to address, including down the middle on the second line and according to one NHL insider, Patrik Allvin may have his eyes on one of the top UFA centers available on July 1st.

The free agent market is quite slim when it comes to center help and for the last few weeks, it has felt that Patrik Allvin and the Canucks would stand a better chance at landing one through a trade.

While that still might be the case, it also appears that the Vancouver Canucks will be in the mix for arguably the top free agent centerman available on the market starting tomorrow morning.

In a post on social media on Monday, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period revealed that the Vancouver Canucks are expected to make a big push tomorrow for Finnish centerman Mikael Granlund tomorrow, if he doesn't re-sign with the Dallas Stars.

Granlund, 33, is coming off one of his best seasons in the National Hockey League, which was spent with the San Jose Sharks and the Dallas Stars, the latter of whom acquired him ahead of the NHL's trade deadline in March.

In 83 games between the Sharks and Stars this past season, the Oulu, Finland native put up 66 points (22 goals, 44 assists) and was solid in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, registering ten points in 18 games.

If he happens to make it to the open market on Tuesday, he could be a really good option for the Vancouver Canucks and according to AFP Analytics, he's in line for a two-year contract with a cap hit of $5 million AAV.