Insider Says Vancouver Canucks Were 'Very Interested' in Dallas Stars Forward Matt Duchene
Photo credit: USA TODAY Sports
An NHL insider said on Friday that the Vancouver Canucks were very interested in Dallas Stars forward Matt Duchene before he ultimately re-signed with the club.
The Dallas Stars have been arguably the busiest team in the National Hockey League this week, as General Manager Jim Nill looks to get his business done early.
Nill cleared up some cap space on Thursday by dealing forward Mason Marchment to the Seattle Kraken, which gave him an extra $4.5 million to work with as three prominent names were set to hit the market on July 1st - Matt Duchene, who Vancouver has been interest in in the past, along with captain Jamie Benn and Finnish forward Mikael Granlund.
Vancouver Canucks were reportedly very interested in Dallas Stars' Matt Duchene
Ultimately, Jim Nill used that cap space to sign Matt Duchene to a four-year contract extension, keeping him in The Lone Star State, something that the Vancouver Canucks likely aren't too happy about.
During Friday's edition of 32 Thoughts on Sportsnet, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that the Vancouver Canucks were 'very interested' in Matt Duchene, if he were to hit the open market on July 1st.
Friedman also shared that the Vancouver Canucks were prepared to offer Matt Duchene more money per season on a shorter term than the Dallas Stars, but the Haliburton, Ontario native wanted to remain in Texas.
"Vancouver was very interested in Matt Duchene, but he never wanted to leave Dallas. There were teams prepared to offer more AAV on a shorter term - the Canucks one of them - but the heart wants what the heart wants, and the Stars made it work." Friedman said.
This aligns exactly with what Rick Dhaliwal reported on Thursday after Duchene re-upped in Dallas, as he said that the 34-year-old was very high up on Patrik Allvin's radar.
"[The Canucks] could have hit the market and gone after Duchene, and from what we're told, what we're led to believe, Duchene was very high on the Canucks' radar for July, IF they couldn't land a top six centre." Dhaliwal said.
Duchene, who's set to earn $4.5 million annually until the end of the 2028-29 campaign, had a solid year for the Dallas Stars, registering 82 points (30 goals, 52 assists), 12 penalty minutes and was a plus-13 in 82 games.
With Matt Duchene now off the market, the Vancouver Canucks will shift their attention elsewhere, with reports suggesting they've circled back on one of their own pending unrestricted free agents - Pius Suter.
Source: 32 Thoughts/Elliotte Friedman
32 Thoughts: Connor McDavid contract NHL's top summer storyline
32 Thoughts: Connor McDavid contract NHL's top summer storyline
| POLL | ||
6 HOURS AGO | 217 ANSWERS Insider Says Vancouver Canucks Were 'Very Interested' in Dallas Stars Forward Matt Duchene Do you think Matt Duchene would've been a good fit for the Vancouver Canucks, if he went to the open market? | ||
TRENDING NOW
