Stanley Cup Champion Eyeing Big NHL Comeback, and It Could Be with the Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks are still on searching for some help down the begin-to-emerge-for-patrik-allvin-the-vancouver-canucks' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>searching for some help down the middle this summer after the club missed out on a couple of targets in the first week of the free agency window - Christian Dvorak and Mikael Granlund, who ended up with the Philadelphia Flyers and Anaheim Ducks, respectively.

Ever since Patrik Allvin traded J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers back in January, the club has lacked a true second line centerman, with Pius Suter and Filip Chytil occupying that role at times before the regular season concluded.

While the free agent market isn't exactly abundant when it comes to centermen, there is one intriguing option available and it's someone who knows exactly what it takes to win a championship.

Earlier this summer, Daria Tuboltsev of RG Media reported, citing the player's agent, that former National Hockey League forward and 2018 Stanley Cup champion Evgeny Kuznetsov is eying a return to North America and that as many as ten teams had shown interest in him.

Despite his agent expecting to have clarity on where his client may play during the 2025-26 season, the 33-year-old Kuznetsov remains an unrestricted free agent as of July 17th.

In a recent addition of the Hello Hockey podcast, NHL insider David Pagnotta said that is willing to take a lower salary in the $1-2 million range plus performance bonuses just to be able to return to the league.

Kuznetsov, a native of Chelyabinsk, Russia, left North America last summer and signed a four-year deal with KHL club SKA St. Petersburg, where he enjoyed some success playing alongside Montreal Canadiens top prospect Ivan Demidov.

In 39 regular season games with SKA St. Petersburg, Kuznetsov registered 37 points (12 goals, 25 assists), 38 penalty minutes and was a plus-13.

Shortly after SKA's first round exit from the Gagarin Cup Playoffs, Kuznetsov and the club mutually agreed to terminate the final three years of his contract, making him a UFA in not only North America, but the KHL too.

If Kuznetsov is willing to sign for that cheap as David Pagnotta suggests, then the Vancouver Canucks should be jumping all over that, even if it's just a short term deal in the 1-2 year range, as he would be a solid option for their 2C hole, which would allow Filip Chytil to slide down to the third line.