The Canucks have plenty of cap space now with the buyout of Oliver Ekman-Larsson and a further $2.2 million if they don't qualify Ethan Bear by Friday at 5 p.m. ET. One area the Canucks need to address is the right side of their defensive core and bringing back Chris Tanev may solve that problem, although his salary for the 2023-24 season is $4.5 million.
While bringing back Tanev is an option via trade, there is probably better right-shot defenceman available in the free agent market starting at noon ET on Saturday, ideally someone who is younger than Tanev, who will turn 34 in December.
The Toronto native went undrafted and signed with the Canucks as a college free agent in May 2010, spending the first ten seasons of his National Hockey League career with Vancouver before signing with Calgary in 2020.