NHL Rumors: Update On Canucks' Interest In 3 Free Agents

Despite re-signing players, the Vancouver Canucks are done adding to the bottom of their lineup. Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic reports that the Canucks are still in on Calvin de Haan, have shown no interest in P.K. Subban, and are also out on Evan Rodrigues.

Starting with de Haan, the Canucks don't have a ton of cap space to work with, but it would benefit them to replace an injured Tucker Poolman on the third pair. de Haan is defensively-minded and a more reliable option than Travis Dermott, Kyle Burroughs, or Jack Rathbone at this point in time.

Philipp Kurashev with a nice 🍎 for Calvin de Haan (@cal_dehaan). pic.twitter.com/bvojbmokdb
— NHL (@NHL) January 12, 2022

As the Canucks continue to show interest in de Haan, it makes sense for the team not to pursue more than one free agent defenseman at this point in the offseason. Subban has proven to be more offensive during his career, and Vancouver already has Quinn Hughes and Oliver Ekman-Larsson on the back-end to provide offense.

The only spot in the lineup I could see the Canucks playing Rodrigues if they had continued their efforts in signing him is at third line center. The reason for the dropping out of the race may have had something to do with the inability to move Jason Dickinson's contract. The Canucks have a very deep forward group, maybe even the deepest in the league. If they can't move a player and his cap off the roster, nothing was going to come of the interest.

The Canucks are shaping up to be competitive this season for the entirety with Bruce Boudreau at the helm from the start and fewer questions about key players.