Canucks maintaining strong interest in free agent Ethan Bear

The Vancouver Canucks just added reinforcements to the right side of their defense by trading with the Pittsburgh Penguins for Mark Friedman, but they’re not satisfied just yet.

Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal has maintained for a while now that the organization remains interested in free agent Ethan Bear, and that reportedly hasn’t changed even after the addition of Friedman. Bear, 26, played in 61 games for the Canucks last year, but wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer as he continues to recover and rehab from a summer shoulder surgery.

Filip Hronek taking top-pairing duties alongside Quinn Hughes means top-four minutes for Tyler Myers, with Noah Juulsen sneaking into the bottom pairing over other options like Cole McWard. The addition of a healthy Bear would allow Hronek to drive the second pairing, while Myers gets relegated to clean up duty on the bottom pairing.

Canucks need all the help they can get

Neither Myers nor Juulsen have impressed with their play lately, and the latter’s mental errors have cost the team dearly in two consecutive games. At this rate, it doesn’t seem likely that if Juulsen was assigned to Abbotsford anyone would put a claim on him and bring him aboard. The Canucks have one of the most shallow bluelines in the entire league, and that’s the only thing keeping the former first-round pick in an NHL job right now.

At least Bear, albeit undersized, is a strong defender who does his job in transition and in the offensive zone. He’s not much more than a stabilizing presence, but he is generally a positive influence when given consistent ice time.

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Ideally, this would then allow the Canucks to keep Friedman as their seventh defender to serve as fresh legs and to relieve those who are playing poorly. We’ll keep an eye on Bear’s status in the meantime, but he’s probably at least another month or two away from being able to play hockey again.