A few days ago, Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Sean Walker was the hot topic. But, is there another name that the hockey world and the Vancouver Canucks might be forgetting?
If you said yes, you’d be correct; congratulations!
Nick Seeler is a bit of an underdog, as he has been for the majority of his playing career. Seeler was up-and-down in the early portions of career, between the Minnesota Wild and the Iowa Wild. In the 2020-21 season, Seeler didn’t even play.
The 30-year-old returned to hockey in 2021-22, latching on with the Flyers as their seventh defenseman. Over the last two seasons, Seeler has established himself as a regular on the Philadelphia blueline.
Seeler loves to block a shot, and can provide offense in a pinch; he’s up to five assists in 21 games this year. The former Wild defenseman is physical and rugged and isn’t afraid to mix it up with anyone.
No, Seeler is not a right-shot defenseman, so he’s not a name that immediately appears on the Vancouver Canucks‘ radar. At the same time, though, Carson Soucy has already been injured twice this season. That leaves big minutes for 34-year-old journeyman Ian Cole, which is probably not something GM Patrik Allvin and the Canucks envisioned when signing Soucy.
Akito Hirose has been pretty solid so far, but does a Canucks team with newfound playoff aspirations want to place that pressure on a young AHLer? That’s unlikely. At least with an extra left-shot defender like Seeler, the Canucks can get away with having a guy on their off-hand side.
The Eden Prairie, MN native will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, making him a potential rental. However, Seeler will come at a cost much lower than other rental options, such as Nikita Zadorov and Chris Tanev of the Calgary Flames. Conversely, if Seeler’s play continues on this upwards trajectory, his cost may increase as a result of a greater amount of interest from around the league.
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The Flyers are going to be open for business, but the Vancouver Canucks must be aware of the cost of business for dependable veterans.