Rick Dhaliwal reports Teddy Blueger and Derek Forbort will hit free agency on July 1, with both Canucks veterans set to test the open market.
The report is straightforward. Dhaliwal, as wired into Vancouver as anyone, said he's been told both players will be hitting the market when it opens.
These aren't core pieces. Blueger is a 31-year-old depth center who put up 17 points in 35 games. Forbort is a 34-year-old defenseman who barely featured, dressing for just two.
For a rebuild, this is routine housekeeping. The Canucks finished 32nd, and a team retooling around youth doesn't spend re-signing veteran role players.
The money matters more than the names. Letting both walk pulls a combined $3.8M off the books, and frees two roster spots in the process.
Dhaliwal's note fits the bigger picture in Vancouver.
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What their exits free up for the rebuild
Look at who's waiting for minutes. Zeev Buium, 20, already posted 26 points on the back end. Tom Willander, 21, added 21. The kids need ice time, and veterans in the way slow that down.
Clearing depth bodies hands those jobs to players who are part of the future. That's the whole idea of a teardown.
This also lands inside a louder offseason. The Pettersson trade talk is humming, with Nick Kypreos saying Vancouver could even retain salary for the right deal. The depth purge fits the same direction.
Every dollar freed is flexibility, too. A rebuilding club chasing picks and prospects wants room to maneuver, and shedding veteran money helps.
Be honest about the scale, though. Letting two UFAs walk isn't dramatic on its own. These are role players, not franchise losses, and the market would have called regardless.
Here's my read: this is the right kind of boring. A last-place team shouldn't re-sign veteran depth, it should hand those minutes to its young players and keep the books clean. Sensible, on plan.
So the small moves point the same way as the big ones. With the draft Friday and the Pettersson question open, Vancouver's offseason is shaping into a real reset.
What the Canucks do with the freed space is the next thing worth watching.
Are the Canucks right to let Blueger and Forbort walk?
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