Patrik Allvin and free agency: Nikita Zadorov's replacement lined-up already?

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Cooper Godin
June 20, 2024 (3:50 PM)

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The Vancouver Canucks may be on the lookout for defensive help this summer, especially if Nikita Zadorov, Tyler Myers and Ian Cole all leave in free agency on July 1st.

There's no shortage of defencemen on the open market that can play in either the second or third pairing and now the Vancouver Canucks have been linked to a former Stanley Cup Champion.

On Thursday's edition of Donnie & Dhali, Rick Dhaliwal mentioned that one defenceman he believes the Canucks would be interested in 2019 Stanley Cup champion Joel Edmundson.

"Or another player Donnie that I see the Canucks being interested in is left-shot defenceman Joel Edmundson. 6'5", 221 pounds. That would help in retaining the big blue line, if Zadorov leaves. So there's a lot of things at play." Dhaliwal said.

Edmundson, 30, has 530 career games under his belt in the National Hockey League with the St. Louis Blues, Carolina Hurricanes, Montreal Canadiens, Washington Capitals and most recently, the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 2019, Edmundson played a key defensive role during the playoffs and helped the St. Louis Blues win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Ideally for the Vancouver Canucks, they'd like to keep Nikita Zadorov, but with the opening of the free agent window quickly approaching, they may be running out of time to bring the Russian blueliner back to the team for next season.

Do you think the Vancouver Canucks should pursue Joel Edmundson on July 1st? Let us know your thoughts in the poll below!