Rick Dhaliwal confirms it for the Canucks and Jalen Chatfield
The Canucks could be heavily involved in the defencemen market once free agency opens on July 1st, and they've already been linked to someone they know pretty well.
There are quite a few defencemen on the Canucks' current roster that could become unrestricted free agents if the team does not sign them before noon ET on July 1st. Among those include Nikita Zadorov, Tyler Myers, Mark Friedman, Matt Irwin and Ian Cole, who reportedly won't be brought back by the Canucks.
Losing this many defencemen is certainly not ideal, however, some of them can be replaced pretty easily through free agency and it appears that the Canucks have been linked to a familiar face if he hits the open market.
According to Rick Dhaliwal, if Jalen Chatfield hits the open market on Canada Day, he believes the blueliner could be someone the Canucks will be interested in.
Chatfield, 28, signed with the Canucks as an undrafted free agent out of the Ontario Hockey League in 2017 and went on to spend four seasons with the organization, including 18 games in the NHL with Vancouver. In 2021, he left the Canucks as a free agent and signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes, which then turned into a two-year extension for 2022-23 and 2023-24.
The Ypsilanti, Michigan native had the best season of his National Hockey League career in 2023-24. In 72 games, he put up 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists), 24 penalty minutes and was a plus-15. He followed that up with two assists in 11 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
If he does hit unrestricted free agency on July 1st, then Chatfield could be an intriguing option for the Vancouver Canucks, depending on what Patrik Allvin does with the team's current UFA defencemen.
Should the Vancouver Canucks try to sign Jalen Chatfield on July 1st? Let us know your thoughts in the poll below!
| POLL | ||
Should the Vancouver Canucks try to sign Jalen Chatfield on July 1st? | ||
| Yes | 717 | 58.3 % |
| No | 513 | 41.7 % |
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