Canucks have cooled on pursuing Jack Roslovic: report

Top free agent Jack Roslovic is still up for grabs, but according to a new report, the Vancouver Canucks‘ interest in the 28-year-old centre is waning.

One month out from training camp, The Athletic’s Thomas Drance published his latest Canucks notebook on Tuesday, touching on the Canucks’ situation at centre. Drance writes that Vancouver’s leadership group has spent the summer examining the available free agent options closely, opting to turn to the trade market instead:

“The Canucks seem to have emerged from that process with a sense of conviction that between a healthy Filip Chytil and the late-season emergence of Aatu Räty, the club has enough at centre to stay in control in the short term if necessary, and that a centre-capable option, like Roslovic, isn’t likely to be the full-time answer the club requires down the middle of its forward group anyway.

“At this point, from what I can gather from senior club sources informed about the organization’s thinking on the matter, the Canucks have cooled significantly on the prospect of adding Roslovic as an unrestricted free agent at this point. Vancouver is still in the market to land a centre, but the trade market is viewed as a more likely and realistic route of addressing the club’s greatest remaining need.

“On that score, the club is actively kicking tires and exploring its options. Vancouver would execute a trade today if the deal returned a credible middle-six centre — even if that centre had more of a defensive bent to their game.”

While Drance previously wrote that the Canucks didn’t view Roslovic as “the answer”  to their issues down the middle, this is now confirmation that the team is pivoting away from the free agent market altogether and taking the trade route.

Roslovic is actively being pursued by a number of teams, as perhaps the top UFA remaining on the market this summer. According to contract projections from AFP Analytics, he is expected to sign for three years at $4.1 million annually, which may be too rich for Vancouver’s blood right now.

All to say, the Canucks are looking at the trade market to shore up their offence for the coming year. But Drance says that that might mean it takes a little more time to put things together, suggesting that the club might wait until closer to Canadian Thanksgiving to land reinforcements.

With just over $3 million available in cap space, the Canucks are taking the patient approach instead of rushing to spend that extra cash. Depending on what players land on the trade block in the coming months, the gamble could pay off.