Maple Leafs sign potential Canucks UFA target Chris Tanev to six-year deal

As free agent frenzy approaches, more and more names that the Vancouver Canucks may have been interested in are coming off the board. Over the past 24 hours, Jake Guentzel signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning after they traded a third-round pick to acquire his exclusive negotiating rights. The Canucks never even got a chance to sell the player that many believed to be their number one target on signing in Vancouver.

Another player they were rumoured to be interested in was former Canucks defenceman Chris Tanev, who couldn’t come to terms on a contract with the Dallas Stars. But again, they didn’t even get a chance to pitch him on a reunion to Vancouver because, at the tail end of the NHL Draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs swooped in and traded a third-round pick for Tanev.

That’s far from a guarantee that they’ll get a contract done, of course, but this morning, hours before the start of free agency, news broke that Tanev and the Leafs had come to terms on a deal.