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June 27th 9:55 AM PT: Via Sportsnet, Linden said "as far as Bieksa or the draft is concerned, the Canucks are likely done on the trade front." The reported snag appears to be the Canucks wanted the second round pick in this year's draft whereas the Sharks offered next year's second rounder.
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June 26th, 2:53 PM PT Update: Negotiations have either hit a snag or they're over:
Dreger: Jim Benning told me and LeBrun 20 minutes ago they really don't have a deal in place for Bieksa. #Canucks #SJSharks
— Chris Nichols (@NicholsOnHockey) June 26, 2015
That extension rumor sounded fishy to start with, even with Wilson's "Hey I like John Scott" track record. With all the moves so far today it's tough to know how much wiggle room is left for Benning to make a deal with San Jose or anyone else.
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June 26th, 1:25 PM PT Update: San Jose has been leading the chase and here's the latest:
Dreger tells us #Canucks looking for two 2nd round picks from #Sharks, w/ Bieksa extension perhaps as much as 4 years at $4.5M per.
— Matthew Sekeres (@mattsekeres) June 26, 2015
That extension...wow.
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Not that this should be terribly shocking, but look shocked anyway:
To clarify, #canucks have spoken to Bieksa about moving on. He's agreed to waive if the right trade comes. A trade hasn't been finalized.
— Farhan Lalji (@FarhanLaljiTSN) June 25, 2015
This is about as cut and dry as it gets. Moving Bieksa - who the Flames regularly skated around this past spring - would nearly double the cap space the Canucks currently have and slam the door wide open for Frank Corrado or Adam Clendening to step in. Bieksa's current five year contract was front-loaded so a team willing to take on some experience on the cheap ups his value.
If the report is true, it's nice to see a player agree to waive his well-earned NTC instead of demanding to only be moved to one of the top two teams in the conference.
If this is the beginning of the end for Juice, it should be remembered that he has played his entire career, AHL included, here and few players have bled more for this organization than #3. That's a total of 597 NHL games and 108 AHL games spanning 12 seasons. It's a business of course, but it's rare for this franchise to draft, groom and utilize players for that long and Bieksa should be commended for his service and loyalty.
Also this will never, ever get old. It's impossible.
Expect Benning to push hard to have this addressed, as well as the Lack/Markstrom question, before he rolls up to the podium tomorrow evening.
Stay tuned.