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March 22 Update: Confirmed, it's a one year, $950,000 deal.
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Losers of four straight and shutout in the last six periods of hockey, your Vancouver Canucks had a case of the Mondays as they announced they had to shut down $13.3 million in salary.
The first guy wasn't surprising:
Brandon Sutter is done for the season, said Desjardins. #Canucks
— Vancouver Canucks (@VanCanucks) March 21, 2016
The second was a slight eyebrow raise:
Edler and Vrbata also done for the season. #Canucks
— Vancouver Canucks (@VanCanucks) March 21, 2016
Vrbata's injury wasn't thought to be that severe, but with 11 games to go and not a shot in hell at the post season (sorry that's not true, it's a .6% shot, my apologies), the pending UFA shouldn't take the place of auditioning some prospects for next season.
On that note, some good news for training camp:
Winger Anton Rodin's club season finished last week in Sweden. Sources indicate he's close to a deal with Canucks.
— Tony Gallagher (@tg_gman) March 21, 2016
The right winger, drafted by the Canucks in the second round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, has seen the SHL season end - a league he was leading in points before an injury in January - and has previously expressed an interest in returning to Vancouver. If he signs a new deal, it won't kick in until next season but the Canucks aren't deep at RW so he'll get plenty of chances in camp to show his worth.
Let this whet your appetite for now.