Report: Canucks make a contract offer to defenceman Kyle Burroughs, no guarantee Bear is qualified

The Vancouver Canucks have reportedly made a contract offer to pending UFA defenceman Kyle Burroughs, according to Rick Dhaliwal of Donnie and Dhali — The Team.

Here’s what Dhaliwal said:

“After a long period of no talks with UFA Kyle Burroughs agent Ross Gurney, the Canucks have reached out to Gurney and made a contract offer to the Langley native. A heart and soul player who finally got a call from the Canucks.”

Last week, Dhaliwal reported that there had been no contact between the Canucks and Kyle Burroughs, saying, “Kyle Burroughs, no contact with this agent, the local kid from Langley, they’re ignoring the heck out of him. They have not talked to his agent Ross Gurney.”

But following Friday afternoon’s buyout of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, it appears things have shifted.

Burroughs is coming off a two-year two-way deal with an annual NHL salary of $750,000. During that time, Burroughs appeared in 90 NHL games and exactly zero AHL games. It wouldn’t come as much of a surprise to know that Burroughs is looking for a one-way deal or a raise in pay come July 1st.

Burroughs earned a reputation as one of the Canucks’ more hard-nosed players, and never shied away from sticking up for his teammates by dropping the gloves when it was necessary. Burroughs never complained about his role as the Canucks’ 7th defenceman and was already ready when called upon.

In the same update, Dhaliwal added that sources have indicated “it’s not a slam dunk” that the Canucks will qualify defenceman Ethan Bear after the NHL Draft next week. Bear has been a big subject of conversation as of late, as the RFA right shot defenceman is expected to be sidelined until mid-December after getting surgery on his shoulder injury that was aggravated at the IIHF World Championship.

Bear’s agent Jason Davidson recently said that Bear’s injury is one he’s been playing through since his time with the Bakersfield Condors — the Edmonton Oilers’ AHL affiliate.

Here’s what Dhaliwal said about Bear’s situation:

“Qualifying defenseman Ethan Bear before he got injured at the World Hockey Championships was never an issue, it may be now. Bear had surgery on his shoulder last week and is out 6 months. Sources indicate it is not a slam dunk the Canucks will qualify Bear after the NHL draft next week. If they do not, he becomes a UFA. Agent Jason Davidson continues to talk with the Canucks about Bear, one thing is clear, the long term injury to Bear has made his contract situation much tougher to deal with.”

The deadline to qualify restricted free agents to retain their negotiating rights through July 1st is June 30th at 2 PM Pacific.