Alex Edler on his future with the Canucks: ‘I still love the game and want to continue playing’

Vancouver Canucks defenceman Alex Edler has no plans of retiring.

The 35-year-old defenceman met with media this morning and talked about his season and his future in the league.

“Yes, for sure,” said Edler if he has for certain made up his mind that he’ll continue playing. “I still love the game and want to continue playing.”

But will that be with the Canucks?

“We haven’t talked about anything yet, so I don’t really know. I really like it here,” Edler said.

Edler is a pending unrestricted free agent and is certainly due for a pay cut — he currently carries a $6 million cap hit — and perhaps even a decreased on-ice role on his next contract.

Edler also talked about the future of the club, and what he thinks the most important thing between now and next season will be in order for the club to bounce back.

“There’s a lot of question marks where some guys don’t have contracts, so obviously, if there are players that need to be added, that’s up to the GM, to build a good competitive team,” Edler said. “You know, we saw some young guys here later in the year that really showed great potential. So now it’s up to the GM to build a good team for next year and I think they know what we need.”

As for his coach Travis Green — whose contract expires in a little over a month —  Edler had this to say:

“I think he came in and, you know, we obviously weren’t great there for a few years, and he came in and kind of set a good standard — a higher standard. What players need to do, and you know can kind of build more of a winning culture here. And I think we’ve been getting better and better every year. Not counting this year, but I think for me, he, he kind of set the bar higher and kept everyone accountable and I think that helped me.”

The Canucks have exclusive negotiating rights with Edler for the next month, and he will hit free agency on June 1st.

Do you want to see the team bring Edler back? Let us know in the comments section below!