Reports: Canucks May be in on Kris Russell

Depending on the source, the Vancouver Canucks may or may not be in on unrestricted free agent defenceman, Kris Russell. Which shouldn’t be overly surprising, given that The Province’s Jason Botchford suggested the Canucks prefer Russell to Dan Hamhuis not all that long ago.

Given they’ve lost Hamhuis to the Dallas Stars in free agency, they could be looking to act on that interest and bring the controversial defenceman into the fold as a replacement. Or better still, what they might consider an upgrade. According to Nick Kypreos, the Canucks are one of the three remaining teams bidding for Russell’s services, with term and cash as the only holdup.

It’s a bit surprising to see the Canucks connected to Russell. Especially given their log jam of defenceman, particularly on the left side. If they were to cave to Russell’s contract demands, it would likely mean that something else is down the pipeline. Likely a trade.

An investment in Russell is, frankly, a horrifying thought. No matter the metric, Russell is a sub-replacement level player and doesn’t really bring a lot to the table offensively to make up for that. He’s an excellent shot-blocker, but really, that’s a byproduct of his team almost never having the puck when he’s on the ice. 

The hope is that this tweet from News 1130 is a more accurate assessment of the Canucks ability to secure Russell’s services. We’ll have more on this situation as it becomes available. The Canucks only have just north of $4-million in cap space, so it would be a tough contract to fit in their current salary structure. It should be noted, though, that teams are allowed to exceed the upper limits of the salary cap by 10% in the off-season, which would grant the Canucks flexibility in the interim.