Is it just me, or is this August exceptionally quiet? Not just for the Vancouver Canucks, but for every team in the NHL.

Up to August 17 of last season, the NHL saw two trades (Cody Glass to the Pittsburgh Penguins and the St. Louis Blues re-acquiring their second-round pick for later use), three free agent signings (Oliver Kylington and Matthew Phillips to the Colorado Avalanche, and Magnus Hellberg to the Dallas Stars), as well as the Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg offer sheets from the St. Louis Blues.

Granted, three trades came on August 18 and 19: The Edmonton Oilers acquired Vasily Podkolzin and Ty Emberson in two separate deals, and Patrik Laine was shipped to the Montreal Canadiens. So, if history repeats itself, we could be in for some moves coming as early as tomorrow.

But compared to this August 17, there have been zero trades, one re-signing (Joel Kirivranta with the Colorado Avalanche) and one professional tryout agreement (Jack Johnson with the Minnesota Wild).

What happened to the “summer of offer sheets”? NHL General Managers must be taking an extra-long vacation this summer.

Anyway, back to the Canucks. After the Dakota Joshua trade, many fans believed that the management would quickly make another move with their new cap space burning a hole in their pocket. However, it’s now been exactly a month since the move, and the Canucks have yet to spend that cap space.

To be fair, the unrestricted free agent market is pretty bland. There are just four unrestricted free agents available (Matt Grzelyck, Jack Roslovic, Victor Olofsson and Nikolai Kovalenko) who scored 20 or more points last season.

The restricted free agent market, however, is a lot more star-studded. Marco Rossi, Mason McTavish, Luke Hughes, Luke Evangelista, and Connor Zary are still without a contract.

With next to no news at this point of the summer, why not do a little check-up on the remaining UFA/RFAs that the Canucks have been linked to this offseason and see if the Canucks could/should circle back on them?

We’ll start with the most likely option the Canucks could still go after.

Roslovic is the only free agent centre still on the market who would fit the bill of what the Canucks may be searching for in a middle-six centre – no offence to the Craig Smiths and Luke Kunins of the world.

The Canucks have expressed interest in Roslovic’s services. Many believed that once Joshua was traded, a Roslovic signing was coming shortly after. Donnie & Dhali’s Rick Dhaliwal confirmed the link between the two sides.

However, there hasn’t been much other news after this. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on 32 Thoughts that there were up to five or six teams interested in the free agent centre. The only three teams confirmed to have expressed interest are the Canucks, the Toronto Maple Leafs and his former team, the Carolina Hurricanes, who have not “ruled out” a reunion.

Of the three reported options Roslovic has, the Hurricanes can offer him the most money as they have $10.6 million of available cap space remaining. In comparison, the Canucks ($3.2 million) could match his $2.8 million salary he made last season, but the Maple Leafs ($1.9 million) would need to make room to bring him in.

While Roslovic mainly played on the wing last season in Carolina, if he desires to return to a role more in the middle of the ice, he would have a better chance at landing that job in Vancouver or Toronto.

After tying his career-high in goals (22) last season, Roslovic is reportedly looking for a three-year deal worth an average annual value (AAV) of $3 million per season.

Mark Scheig of HockeyWriters.com recently posted an update on Roslovic:

“Ran into Jack Roslovic this morning. Many around the league are wondering what’s going on. There’s nothing new to report. This will pick up over the coming days & weeks. A matter of time until a deal is done.”

The next two players are both RFAs and would require a trade or an offer sheet for the Canucks to acquire either player.

It’s all quiet on the Western Front when it comes to a Rossi extension with the Minnesota Wild.

As of late July, the two sides have had virtually no communication since early June, according to reports from The Athletic’s Michael Russo.

The two sides are far apart on what they want. Rossi is in search of a long-term deal worth around $6-7 million AAV, while the Wild are reportedly leaning toward a short-term bridge deal, carrying a $5 million AAV.

Rossi has been linked to the Canucks since the Wild were eliminated from the playoffs. After the Wild demoted Rossi to the fourth line in their first-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights, reports started surfacing that GM Bill Guerin didn’t like his size, and began fielding offers on the 5’9″ forward.

The Canucks went as far as to offer the Wild the 15th overall pick – who turned out to be Braeden Cootes – in exchange for Rossi. The Wild rejected their offer.

The Austrian forward is in line for a healthy raise after a 24-goal, 60-point career season. However, unless an offer sheet surfaces for Rossi, it appears this is heading toward a bridge deal between the Wild and Rossi. It may also be easier for the Canucks to acquire him in that case.

The links between McTavish and the Canucks have not been as strong as the reported ones with Roslovic and Rossi. This may be more fan-driven, however, McTavish is still unsigned and fits the Canucks’ need, so we’ll provide an update on his status.

Despite believing he needs a change of scenery, NHL Insider Frank Seravalli believes that McTavish is staying put in Anaheim.

And considering the Ducks have over $20 million in available cap space, any offer sheet extended to McTavish will be matched by Anaheim. Also, the trade market around McTavish seems quiet. You can’t really blame the Ducks for not entertaining offers on him, either.

The 2021 third overall pick is coming off a breakout campaign, where he finished with 22 goals and 52 points. Not to mention, earlier in the offseason, they traded centreman Trevor Zegras to the Philadelphia Flyers. So losing two of their young, star centremen wouldn’t make much sense for the organization.

While you can never say never until the player signs on the dotted line, it appears McTavish will return to Anaheim on a bridge deal. However, this looks to be the most likely of the three players to return to their team, as extension talks are ongoing between both parties, and a resolution seems imminent before training camp.

If the Canucks are to add, it’s most likely to be Roslovic. If not, who would you like to see them add, Canucks fans? Let us know in the comments below!