The Vancouver Canucks reportedly have interest in a reunion with a defenceman who left the team in 2021.
The reigning Pacific Division champions will be interested in Jalen Chatfield if the pending free agent does not come to an agreement with the Carolina Hurricanes.
“He’s going to have a ton of interest on July 1, including [from] the Canucks,” said CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal on the Donnie & Dhali show today.
“I’m hearing that Carolina is trying very hard to re-sign him but if he gets to the market I’m told Canucks will be one of the interested teams.”
.@DhaliwalSports on Jalen Chatfield:
IF right shot defenseman Jalen Chatfield hits July 1st, I believe that’s a player that the #Canucks will show interest in.https://t.co/h4e2SKM7eJ pic.twitter.com/mPPRy1JkdD
— Donnie & Dhali (@DonnieandDhali) June 10, 2024
Chatfield finished last season with 22 points in 72 games played and added another two points in 11 playoff games.
The 28-year-old has blossomed as a player since leaving the Canucks, becoming one of the Hurricanes regular defencemen and helping the Eastern Conference team be one of the league’s stingiest defensively.
Chatfield earned the trust of Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour, a bench boss with a similar structured style to current Canucks coach Rick Tocchet. Brind’Amour is famous for holding players to a high defensive standard and it’s a high bar Chatfield managed to pass.
The former Canucks player led all NHL defencemen (minimum 200 minutes) in on-ice shots-against-per-60 minutes at five-on-five. He also ranked in the top 50 in terms of goals against per 60 minutes.
The Canucks have just one right-handed player, Noah Juulsen, signed on the blue line for next season. They will need to attract free agents this summer and if Chatfield hits the open market, he makes a lot of sense.
He just finished a contract that paid him $762,500 per season and is due for a major raise as he has established himself as a solid NHL player. Hockey consulting company AFP Analytics projects his next deal at four years with an average annual value of $3.67 million.