Ian Cole's fate with Canucks appears sealed

With the offseason now in full swing for the Vancouver Canucks, it appears as though one particular member of this past season's team won't be retuning for a second go-around. 

Defenseman Ian Cole is reportedly heading to free agency, via several reports that were led by Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic:

“Looks like Cole is going to hit the free agent market on July 1st,” said Dhaliwal. “He signed that one year deal last year with the Canucks at $3 million. Now, the Canucks would need Cole at a much lower number than three. It doesn’t look like the Canucks will be able to re-sign him after some contract talks I believe over the weekend. In the last week, the two sides could not find common ground but it looks like they did talk. The Canucks really liked this player. They wanted him back, but it looks like he’s going to hit the free agent market after some contract talks that couldn’t find common ground.”

“In game two, round two, he collided with Evander Kane, he cut his ankle. I believe he played with 8-10 stitches every game, it was tough to get his foot in the boot. Think about it, stitches in your ankle, you’re trying to get a foot in a boot. It’s really hard. So he had a tough time with injuries, but they loved his leadership. Over 1000 games played in the NHL. He played more playoff games than any member of the Canucks, and I’ll never forget JT Miller saying, when Ian Cole talks in the dressing room, we listen. It’s a veteran guy. They did want him back. But it just looks like as of now, it looks like he’s hitting the free agent market.”

A native of Michigan, Cole has over 800 games of NHL experience under his belt which include a pair of Stanley Cup championships with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017. 

Recommended articles:

• Canucks teammates come to blows during practice!
• Ian Cole issues heartfelt statement honoring the late Luc Bourdon
• Canucks sign Ian Cole, Teddy Blueger, and Carson Soucy.
• NHLPA chastises the Lightning and the NHL over their treatment of Ian Cole.
• NHL shares details of investigation into Ian Cole.