One of the hottest commodities on the free agent market on July 1 this year was a top-six centre, with several teams on the hunt to bolster their offence this summer.
On July 1, centreman Christian Dvorak signed a one-year, $5.4 million contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. It’s widely considered an overpay for a player at his level, but it looks like they weren’t the only ones interested in the UFA.
According to Donnie & Dhali’s Rick Dhaliwal, the Vancouver Canucks reportedly offered Dvorak a three-year contract at $4 million per year.
Dhaliwal went on to suggest that the Canucks’ number one target at centre was Mikael Granlund, but the price was too high. Granlund’s agent set the starting bid at $7 million per year, while Dhaliwal said the Canucks “might have gone to six.” The veteran centreman ended up signing a three-year, $21 million contract with the Anaheim Ducks. Once Granlund and Dvorak were off the market, Dhaliwal believes that’s when the team pivoted to extending Brock Boeser.
Dvorak scored 12 goals and 33 points last season with the Montreal Canadiens, playing his first full 82-game season after having suffered several injuries throughout his nine-year NHL career. The 29-year-old has also yet to hit the 40-point mark in a season. Dvorak became a UFA this summer after completing a six-year contract with an annual cap hit of $4.45 million, originally signed in 2019 with the Arizona Coyotes.
Compared to Pius Suter, who had a career-high 25 goals and 46 points last season, Dhaliwal also noted that it’s interesting that Suter wasn’t presented with the same contract the team was willing to offer Dvorak.
“Isn’t it amazing, Don? They were willing to give Dvorak $4 million, but they weren’t willing to give Pius Suter $4 million,” Dhaliwal said. “There was no serious talks with Suter in the last few weeks, nothing.”
Suter ended up signing a two-year, $8.25 million contract with the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.
