It has been one week since the 2025 free agency period opened, and the Vancouver Canucks made a crop of signings, including netting one of the biggest available free agents of this year’s class. Let’s take a look at what the Canucks have done so far during free agency.
The Day Before July 1 — 10:00am PT
The Canucks announced four different signings before free agency had even started. On June 30, they re-signed key members of the Abbotsford Canucks’ 2025 Calder Cup-winning season and extended qualifying offers to two others. Max Sasson and Guillaume Brisebois each inked one-year contract extensions at $775K, while Arshdeep Bains and Aatu Räty signed two-year deals. Jett Woo and Nikita Tolopilo were the lone players who were given qualifying offers (with both signing their respective ones today), with the Canucks choosing not to qualify Christian Felton, Ty Glover, Cole McWard, and Tristen Nielsen.
Contract Extensions Kick Off Free Agency — 7:00am PT
Vancouver kicked off the opening day of free agency by announcing two big extensions. While reports had broken the week prior, the Canucks made Conor Garland’s contract extension official. The forward, whose deal was set to expire in 2026, inked a six-year, $36M contract with Vancouver that will keep him in the organization until 2032.
Another Canuck that got a contract extension was Thatcher Demko, who was also entering the final year of his contract in the 2025–26 season. However, Vancouver saved themselves the worries of last-minute negotiating (for Demko, at least), signing the goaltender to a three-year extension worth $8.5M per year.
The First Player Leaves — 9:00am PT
A little after the 2025 free agency period opened, the first Canuck parted ways with the team. Noah Juulsen signed a one-year, $900K contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. Coincidentally, this is also the team that former Canucks bench boss Rick Tocchet was recently named head coach of.
Return Of The Brock — 9:30am PT
Many weren’t sure what Vancouver was going to do in free agency. One thing they were sure of, however, is that decade-long Canuck Brock Boeser would not be returning to the team. In the rumour mill, Boeser’s name had been paired with teams such as the Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings, and even the Edmonton Oilers. But, in a stunning turn of events, news broke that one of the premier free agents in the 2025 free agency class — Boeser — had re-signed with Vancouver. His seven-year, $7.25M contract will take him to the end of the 2031–32 season. Most importantly, however, it will keep a long-tenured and well-loved member of the franchise in a time when stability is needed most.
Goodbye Abbotsford, Hello Home Province — 10:00am PT
With fans still reeling from the sudden news that Boeser would remain a Canuck, Abbotsford was hit with some bittersweet news. Sammy Blais, who had developed into a fan-favourite especially during the team’s Calder Cup run, signed a one-year deal with his home province team, the Montréal Canadiens.
Canucks Make Three Depth Signings — 2:00pm PT
After the departures of Juulsen and Blais, Vancouver decided to make some depth additions to their organization by making three signings. They signed former St. Louis Blues forward MacKenzie MacEachern to a two-year, two-way contract worth $775K per year. As well, they brought back a familiar face in Joseph LaBate, who had been picked 101st overall in the 2011 NHL Draft by Vancouver. Their final signing of the day was Jimmy Schuldt, a defender, who earned himself a two-year, $775K AAV contract with the Canucks.
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A Depth Player Departs — 4:00pm PT
The Canucks lost a depth player in free agency after Phil Di Giuseppe, who had been with the organization since 2021, signed a contract with the Jets. His new deal with the Jets lasts one year and pays $775K. Di Giuseppe’s departure was the last bit of Canucks-related free agency news to break on July 1.
Day 2 Defensive Depth Signing — 11:30am PT
Vancouver made one signing the day after free agency’s opening day. They agreed to a one-year, $775K contract with former Pittsburgh Penguins and Blues defender Pierre-Olivier Joseph. So far, Joseph has been the last signing made by the Canucks in the 2025 off-season.
See You, Suter — 2:00pm PT
On the same day that they signed Joseph, Vancouver said goodbye to one of their biggest breakout players in the 2024–25 season — Pius Suter. The center, who proved himself to be a capable middle-six center in the NHL, signed a two-year, $4.125M AAV deal with the Blues.
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