Bear will not be able to play for six months due to a shoulder injury that required surgery; however, he should be close to returning this month. But the Canucks were impatient. They couldn’t afford to use cap space on a defenseman who would miss the first two months of the season, even though they had stressed time and time again how important it was to get off to a good start in 2023–24.As a result, Bear became an unrestricted free agent after failing to receive a qualifying offer from the Canucks.
Nevertheless, the Canucks had a big need on the right side of their defense and wanted to bring Bear back as soon as he was healthy. Bear was Hughes’ top pairing partner in the previous season, so adding him to the team would have provided the Canucks with a top-four defenceman without requiring the Canucks to give up other assets in a trade, such as prospects or draft picks, and would have likely cost them little in terms of salary cap implications because Bear was recovering from surgery.
The Washington Capitals are said to have made Bear an offer of term, something the Canucks were unable to accomplish. Bear would have far more security from a multi-year contract than from a one-year agreement.
Instead, the Canucks placed a higher priority on adding Nikita Zadorov to strengthen their defense, trading Anthony Beauvillier to free up cap space, and then sending third and fifth round picks to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Zadorov. The Canucks will have to turn their attention back to the trade market if they wish to add any more defense players.