Evan Rodriguez Drawing Interest from Western Conference Team

The offseason has seen over 200 players change teams, and there are still a several free agents who should earn contracts between now and then. Sonny Milano, Phil Kessel, and Evan Rodrigues -- among others -- are still without NHL homes. While mum's the word on Milano and Kessel, Rodrigues has reportedly drawn serious interest from the Vancouver Canucks.

Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic believes the Canucks are 'poking' around Rodrigues and remain close to signing Calvin de Haan, in light of Tucker Poolman's injury concerns.

Rodrigues had a career-best 43 points in 2021-22, topping his previous of 29. Which explains why he isn't signed yet; he wants money GMs don't feel comfortable giving him, given his lack of previous production.

While the end product needs consistency, his underlying numbers are impressive nonetheless. His ability to create offense 5v5 should land him a contract eventually, and it looks like Vancouver is at least one of the teams in the mix. But these things are always fluid.

Depending what Rodrigues is asking, it's worth asking if Vancouver could even pull it off without moving a contract. They have -$2.7 million in cap space, but they have as much as $7.5 million set to go to LTIR, which could allow them to add. Something to watch for.

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