One defenceman the Vancouver Canucks should target this offseason is Brenden Dillon.
One name the Vancouver Canucks should look into during free agency is Brenden Brenden Dillon . Listed at 6'4", 225 pounds, the left-shot defender from Surrey is expected to hit the open market after spending the past three years with the Winnipeg Jets. Now 33, Dillon brings toughness while also being a player who can help out on the penalty kill.
Last season, Dillon played 77 games with the Jets and averaged 18:44 per night. He played mainly beside Neal Pionk, recording 20 points for the third straight season and posting a new career high in plus/minus at +20. The former Seattle Thunderbird also finished the 2023-24 campaign ranking second on the team in penalty kill minutes with 171:51 while leading the team in hits with 241. Ultimately, he had success on Winnipeg's second pairing and showed that he can contribute at both ends of the ice.
One area where Dillon can help the Canucks is giveaways. This season, Dillon finished with 28 giveaways or 1.16 per 60 minutes. For reference, that is a lower giveaways per 60 rate than all seven defenders that played for Vancouver during the season, while his 28 total are five less than Tyler Myers, who finished with the lowest number of turnovers among Canucks defencemen that played at least 55 games. For a team that often struggled to get the puck out of their own zone, bringing in Dillon , who showed throughout the year that he can clear the puck without turning it over, could be a massive boost to the blue line.
The most significant factor in signing Dillon will be his price on July 1. According to AFP Analytics, Dillon's projected contract will be a two-year deal that carries a cap hit of just over $2.8 million. For what Dillon could bring to the lineup, this would be an excellent deal for Vancouver, as it would bring in a reliable penalty-killer without creating salary cap issues over the next two seasons.
While free agency is still a month away, the Canucks need to start looking at who may be available to fill gaps on the blue line. While the organization wants to sign Nikita Zadorov, it may not be financially viable, especially as Oliver Ekman-Larsson's buyout cap hit will be over $4.7 million in 2025-26 and 2026-27. Overall, from a cap and on-ice perspective, signing Dillon should be high up on Patrik Allvin's priority list heading into July 1.
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