The Vancouver Canucks declined to give qualifying offers to defencemen Ethan Bear and Travis Dermott, as well as forward Carson Focht, making those players unrestricted free agents.
Restricted free agent forwards Nils Hoglander and Vitali Kravtsov, as well as defenceman Akito Hirose, were qualified, allowing the Canucks to retain their rights.
Bear, 26, was acquired by the Canucks early last season and was a bright spot on the blue line. In 61 games he had 16 points and a plus-six rating. However, Bear injured his shoulder during this summer's world hockey championship and he isn't expected to be available to play until mid-way through the season.
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