All a player wants to do is play hockey, and Ethan Bear is no exception. He has a healthy scratch so far to begin the season; the writing is on the wall he could be on the move shortly.
Bear struggled in 2021-2022 after a difficult bout with Covid-19, and those struggles have continued this season as he has yet to play a game for the Hurricanes. Carolina decided to bring the 25-year-old defenseman back to the roster in July when they inked him to a one-year contract worth $2.2 million.
On Saturday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Bear wants to play, and the Hurricanes have been exploring trade options. One of the main problems the Hurricanes face with a trade is that interested clubs want them to retain a portion of his salary which Carolina isn’t very keen on doing if they aren’t going to receive a decent return.
Friedman feels the situation could be resolved soon by a club making an acceptable offer to the Hurricanes or placing Bear on waivers. It’s also possible he could slot into the Carolina lineup if injuries start to pile up.
Bear’s name popped up during the preseason last month as a potential trade candidate as he was being linked to the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks were also mentioned by Friedman as a possible suitor.
These clubs stick out the most as they both could use additional depth on their bluelines. The Senators have been linked for some time to Arizona defenseman Jakob Chychrun, but talks have cooled off recently. Due to the high price tag that Arizona demands, the Senators could look elsewhere to address the issue, as Bear is a cheaper option.
The Montreal Canadiens are another team to keep an eye on, as they were recently linked to Mike Reilly of the Bruins as they wanted to pick him up on waivers but simply did not have the cap space to do so. Montreal Hockey Now’s Marco D’Amico cited their need for an experienced right-side defenseman. He noted that the Canadiens still hold priority on waivers for another week, giving them first crack at Bear if he’s made available.
In his career, the former third-round pick has tallied 13 goals and 34 assists for 47 points across 190 games over four seasons with both the Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Hurricanes. At just 25 years old, there is still time for Bear to take the next step if placed in the right situation. He will never be a top-pairing defenseman but should fill in nicely on a third pair.
