NHL REPORT: Major Bids For Kevin Bieksa

Up to Saturday, July 31, the Canucks young defenseman Kevin Bieksa remains one of the most highly sought-after defensemen in the NHL market. Bieksa has a manageable cap hit at $3.75 million, and a really good skill set that makes many teams drool.

Bieksa is a player that plays with a mean streak; he stands up for his teammates, his goalie, and has not lost a fight that he got involved with. He should be a steady two-way defenseman that can eat up minutes on the powerplay, 1st or 2nd, depending on the team, the even-strength top-4 unit, and quality penalty kill time.

Not long ago, Bieksa and Mitchell were one of the most feared pairings in the Western Conference for their abilities to "shut it down" completely for the opposition. Bieksa has broken the 40+ point plateau in the scoring department, and should for years to come. His last couple of years have been slowed down by calf lacerations, which is an extremely rare freak accident in hockey. However, if teams believe the hump is over, Bieksa should provide better value than even Tomas Kaberle.

Reported teams that are in the hunt and have made calls to Canucks for Bieksa are: the Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets, LA Kings, and San Jose Sharks.

Pacific division teams really want to add Kevin Bieksa's grit and skill factor. I still believe Sami Salo's injury won't stop Canucks GM Mike Gillis from moving him.

This is Jofu saying so long from Vancouver.

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