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Canucks, Murray have talked ‘off and on all summer': agent

Douglas Murray

Douglas Murray #3 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on April 3, 2013 in New York City. (April 2, 2013 - Source: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America)

Vancouver Canucks day on PHT continues with news the club has had discussions with free-agent defenseman Douglas Murray.

No, it’s not particularly big news. Mostly because the Canucks are hardly the only team that’s been kicking the tires on the veteran rearguard.

“We’ve talked to [the Canucks] off and on all summer,” player agent Anton Thun told The Province. “At this point we’re not close to signing. There are a group of clubs that have interest, so it comes down to the right circumstances and the right dollars. At this point in time there’s a gridlock in terms of cap space and money availability with a number of clubs. Until some of that shakes out and the dominoes start to fall, I think the market is going to be tight. Whenever that starts to shake out, we’ll react accordingly as to what might be the right place.”

Canucks assistant general manager Laurence Gilman confirmed that the club is looking to sign another blue-liner, but said discussions have taken place with “numerous” free agents.

As it stands, Vancouver’s top four defensemen are Alex Edler, Kevin Bieksa, Dan Hamhuis and Jason Garrison.

The Canucks also have Yannick Weber and rookie Frank Corrado under contract, with the expectation they’ll eventually re-sign restricted free agent Chris Tanev.

A big, physical defender with questionable skating ability, Murray could theoretically replace Andrew Alberts, who is also a big, physical defender with questionable skating ability.

Murray, 33, was traded to Pittsburgh from San Jose in March. In 15 playoff games for the Penguins, he had two goals and one assist while averaging 15:19 of ice time.