Ethan Bear has been traded!

Ethan Bear is finally on the move.

According to NHL insider Kevin Weekes, the Carolina Hurricanes are closing in on a trade that would send the defenseman and anon roster player in exchange for a fifth round pick from the Vancouver Canucks.

Moments later insider Darren Dreger of TSN confirmed the deal.

Insider Elliotte Friedman from Sportsnet is also reporting that the Hurricanes are retaining salary in the transaction, $400K of Bear’s salary. Per insider Frank Seravalli of Daily Face-Off, the full deal involves: Bear and forward Lane Pederson going to Vancouver in return for the Canucks’ 2023 5th round pick. 

Bear signed a one-year contract worth $2.2 million in July, but he has yet to play in 2022-23.

Earlier this week, Friedman had listed the Canucks as a potential destination for the blue liner. The Canadian team has had a disastrous start to the season, and quickly natural suitors for Bear who is expected to bolster their back end.

Friedman also believed the Toronto Maple Leafs had been poking around, however they lost out on Friday to Vancouver.

In 190 career NHL games, Bear has put up 13 goals and 47 points along with a -15 rating and 77 penalty minutes.

The Canucks made the move official, moments later.

That’s a trade Vancouver needed. Now let’s see if Bear can deliver. The move is the second trade made by the Canucks in the last 24 hours. On Thursday night, Vancouver traded for forward Jack Studnicka from the Boston Bruins in exchange for AHLers Michael DePietro and Jonathan Myrenberg.