The Vancouver Canucks opted against signing free-agent forward Phil Kessel before Friday's 3 p.m. deadline.

"I think Phil is a great person and a well-respected player with what he's done in the league, a three-time Stanley Cup winner," general manager Patrik Allvin said, per Canucks Army's David Quadrelli. "He wanted to come back and play. With LTIR, roster complications, and how we want to play, unfortunately, it wasn't a fit for us."

Vancouver's AHL affiliate brought Kessel in to work out in mid-February, leading to speculation that the Canucks might add him for their playoff push. The 36-year-old went unsigned after becoming an unrestricted free agent last summer and is now ineligible to join a team for the remainder of the season.

Kessel is on a record 1,064 regular-season games played streak but was a frequent scratch during Vegas' run to the Stanley Cup last spring. He registered 14 goals and 22 assists for the Golden Knights last season and is only eight points shy of 1,000 for his career.

The first-place Canucks were inactive before Friday's trade deadline but did plenty of heavy lifting in the weeks prior, acquiring Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames and signing superstar Elias Pettersson to an eight-year contract extension.

Vancouver had approximately $1.09 million to work with before the deadline, according to CapFriendly.