Canucks-Sharks deal for Bieksa was so close, he looked at homes in San Jose

Kevin Bieksa jumped the gun.

The Vancouver Canucks defenseman was so certain he was being traded to the San Jose Sharks that he visited San Jose with his family to look at homes, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Bieksa, 34, reportedly said he'd waive his no-trade clause to accept a move to the Sharks. That deal seemed to be in place, only to fall apart.

From Friedman:

According to a couple of different sources, three entities - Bieksa/(agent Kurt) Overhardt, the Canucks and the Sharks - were working on this for at least a week and probably longer. In fact, the player recently visited the San Jose area with his family to look at houses.

There were reports the trade fell apart because Bieksa wanted an extension. An executive for another team guessed it would end up in the area of three years and $12M.

A deal for the veteran blue-liner could still take place, but Bieksa may want to wait until it's confirmed before he starts shopping for real estate.