Vancouver Canucks Free Agency updates: What we know so far

We are now a month away from free agency, and the Vancouver Canucks have a lot to get done. Here are all the updates you need to know.

Whether you’re hoping someone hides Vancouver Canucks General Manager Jim Benning’s phone on July 1st, or you’re hoping the team goes all in on a big name free agent, these updates will matter to you.

Brock Boeser

Brock Boeser is the big restricted free agent that the Canucks need to get signed this offseason, so let’s start with him. As reported by Sportsnet’s Irfaan Gaffar, the Canucks and Boeser’s camp are “not close at all” in terms of a deal, and are expected to meet again soon.

Don’t be alarmed by this news, however, as it’s perfectly normal for the starting numbers to be outrageously high and for the Canucks to eventually work at bringing those numbers down. It’s also important to note that, much like Bo Horvat just a few years ago, Boeser likely doesn’t want the next season to start without him having a contract.

Talks should really heat up later in the offseason, as Horvat’s deal didn’t get done until September 8th of 2017. Patience, Canucks fans, you have nothing to worry about; not yet at least, let’s talk again in mid-September and see where we’re at.

Alex Edler

The only updates on the state of Alex Edler, who is an unrestricted free agent come July 1st, is the following phone call interview TSN’s Jeff Paterson had with Jim Benning earlier this week, who is at the NHL Combine in Buffalo meeting with draft-eligible prospects.

"JPat: Why doesn’t Alex Edler have a contract extension yet? Benning: I don’t comment [on] contract negotiations. That’s just my philosophy. But we’re trying to work through it to get to a place where Alex feels good about what the new deal looks like and it makes sense for us. We’ll continue to talk to his agent and talk to Alex and hopefully we can find some common ground and get a deal done. JPat: Are you confident you’ll get something done? Benning:  I’m not going to comment on the negotiation. I know his side is working hard and we’re working hard from our side and as soon as we have any good news to announce, you’ll be the first to know. But we’re continuing to work on it. JPat: The organization definitely wants Edler back? Benning: Yeah, we want him back. I thought he had a good season for us last year. He’s important to our young players and an important player in our room. These things don’t happen overnight, so we’re going to continue work with his group and hopefully get something figured out. JPat: Can Edler, at 33, and coming off a couple of significant injuries the past few seasons still be the lead guy on your blueline? Benning: He had a real good season for us last year. My goal is to improve our defence so we don’t have to rely on him as much as we have in the past. We want him to continue to be part of our group. But if I can make our group better and if we can stay healthy on the back end and we don’t have to rely on Edler and [Chris] Tanev to play crazy minutes for us, then it gives them a break and hopefully helps them with not getting injured, too. That’s my intention this summer is to make the back end better, so I’m working toward that and we’ll see what happens in these next three or four weeks."

You can read the full interview here, but props to Jeff Paterson for asking the questions that were on everybody’s minds. It’s good to see Benning address the idea of giving Edler and Tanev fewer minutes in hopes of keeping them healthy throughout the course of a long 82 game season.

Everyone I have talked to has told me that it seems that the team is still relatively far away from getting something done with Edler. I’ll be sure to continue digging and seeing what I can find, and as soon as I know more, I will be sure to keep you all updated.