What should the Canucks do with Brock Boeser? Trade or re-sign?

Perhaps no member of the Vancouver Canucks has enjoyed Bruce Boudreau’s arrival than Brock Boeser.

Since Boudreau arrived in Early December, Boeser has scored 11 goals since and that leads the Canucks. He is also second on the team in points behind J.T. Miller since Boudreau took over with 18. Boeser’s shooting percentage went from 7.1% to 15.5% and he has 15 goals and 28 points in 44 games this season.

Boeser is fourth on the team in Corsi for at five-on-five with 51.51% according to NaturalStatTrick.

Over the past few weeks, trade rumours about the Canucks have been swirling. Miller’s name has been brought up the most but Boeser’s name has come up recently.

Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff placed Boeser sixth on his trade targets board on Thursday which is six spots ahead of Miller.

“Trade chatter surrounding Boeser has grown louder in the last number of days as the Canucks’ newly assembled regime settles in ahead of the deadline,” wrote Seravalli. “Keep in mind: (Canucks President of Hockey Operations) Jim Rutherford has repeatedly stressed that creating salary cap flexibility is key. Other roster players can achieve space and freedom, but there is a sense the Canucks are not sold Boeser’s play will be commensurate with the large qualifying offer due to him this summer, which makes him a prime candidate to move. It’s entirely possible that J.T. Miller, who is much more of a driver than Boeser, remains in Vancouver and Boeser is on his way to a new team.”

Seravalli also reported that the New Jersey Devils might be a fit for Boeser.

The case for trading Brock Boeser

Boeser is coming off his bridge deal and has a qualifying offer worth 7.5 million dollars. Now, that doesn’t mean that his next contract will be an AAV of 7.5 million, that is just used to retain negotiating rights for Boeser so he doesn’t become an unrestricted free agent. The Canucks can sign Boeser under 7.5 million if they can re-sign Boeser before it gets to a qualifying offer. Boeser is also eligible for arbitration.

Rutherford has spoken about the importance of creating cap space and has hinted about trades down the line. The Canucks might be worried about Boeser’s qualifying offer and could be looking to trade him to gain some assets.

What kind of assets could they get for him?

The one thing the Canucks need is a right-handed defenceman. Boeser has been the subject of trade rumours in 2020 and was linked to Matt Dumba of the Minnesota Wild.

Boeser has some value and can get a good return. He could possibly fetch some young assets and a pick or two.

This time around, Seravalli linked Boeser to the Devils. New Jersey hasn’t had a good season at all. At the time of this writing, they are last in the Metropolitan Division and are fifth-last in the entire NHL. The Devils have made the playoffs once since their run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012 and have been struggling to turn into a contender.

The Devils don’t have a lot of right-handed defencemen in their organization. Ty Smith does come to mind but he is more suited for the left side. Damon Severson has 27 points in 48 games this season but he is 27 and Rutherford and General Manager Patrik Allvin have said they want to target young players. Plus, Severson’s contract expires in 2023.

As for prospects, the only notable right-handed defenceman worth looking at is Rielly Walsh who was drafted in the third round by the Devils in 2017. The 22-year-old has 32 points in 42 AHL games with the Utica Comets this season.

Other young players and prospects such as Luke Hughes, Cal Foote, Alexander Holtz, Fabien Zetterlund and Dawson Mercer come to mind. Would the Devils be willing to give one or two of those players up for Boeser is the question. Holtz is the most intriguing option and is someone I would ask for and so is Mercer.

As for picks, don’t expect the Devils to trade their first for Boeser.

If the Canucks want to trade Boeser to New Jersey or anywhere else, the return better be worth it.

My verdict

While re-signing Boeser provides risk, there is also a risk in trading Boeser too.

There is a possibility that Boeser shines elsewhere and whatever comes back in return doesn’t live up to expectations or isn’t as good as Boeser.

Boeser isn’t just a goal scorer anymore. While he still can do that, he is also a smart playmaker and there is still more room for growth in his game.

Boeser does need to be more consistent when it comes to goal scoring and there is still lots of room for improvement in his game. When he is scoring, there are few Canucks who can put the puck in the net as he can.

He also still has potential and trading him away could be a mistake and Allvin has to make sure he is getting a return that blows his mind if he does plan on trading him.

If you want my opinion, I say Boeser should stay. Yes, things will be tough with his next contract but let’s hope the new management team and his agent can figure out a reasonable deal for both sides.

What do you think of the Boeser trade rumours? Let me know in the comment section below, in the Facebook comments or on Twitter.