The NHL trade deadline is now exactly one week away, and the Vancouver Canucks have some very important business to take care of in re-signing Brock Boeser, one of their top forwards.
Boeser, 28, is in the last year of the three-year, $19.95 million contract he signed with the Canucks back on July 1, 2022. As it stands, the one-time 40-goal-scorer is slated to hit unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career.
The Canucks are running out of time to sign Boeser to an in-season contract extension, and if they fail to do so and don't trade him to another team, they run the risk of losing him for free on the open market in the summer.
In his latest trade board piece, NHL insider Frank Seravalli reports that the Canucks tabled a five-year, $40 million offer to Boeser's camp, which has obviously not been accepted. Seravalli adds that Boeser is looking for more term - more than five years - on this contract, which aligns with Elliotte Friedman's most recent report on the situation in his "32 Thoughts" column.
Between the two, we can ascertain that the Canucks are locked in on going with five years for Boeser, which would keep the sniper in Vancouver through his 33rd birthday. Six years seems like a fair middle ground, but seven or eight may be pushing the carriage too far down the road.
"The Canucks essentially dared him to go out and replicate his 40-goal season. He’s on track for 28 with seven games missed due to injury, which is close to his career average," writes Seravalli. "Now with the increasing cap on his side, he’s a younger UFA, and the Canucks are really going to need scoring support if they have designs on competing again anytime soon. Plus, they currently have the cap room to re-sign him, and it’s not a huge jump in AAV compared to what he’s currently making."
Boeser has 18 goals, 18 assists, and 36 points in 52 games with the Canucks this season after exploding for a career-high 40 goals and 73 points a year ago.