Even less than one week into the 2024-25 campaign, organisations will be contemplating and strategising when it comes to pending unrestricted free agents at the end of the season. In the case of the Vancouver Canucks specifically, chief among these is Brock Boeser.
Boeser is in the final season of a three-year deal, which has an Average Annual Value (AAV) of $6.65 million. In an ideal world, the Canucks would ideally like to get him signed to a contract extension prior to him becoming a free agent and being able to test the market.
As we wrote back in June, other priorities had to take centre stage due to the set-up at that time with the Canucks roster. In reality though there was another factor to consider in this, i.e. the blood clot issue which ended Boeser's 2023-24 season slightly prematurely.
Health implications on a new deal for Boeser
Of course, the 27-year-old returning to full health and being able to live a good life was the main priority, with all indications leading us to this outcome thus far. However, next in line is his capability to continuing playing at a competitive level for the Canucks which --harsh or not -- meant seeing how he played this season.
In this respect the (very) early signs are encouraging, with Boeser scoring two goals in his first two games of the 2024-25 regular season. Last season was a breakout year for him -- in a manner of speaking -- as he notched 40 goals to lead the Canucks and truly showed what he was capable of.
In fairness, even a 30-goal season as an encore would be excellent for the two-time NHL All-Star, in proving his worth and securing that lucrative contract extension he's aiming for. In this respect, where do things currently stand in negotiations with the Canucks?
Media update on extension talks
Well, giving due credit to Mark Easson of NHL Rumors, David Pagnotta and Dennis Benstein of The Fourth Period discussed Boeser's situation during opening week. Pagnotta said that conversations were very loose at this point, they would carry on throughout the season, and that there was no rush to get a deal done yet.
Berstein added with confidence, that he predicted Boeser would get his new deal after another 40-goal season for the Canucks. We'll reserve judgement on the goal aspect, but certainly he's started off well and is clearly capable of the repeat feat.
There is the question of how much of a pay rise the 2015 first round will receive, with us projecting it will be around an AAV of $9 million. While this wouldn't put him in the top 10 for best-paid wingers in the NHL, it would still represent excellent compensation.
How this fits in from a salary cap perspective for next season at least, is interesting for Canucks fans. As per PuckPedia, as things stand the team has six of 23 roster spots open and with the recent projection of $92.5 million for the 2025-26 campaign, cap space of $15,145,833.
Overall, the reality is that it's effectively status quo when it comes to Boeser's contract situation, with no real movement from during the offseason. At the same time however, there should be little for Canucks fans to be concerned about, when it comes to getting him signed to a long-term extension to remain in Vancouver.