It’s time for another edition of NHL rumours. We’re nearing the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, teams that will miss out will drive the rumour mill. General managers have some hard decisions to make even though the salary cap will going up. Some hard choices will have to be made with some important players. We’ll likely see some new faces in new places. One team that could lose a valuable player is the Vancouver Canucks. This edition of NHL rumours deals one forward that could be on the move this off-season.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Future of Vancouver Canucks Forward Uncertain
Rumour: Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre talked to veteran forward Brock Boeser about his future with the team. Boeser said that it seems unlikely that he’ll return to Vancouver next season.
Analysis: The former University of North Dakota product is in the final year of a contract that sees him getting $6.65 million per season. Boeser is looking to get a pay raise, but it seems unlikely that the Canucks will be able to keep the 28-year-old in the fold.
The forward said “it’s unfortunate,” but he’ll concentrate on hockey and sort things out in the off-season. Boeser has spent all nine seasons with the Canucks, but it doesn’t seem that he’ll be staying with the team after this season concludes.
The former 23rd overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft has tallied 204 goals and 229 assists for 433 career points through 550 games with the club. It’s been a down year for the Burnsville, Minn. native with 25 goals and 49 points in 72 games this season.
He did miss some time this season due to injuries, but he has been a consistent scorer of over 20 goals. He had a career-high last year with 40 goals.
What It Means
Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin did listen to trade offers at the March 7 deadline. However, MacIntyre reported that there wasn’t a ton of interest for the forward. Some thought the Boeser’s unrestricted free agent status would hasten a trade. However, nothing materialized at the trade deadline.
Boeser has opted to handle his next contract until after the season is over. He just wants to focus on hockey and let things play out in the run-up to July 1.
Some may think Boeser’s tenure could be over, but never rule things out in the hockey world. We could see Boeser make a return to the team, but it seems at a lower-percentage than him making a move out of town.
One wonders where Boeser will go in free agency. There are plenty of teams that would love to add a former 40-goal scorer to their ranks. He would make a good addition to the top six of a lineup.
Boeser is a Minnesota native and the Minnesota Wild will have plenty of salary cap room with the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter getting greatly reduced. The Wild will have to account for Kirill Kaprizov’s next deal, but the temptation to come home could be a great one. However, other teams will likely want to sign the veteran forward.
Main photo by: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
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