Welcome Matt: Bo Horvat trade looking more likely by the day for Canucks

Pity it’s come down to Bo.

Horvat has given the Vancouver Canucks everything on and off the ice, but as this season slips away with no movement on a contract extension, a harsh reality is setting in.

The Canucks may have to move on from their captain. And who knows? Maybe their captain wants to move on, too.

More rumours today via Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff who told our friends Halford and Brough that there’s been some talk between the Canucks and Columbus Blue Jackets.

We have heard the Canucks connected with the Ottawa Senators this year, and of course, there will be contenders interested in adding a centre of Horvat’s quality between now and the trade deadline. The Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings… all teams that could use some beefing up down the middle.

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I can’t help think that there are some in Canucks management who regret how they handled Horvat and J.T. Miller. Both stood to be unrestricted free agents after this season until the Canucks re-signed Miller to a seven-year, $56 million U.S. extension.

Miller has been excellent offensively, and porous defensively this year. Horvat has been better, his 14 goals are second in the NHL to Connor McDavid heading into Thursday’s play.

The questions now are what is Horvat worth as a rental and whether the Canucks can reap a larger return by moving quickly?

President of hockey operations Jim Rutherford has a well-earned reputation for getting a jump on trade deadline (albeit mostly as a buyer) and we’ve heard the Canucks have been trying to make a trade for some time.

For a lot of Canucks fans, saying goodbye to Bo will be a difficult but necessary step. And this management’s standing with them will depend on the return.