Boeser trade could be "start of a dismantling" for Canucks: report
Brock Boeser’s time with the Vancouver Canucks may soon be coming to an end, but he might not be the only player shipped out of town.
Two days after Elliotte Friedman broke the story on Hockey Night in Canada that Boeser’s agent had permission from the Canucks to seek a trade, the NHL insider said he thinks it could be just the “tip of the iceberg.”
“This might be the start of a dismantling,” Friedman said on Monday’s edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast. “What I think they’re going to say is ‘We have to create cap room, we have to change our mix. And if that means that we trade Boeser, and the return isn’t great, we still at least create the cap room.’ And I think that’s a possibility here.”
“I just think that they feel that it’s time to make some changes, and I think Boeser is the tip of the iceberg.”
Friedman said that while Boeser hasn’t formally requested a trade, he believes there’s a mutual understanding that it’s time for a “change of scenery.” He added that it’s not likely to be an easy trade for the Canucks to make, given how few teams have available cap space.
Boeser’s agent Ben Hankinson has spoken to a half-dozen teams already, according to a report from Pierre LeBrun in The Athletic.
The 25-year-old winger is under contract for two more years beyond this season, and is owed $6.5 million per season. That’s pricey given Boeser’s lack of production. While Boeser has 15 points in 19 games, he has scored just four goals. The Minnesota native had 46 points (23-23-46) in 71 games last season.
Just three teams have more than $5 million in projected cap space this season, according to CapFriendly.com: Anaheim ($14.4 million), Buffalo ($17.4 million), and Arizona ($17.6 million). Because of that, trades with most teams would likely need to involve the Canucks paying a portion of Boeser’s salary or taking a bad contract back to make the money work.
“The Canucks may have to understand that if they want to make the move [to trade Boeser], they might not get the best return. I think they do understand that,” Friedman added.
As for what other moves could be coming, the Canucks have four pending unrestricted free agents on their roster: Bo Horvat, Andrei Kuzmenko, Luke Schenn, and Kyle Burroughs.
The decision on Horvat, of course, will be the most fascinating one to watch.
The 27-year-old Canucks captain is on pace for 62 goals this season, after scoring 19 in his first 25 games. Management tried to re-sign Horvat in the “high 6s or low 7s” prior to this season according to Friedman, but it’s now “out of that stratosphere.”
Kuzmenko has 21 points (11-10-21) in 24 games this season, and could be expensive to re-sign. He’s on an affordable $950,000 entry-level deal this season.
Schenn and Burroughs are both right-shot defencemen, and add toughness. That’s something that’s always seemingly in demand at the trade deadline.
Canucks GM Patrik Allvin spoke highly of Schenn’s character and value as a leader last season, and may not want to part with the rugged blueliner. But given Schenn’s age (33), it probably makes sense for the Canucks to explore trade possibilities.
As for players under contract beyond this season, it would make sense for the Canucks to look at moving the likes of Oliver Ekman-Larsson ($7.26 million), Tyler Myers ($6 million), Conor Garland ($4.95 million), and Tanner Pearson ($3.25 million), but interest in them isn’t likely to be high.
Friedman wondered if Thatcher Demko would be a player that management would be interested in moving, once he’s healthy. Demko turns 27 on Thursday.
J.T. Miller can be traded before his no-movement clause kicks in, along with his seven-year, $56 million extension, this offseason. Miller has 25 points (11-14-25) in 25 games, but is no longer playing centre after he was proven to be a liability defensively. He turns 30 in March.
It will be interesting to see what the Canucks do before the March 3 trade deadline.
Today is the one-year anniversary of the Canucks firing Jim Benning. Many expected Jim Rutherford’s new regime to make sweeping changes, but they never came. To date, Allvin has traded just three roster players since being hired as Canucks GM in January: Jason Dickinson, Tyler Motte, and Travis Hamonic.
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