Canucks captain Bo Horvat releases statement as trade rumours swirl
With trade rumours swirling around him, Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat has released a statement.
It’s an unusual move that appears to be an attempt at calming the waters, after reports surfaced yesterday that Horvat had rejected the Canucks’ best contract offer. The team is now focused on trading the pending unrestricted free agent, according to reports.
Horvat surely knew questions would be coming from the local media after practice today. His statement was a long way of saying “no comment.”
“I am focused on this season and playing for the Vancouver Canucks, helping the team in any way I can,” Horvat said in the press release. “I will not have any further comments this year about my future.”
To be fair, there’s not much Horvat can say at this point.
He’s in the final year of his contract, and if the Canucks can’t get the 27-year-old signed, they’ll have to trade him so they don’t risk losing him for nothing in free agency. But in the meantime, Horvat doesn’t want to take away the focus of the team, which is something he indicated to local reporters after practice, shown below by Thomas Drance of The Athletic.
Horvat on his statement: “At this point it’s not about me. I’ve always wanted to keep this confidential… I don’t want to let this be a distraction… I feel bad for my teammates having to hear all about this in the media.” #Canucks
— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) December 13, 2022
Horvat is in the final year of a contract that pays him $5.5 million annually. He’s on pace to shatter his career-high in goals this season, and is due a big raise this summer.
The Canucks signed J.T. Miller to a contract extension paying him $8 million per season in September. That’s a number the Canucks don’t appear to be willing to reach for their captain, according to Rick Dhaliwal’s report on CHEK yesterday.
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