Welcome Matt: Will Canucks have enough money to re-sign Bo Horvat?

What about Bo?

Minutes after J.T. Miller’s $56 million contract extension became public, Canucks fans were turning their attention to the captain and wondering what it meant for a most loyal organizational soldier.

Bo Horvat haș been a career Canuck and is entering the final year of his contract. He’s eligible for an extension, too.

In fact, the reports in July were that he was closer to a new deal than Miller. There remains insider opinion that Horvat and the Canucks have such a strong rapport that it’ll all work out. No egos or feelings have been hurt.

We’ll see.

The truth is the Canucks are going to have to move money out or move on from some free agents in order to make their cap work for next season.

Vancouver has roughly $70 million committed next year on just 17 players, and there’s little reason to believe that those remaining roster spots will be filled by the farm system.

So whether it’s Bo or new winger Andrei Kuzmenko, it is difficult to find the cap space to re-sign either of these players without some corresponding moves.

Then there’s the question of whether they want to dedicated north of $21 million on three centremen?

They’ll already be paying Miller and Elias Pettersson $15.35 million next year. Even if Horvat gives them a hometown discount, we’re still talking about a $6 million player. Is that an effective deployment of cap dollars if Miller and Pettersson centre their own lines and Horvat is reduced to a third-line centre? It’s not like he’s a penalty-killing stalwart.

Canucks boss Jim Rutherford has said that the club will figure out the cap next year, and it’s going to take a lot of figuring. The league is still two years away from a significant increase in the spending limit, which may work out perfectly for Pettersson but be too late for Horvat.

Maybe an expensive winger like Brock Boeser or Conor Garland shakes out because the Canucks have depth there. Tyler Myers is on a huge ticket but the cost of replacing him is more expensive than replacing a winger.

There’s also the culture question. Horvat has been the carrier of it since becoming captain three years ago. Does this long-term commitment to the emotional and talkative Miller mean management wants to change the culture?

This Miller extension answers the big question the Canucks were anticipating through training camp, preseason and the 2022-23 campaign.

But it poses so many others.