Canucks now "focused" on dealing Horvat before trade deadline: report

Dec 13 2022, 12:46 am

The Vancouver Canucks may need a new captain soon, judging by recent reports concerning Bo Horvat.

Horvat rejected the Canucks’ latest contract offer, according to a report from CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal.

ā€œThe Canucks have stretched it to as far as they could go, as of right now, I believe they have gone as far as they can go,” Dhaliwal said this morning on Donnie and Dhali. “The Canucks will now take the best offer for Bo.ā€

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun has backed up Dhaliwal’s report, saying that the new contract offer from the Canucks came two weeks ago.

The Canucks are now “focused on the trade market” concerning Horvat between now and the March 3 trade deadline, according to LeBrun.

Similarly, Thomas Drance wasn’t feeling optimistic about Horvat sticking around after talking to his sources.

“I think this is trending in a direction where at some point [prior to the trade deadline] Bo Horvat will no longer be a Vancouver Canuck,” said Drance. “This doesn’t feel like another phase of a negotiation. This feels different. This feels like there’s a real sense that a parting could be in the offing at some point.”

The question appears to no longer be will they trade Horvat. It’s now where will Horvat get traded to, and what will GM Patrik Allvin get back?

Four teams, according toĀ The Fourth Period, were interested in acquiring Horvat last offseason, including the Toronto Maple Leafs. Other teams mentioned were the Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers, and Dallas Stars.

Horvat is a pending unrestricted free agent, and is reasonably affordable, given his current contract counts just $5.5 million against the cap. He’s due a big raise this offseason.

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