Vancouver Canucks might not be done with Boeser after all
There appears to be another wrinkle in the Brock Boeser saga with the Vancouver Canucks.
As fans await free agency, which is set to open on July 1, the expectation has been that the Canucks would lose Boeser. The two sides have yet to agree on a contract extension, and the 28-year-old even admitted that he’s unlikely to return to Vancouver next season.
That still might be the most likely route, but CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal is reporting that the door hasn’t completely shut between the two sides.
“The Canucks keep in contact with his agent,” Dhaliwal said on the Halford and Brough show this past Friday. “They are showing interest, but it sounds like Boeser wants to test July 1st.
“If things don’t go his way, I get the feeling that Boeser would be willing to talk with Vancouver again.”
Boeser is coming off a three-year deal that carried a cap hit of $6.65 million. His next contract is expected to eclipse that amount, with AFP projecting a six-year contract with a cap hit of $8.4 million.
It’s unclear if Boeser will be able to demand that much on the open market and, if he can’t, a contract extension with the Canucks could be back on the table. Negotiations haven’t gone well over the past year between Boeser and Vancouver, with Dhaliwal giving some insight on why that’s been.
“Term is the big issue with Boeser, it’s not money,” Dhaliwal said. “Are teams gonna give him seven years? The Canucks are at five years. Teams won’t have issues giving Boeser $8 million-plus; it’s the term most teams are gonna haggle over.
“Expect Boeser to check the market, but I would not rule out re-signing in Vancouver if Boeser can’t get what he wants elsewhere and if the Canucks can’t land a top-six piece by July 1.”
There was also the fact that Boeser felt like he was disrespected by the organization, according to Dhaliwal. That still looms large, but the player understands that Vancouver might be the only place he can get what he wants on his next deal.
“He may not get what he wants on July 1,” Dhaliwal said. “I’ve been told everything is on the table right now… There has been contact [between the Canucks and Boeser].”
Vancouver is in desperate need for another top-six forward and Boeser is the most obvious target out there for the Canucks. Prices are sure to be high in a talent-starved free agent market, but Boeser is coming off a disappointing season.
It’s shaping up to be a very interesting summer on the Canadian West Coast.