NHL Rumor Roundup: Updates On Canucks' Brock Boeser And The Latest Rangers Speculation

Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks was among the notable trade candidates leading up to the recent NHL trade deadline.

However, Canucks GM Patrik Allvin claimed he received underwhelming trade offers for the 28-year-old right winger.

One of those offers reportedly came from the Carolina Hurricanes. CHEK-TV's Rick Dhaliwal said they made a pitch for Boeser in the final hours before the deadline.

Dhaliwal said the Hurricanes attempted to flip one of the two first-round picks they received from the Dallas Stars in the Mikko Rantanen trade. He also indicated the Canucks made another contract offer to the Boeser camp but said it was unclear how much it differed from their rumored five-year, $40-million proposal ($8 million average annual value) from earlier this season.

Meanwhile, The Athletic's Joe Smith and Michael Russo included Boeser among their proposed free-agent targets for the Minnesota Wild this summer. However, they wondered if overpaying him was the only or best plan given the poor trade offers the Canucks received for him at the deadline.

Boeser claimed he's trying not to think about his uncertain future, focusing instead on what's left of the Canucks' regular-season schedule. Nevertheless, his situation remains an intriguing topic of speculation in the coming weeks, especially if the Canucks fail to qualify for the post-season.

Turning to the New York Rangers, we noted last week that speculation was already brewing over possible off-season changes for their roster. Despite their ongoing pursuit of an Eastern Conference wild-card berth, that chatter hasn't disappeared. 

Peter Baugh of The Athletic observed the Rangers have less than $11 million in salary-cap space for 2025-26 with K'Andre Miller and Will Cuylle becoming RFAs on July 1. That won't leave much to make a big splash in this summer's trade or free-agent pools. A rival club with plenty of cap room could target Miller or Cuylle with an offer sheet. 

Baugh suggested Chris Kreider as the obvious cost-cutting candidate. The 33-year-old winger has an average annual value of $6.5 million for two more seasons and a 15-team no-trade list. However, his injury woes and poor performance this season could hurt his trade value.

Trading Artemi Panarin ($11.6-million cap hit through 2025-26) or Mika Zibanejad ($8.5-million cap hit through 2029-30) would free up more cap space. However, both have full no-movement clauses. 

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