Opinion: Vancouver Canucks Lose Leverage To Brock Boeser After Uneventful Trade Deadline
Brock Boeser (Bob Frid-Imagn Images)The Vancouver Canucks had the opportunity last week to either re-sign Brock Boeser or trade him.
Canucks GM Patrik Allvin didn’t do either move. Now, Boeser has all the leverage in contract negotiations from this point through the upcoming off-season.
After last Friday’s NHL trade deadline passed, Allvin met with reporters and addressed Boeser’s future.
“If I told you what I was offered for Brock Boeser, I think I would have to run out of here because you would not believe me,” Allvin said.
A first-rounder is what Philadelphia got from Toronto for third-line center Scott Laughton. A first-rounder is what Boston got from the Leafs for defenseman Brandon Carlo. A first-rounder is what San Jose got from Edmonton for blueliner Jake Walman. And yet Vancouver didn’t get anything for the 28-year-old Boeser – who has 18 goals and 38 points in 56 games.
Boeser's $6.65-million cap hit was more of a hurdle than those other players. But considering the Tampa Bay Lightning acquired Yanni Gourde with a third team retaining salary, as the Oilers did with Trent Frederic and the Carolina Hurricanes in the first Mikko Rantanen trade, Vancouver likely could have found a way to make Boeser's contract easier to absorb for any team.
Small wonder, then, that more than a few Canucks fans are critical of Vancouver’s asset management regarding Boeser. It doesn’t seem right that based on the market, the return wouldn't have been sufficient.
That said, the biggest issue for the Canucks is that Boeser now holds all the cards in contract negotiations. If the pending UFA reaches free agency, he’ll get plenty of interest. If he does leave Vancouver, all that the Canucks will have to show for it is Boeser’s $6.65-million in cap space – and a glaring hole in the lineup that once featured the team's top-scoring forward. That won’t feel like a success, the way a trade or contract extension would have.
Certainly, it's possible Boeser will stick around. But he’s now able to be more picky for his next deal and demand a raise with term. Considering this league is a business, he shoudn't shy away from moving on to a different organization.
Unless the Canucks think they can somehow get Mitch Marner, 34-year-old Kyle Palmieri or 36-year-old Patrick Kane, Boeser is the top-scoring right winger who's a pending UFA. Other right wingers who could hit free agency include 35-year-old Evgenii Dadonov, 33-year-old Reilly Smith, 25-point scorer Taylor Raddysh and 31-year-old Joel Armia.
Boeser's really the Canucks' best option – again, unless they convince Marner to join them – because he is in his prime years and fits within the team's competitive cycle. Canucks fans want this team to win and win now, and replacing Boeser’s skill set will not be easy.
It didn’t have to come to this. Allvin could’ve signed Boeser to an extension at any point in the season, and that didn’t happen. The Canucks had the chance to restock their shelves by sending Boeser to a different team, but Allvin chose not to. That inaction could have a ripple effect on what this team looks like moving forward.
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