Reports say the Vancouver Canucks began inquiring about Bo Horvat's trade value with other teams. Which NHL teams may want him on their roster?
The rollercoaster that is the Vancouver Canucks' 2022-23 season continues to roll along. As the club struggles in the standings, questions arose over the treatment received by winger Tanner Pearson for his season-ending hand injury. Meanwhile, there's ongoing speculation that coach Bruce Boudreau could be replaced by Rick Tocchet.
Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford indicated big changes are coming for his roster during his state-of-the-franchise press conference on Monday. He said some of those moves might not be popular, prompting The Province's Ben Kuzma to suggest that Rutherford was referring to pending free-agent center Bo Horvat.
On Saturday, Sportsnet's Jeff Marek reported Canucks management spoke with several teams about Horvat. Back in December, there was talk that they had turned to the trade market after Horvat rejected their contract offer.
Marek said at least one of those discussions “revolved around three players, including the team's No. 1 prospect.” He cautioned that the Canucks are still exploring the trade market, and none of those conversations were considered serious trade talk. Marek also indicated they could revisit contract extension talks with the Horvat camp.
Horvat has the best value among this season's trade candidates. He's carrying a reasonable $5.5-million cap hit, lacks no-trade protection and is enjoying a career-best production rate with 30 goals in just 43 games.
A number of playoff contenders could target Horvat leading up to the March 3 trade deadline.
The Denver Post's Bennett Durando placed the two-way center atop his list of proposed trade targets for the Colorado Avalanche. Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli had the Avs on his list of trade partners, which also included the Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild and Washington Capitals.