We have reached the NHL trade deadline day, with the actual deadline just over three hours at the time of this writing. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman joined Halford & Brough on Sportsnet 650 Friday morning to share some news on Vancouver Canucks sniper, Brock Boeser:
“We’ll see,” Friedman said when asked about the market for Boeser. “I think there’s a lot of players – and I think Boeser is in that category – where teams know what the price is, and they’re kind of waiting to see how everything fell and made their decisions today.
“I think Vancouver is willing to retain. I think they’re looking for the best possible asset they can get. We’ll see how things fall. I think the thing to is that these are really high prices. So, I’m very curious to see if teams don’t get what they want, do they simply say ‘you know what, we’re not doing that.’ I think Vancouver is probably at the mercy of other teams that have to make some decisions.”
Boeser is in the final year of his three-year deal that pays him $6.65 million annually. Following his career-high 40-goal, 73-point campaign in 2023-2024, Boeser has underperformed. After suffering a concussion after receiving a shot to the head from Tanner Jeannot, Boeser has mounted just 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points in 54 games. That puts him on pace for 24 goals and 26 assists for 50 points in 73 games.
Reports came out that the Canucks offered Boeser a five-year, $8 million per season contract earlier in the season. Boeser rejected the offer. Further reports came out that the club would make one more offer toward Boeser ahead of the trade deadline, but there has been no word on that.
The Canucks have also showed comfortability in keeping Boeser through the trade deadline, using him as their “own rental” if they can’t find a trade or extend him by the trade deadline.
Friedman further touched on what the Canucks plans are before noon’s trade deadline:
“I think they’d like to move their UFAs if they could. I know they feel that they would love to get – and it seems like everybody’s always talking about this. I feel they’d like to get their hands on a centre with team control if they could. I don’t know what the chances of that are.
“I think they feel they took care of a big thing in goal getting [Kevin] Lankinen signed. They feel much better about the overall state of their defence moving ahead. I think they would love to add a centre if they could. But that’s a hard thing to do.”
The top-six centre market is dwindling, as it appears Dylan Cozens and Josh Norris have been traded for each other.
The Canucks will have their handful of decisions no only with Brock Boeser, but with their other pending unrestricted free agents, Pius Suter and Derek Forbort.
For more up-to-date trades, check out our live blog here!
Get ready, hockey fans! The Daily Faceoff Deadline is happening on March 7th from 11 AM to 4 PM Eastern, and you won’t want to miss it. We’ll be LIVE, breaking down every trade and big move as it happens, with instant reactions and expert analysis from the Daily Faceoff crew. Plus, we’ve got special guests lined up throughout the show, offering exclusive insights from some of the biggest names in the game. From blockbuster trades to surprise moves, we’re covering it all. Tune in to the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel and follow Daily Faceoff socials on March 7th to catch all the action!