On today’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal discussed whether the Vancouver Canucks and Brock Boeser could still come to terms on a contract extension after the trade deadline came and went without a move from the Canucks’ end.

Boeser’s production has taken a hit since the J.T. Miller trade, which could impact his value in free agency.

“Boeser has five points since the J.T. Miller trade. That doesn’t help his free-agency value,” said Quads. “He’s a 20, 25-goal guy, not a 40-goal guy. I know he got to 40, but the odds of that happening again seem low, so let’s call it like it is. This run of play he’s had without Miller is going to hurt him when it comes to the open market, and ultimately, I think he and the Canucks meet somewhere in the middle. Patrik Allvin’s comments at the deadline may have made it so Brock tests the open market, and I could see that too, but he does really like it in Vancouver, and this run of play might hurt him enough that he just settles for the safe option in Vancouver.”

Harm noted that if the Canucks are serious about keeping Boeser, they need to ensure they have the right centre to complement his style.

“It’s plausible,” Harm said of a potential extension. “If you’re the Canucks and are considering an extension, you better be damn sure you have the right centre for him to play with next season because right now, you do not have that centreman on your roster. Brock hasn’t been great, but what are you expecting when you play him with Kiefer Sherwood and Teddy Blueger? He’s got no playmakers to feed him the puck. That’s not a criticism of the coaching staff because we’ve seen him with Elias Pettersson, and that hasn’t worked either, so if it’s not Pettersson, there is no other centre for him to play with.”

Boeser’s game has also had noticeable struggles beyond his linemates.

“You can clearly tell Brock is struggling,” Harm added. “First with his skating; we’ve always known his footspeed is a weakness, but we’re seeing when he’s chasing for loose pucks, he doesn’t have any burst to close plays down. He’s fighting it there, doesn’t have a centreman to get him the puck, and we know he’s not a play-driver. He got two or three opportunities with the puck in the slot, but he missed the net, which is another issue — when he gets an opportunity in the slot, he has to hit the net because he’s not in a position to get five or six prime scoring chances. He’s going to get maybe two or three a game, and he has to find a way to bury those chances and at the very least hit the net.”

When considering Boeser’s next deal, Quads noted the importance of comparable contracts, such as Jake DeBrusk’s $5.5 million cap hit.

“How much better is Boeser than DeBrusk? It’s not a super wide margin,” said Quadrelli. “I’m sure that’s how the Canucks are looking at it too. When we start talking about these numbers like eight million across seven years, that’s a lot. Would you rather do that or just go out in the free-agent market and see what you can get [Nikolai] Ehlers for?”

The Canucks now have a major decision ahead — either commit to Boeser long-term or explore other scoring options in the offseason.