The Vancouver Canucks are looking to have a busy off-season come July 1. The team is in desperate need of multiple defenceman as they currently only have four signed for next season. The team is also looking to trade forward Ilya Mikheyev to any suitors as he has not fit in well with head coach Rick Tocchet’s new system and freeing up his $4.75 millioin cap hit will be highly beneficial to the team. But trading Mikheyev will most likely not bring a lot back in return that Vancouver can use to help their team win now. If the Canucks are looking to trade away a player to help their team win right now, the perfect player would be Brock Boeser.
Trading Boeser Will Give the Canucks the Best Return
The idea of trading Boeser is not a novel idea. The forward had been in countless trade rumours before this season began and it looked like his days in Vancouver might be numbered. But this season, he had his best season of his career (40 goals, 73 points) bringing his trade value to an all-time high. Vancouver lost several important assets in the Elias Lindholm trade which included a great defensive prospect in Hunter Brzustewicz who Vancouver could have used down the line as they keep looking for defenceman. Vancouver will need to restock their cabinet of assets and trading away a player like Boeser is their best option for that.
Players like Boeser have fetched high prices over recent years. For example, the Los Angeles Kings acquired Kevin Fiala from the Minnesota Wild for a first-round pick and Brock Faber. The Ottawa Senators acquired Alex DeBrincat from the Chicago Blackhawks for the seventh-overall pick which turned into Kevin Korchinski along with a second-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick. If those players were able to fetch that return in a trade, trading Boeser should allow Vancouver to get near the same return. Assets similar to those would be monumental for Vancouver as they have no draft picks in the first two rounds. So, if they get a late first-round pick or even a second-round pick, the team can choose to keep it and use them in the draft, or trade the pick to another team in exchange for a defenceman.
Boeser Has 1 Year Remaining on His Contract
Boeser is currently heading into the final year of a three-year contract that pays him a little under $6.7 million per season. With the career season he is coming off of, he will be looking to cash in on a big payday like many of his teammates and NHL colleagues have done in recent memory. With the Canucks having lots of money tied up in Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller, they may not have room to sign Boeser unless they want to trade a big-money player like Quinn Hughes which I feel would be a bad move. Vancouver could look at trading a player like Conor Garland to free up the cap space for Boeser, but Garland played so well in the playoffs this spring, especially against the Edmonton Oilers in Vancouver’s final round.
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Boeser was a big help for Vancouver during the regular season and his playoffs was cut short due to unfortunate blood-clotting issues that arose unexpectedly. But the cap relief that can come from a Boeser trade and the assets Vancouver can accumulate as part of the trade could far exceed Boeser’s potential production over the next few seasons. A trade will also help the Canucks avoid a long contract negotiation with Boeser which I’m sure general manager Patrik Allvin does not want to endure again after going through that process with both Pettersson and most recently Fillip Hronek. If Boeser’s negotiating number is way too high, trading him will be the best option for the team going forward since they will not have to go through a long negotiating process with him and can get many assets for him.
Vancouver needs to be looking to the future of their team and what they need right now is steady defence and future draft assets. Trading Boeser can help them accumulate that and there are several young players who can do what Boeser does at a lower cap hit. Losing him will not be the worst thing for the franchise.
