Brock Boeser stays with Canucks through trade deadline

Brock Boeser is staying in Vancouver — at least until the end of the 2024-25 campaign.

Amid a wave of changes that have swept up a Vancouver Canucks core that looked set in stone as recently as last season, much was made of the potential of the future for the longest-serving Canucks player. Headed to unrestricted free agency at the conclusion of the 2024-25 campaign — when his three-year, $19.95-million deal expires — conventional thinking suggested a trade would be coming for Boeser, unless all parties could put pen to paper on an extension before Friday’s deadline.

In the end, neither came to be.

The club elected to hold on to Boeser through the rest of the campaign, and will presumably continue talks on an extension to keep the 28-year-old in Canucks colours. Of course, once free agency hits, Vancouver will be contending with the rest of the league to lock up the star winger’s services long-term.

Surely playing a key role in the decision from the Canucks’ brass is the fact that Boeser has made clear his desire to remain a Canuck long-term, and has stated his love for the city, the fans, and the organization time and time again.

Still, holding onto the winger without an extension agreed doesn’t come without risk. The Burnsville, Minn., native has also expressed frustration with how extension talks have gone, particularly after showing loyalty to the organization in the form of two consecutive bridge deals — a three-year, $17.63-million pact signed in 2019, and his current deal, inked in 2022.

“I mean, I understand it’s a business. I feel like I’m a pretty loyal guy, and I feel like that should speak for itself. But it’s a business, and that’s just how things operate,” Boeser told Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre late last month. “We all know the three options that could happen (before the deadline): trade, re-sign or neither. If nothing happens and July 1 comes around, I still think I’m in a good spot (as a UFA). But I’ve talked to you and definitely been open about, you know, how much I love it in Vancouver. So, yeah, it’s actually frustrating that nothing’s got done. 

“Obviously, it’s not all out of my control. I feel I can score more and produce more and maybe be a difference maker out there. So I’m really just trying to focus on helping our team win hockey games right now.”

Boeser has collected 18 goals and 37 points amid an exceptionally tumultuous season in Vancouver, one dominated by injuries to key leaders, and a rift between two others that became so untenable, it resulted in J.T. Miller being traded away to the New York Rangers.

Amid that chaos, the Canucks find themselves outside of the playoff picture on deadline day, sitting one point out of a wild-card spot — a long way from the 2023-24 effort that saw Vancouver finish the year as division champions, and make it all the way to a nail-biter of a seven-game, second-round series with Edmonton in the playoffs.

Key to that sterling season was the play of Boeser, who dominated to the tune of a career-best 40 goals and 73 points — before leading his team in scoring with seven goals and 12 points through 12 post-season games.

The performance surely gives GM Patrik Allvin plenty of reason to try to hold onto the star winger. It should give plenty of other clubs reason to go after Boeser in free agency, too.