Rumor: Bo Horvat done in Vancouver.

In spite of the fact that we are still quite a bit away from the National Hockey League's trade deadline which will be on March 3rd, 2023 this season, it is beginning to sound more and more like the Vancouver Canucks and Canucks captain Bo Horvat are headed for a split.

Things took a significant turn for the worse this week when Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal revealed that the Canucks had recently made their captain a contract offer, one that he and his camp rejected.

This of course could have been explained away as merely a normal part of the negotiating process, but over the weekend NHL insider Elliotte Friedman indicated that the situation between Horvat and the Canucks was considerably more dire than that.

According to Friedman, the two sides have come to an impasse over money and it doesn't sound like one that is likely to be solved given the monster season Horvat is currently having in his contract year.

"Bo Horvat, we've all been wondering this week about what his future is, the best I can sense is that J.T. Miller's contract is worth $56 million - I just don't think they want to go over that for Horvat and his year has put him over that," said a very serious sounding Elliotte Friedman on Hockey Night in Canada.

As mentioned by Friedman, Horvat is having himself an exceptional season with 22 goals and 9 assists for 31 points in just 30 games and this in spite of being on a struggling team.

What will make a Horvat even more interesting as a potential rental player is the fact that he is currently in the final year of a 6 year contract that carries a very reasonable cap hit of $5.5 million, a relatively low number that will be enticing to contending teams that have limited cap flexibility.

It definitely sounds like Horvat's time in Vancouver is coming to an end, but perhaps the Canucks will be able to fetch a significant return for their captain to help soften the blow.