Rumor: Canucks “exploring” the possibility of trading Brock Boeser.

A wild rumor from a very reliable source.

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HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
Rumor: Canucks “exploring” the possibility of trading Brock Boeser.
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I must admit this is one of the most outlandish rumors that I have heard in a while, but it comes from such a good source that I have to believe that it is indeed a credible one. On Friday Vancouver Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal revealed that the Canucks are currently considering the possibility of trading away young forward Brock Boeser, seemingly one of the key young pieces on that organizations roster. 

The report from Dhaliwal actually echoed comments from his colleague at TSN 1040 Matt Sekeres which makes it all that much more credible, which in turn makes the rumor all the more wild. Although he has only really played 3 seasons in the NHL, Boeser has had an immediate impact on the Canucks franchise both in terms of the results on the ice as well as it terms of the players popularity. It does have to be noted however that after scoring 29 and 26 goals in his first two seasons with the Canucks respectively he only managed to put up 16 goals in this latest, and shortened, season. Even taking that dip into performance into consideration however this would appear to be an extreme move on the part of Canucks general manager Jim Benning and the Canucks organization.

If we look at this situation a little more closely the only thing that makes any sense here is that the Canucks believe they can get an excellent return for Boeser, potentially a top 4 defenseman that the Canucks could definitely use, that and the current salary cap situation caused by the COVID-19 outbreak combined with Boeser's average annual value of $5,875,000 per season. 

An interesting take from Thomas Drance of The Athletic could point to another source for this recent activity on the part of the Canucks however, another trade that took place earlier this season in which the Canucks acquired forward Tyler Toffoli. Drance indicated that he believes the team has come to rate Toffoli more highly and given that he is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season the Canucks will have some decisions to make on that front. 

It might be crazy to think of a world in which the Canucks trade a very promising 23 year old with many years of control left, but it sounds like that may indeed be the world we are living in.


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