VANCOUVER, BC — Brock Boeser could be the next player shipped out of Vancouver.
The Vancouver Canucks are “working hard” to trade Boeser, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
It's believed the nearby Calgary Flames have kicked those tires, and the suddenly floundering Washington Capitals could be interested as well.
According to Boeser's agent, the 25-year-old could very well make his way home to Minnesota.
“They’re trying to move some things around, potentially,” Boeser's agent Ben Hankinson said on The Athletic Hockey Show.
“[Wild GM Bill Guerin] is always looking at every scenario, whether that’s centre or winger or Brock Boeser specifically,” Hankinson said. “He’s 25 years old. He can score. He’s not scoring at a great rate this year, but he’s putting up a lot of points. But I think he’d be a great fit.
Boeser is in the first year of a three-year contract that carries a $6.65-million cap hit, a valuation that doesn't match with the 10 goals and 37 points he's recorded in 49 games so far this season.
To be fair, he did undergo preseason surgery on his hand, but it's still a tough number to swallow at the moment.
Things get complicated when you consider the Wild are paying buyouts on Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, and Vancouver might not be willing to help them out all that much.
“There’d have to be a lot of salary retained by Vancouver, and I don’t think that’s something they’re too excited to do, because they just signed Brock Boeser," Hankinson said. "[The Wild] would have to have them eat a big, big chunk of that [contract] to fit him in next year and the year after because that’s when the cap gets really tight for the Wild.”
Boeser was drafted by the Canucks in the 2015 NHL Draft. The 23rd overall pick has recorded 131 goals and 162 assists in 373 career games.