After struggling through the opening two months of this season, the Vancouver Canucks cleaned house behind the bench and in the front office.
While the club has climbed back into the Western Conference playoff race—it is three spots and five points out of the final wild-card spot—the hiring of Jim Rutherford as president of hockey operations and Patrik Allvin as general manager has sparked trade speculation in recent weeks.
Most of the conjecture focused on J.T. Miller, so much so that the 28-year-old center was among the top 10 on B/R's February NHL Trade Block Big Board. However, the Canucks' new management could be reluctant to part with their leading scorer while still in the postseason chase. They are also not under any pressure to move him at the March 21 trade deadline given he's signed through 2022-23.
While the possibility of a Miller deadline trade could be fading, teammate Brock Boeser has emerged as a more likely candidate. Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli placed the 24-year-old winger at No. 6 on his recent list of NHL trade targets.
Boeser is a skillful offensive player who's exceeded the 20-goal plateau three times in the past four seasons despite being hampered by injuries during his young NHL career. With 15 goals in 44 games, he should surpass 20 goals again this term and could reach 30 for the first time. Since his full-time NHL debut in 2017-18, he leads the Canucks with 109 total goals, 124 assists and 233 points.
The reason Boeser has surfaced in trade chatter is his expiring contract. CapFriendly indicates he's a restricted free agent this summer with arbitration rights. While his cap hit is $5.875 million, he's earning $7.5 million in actual salary this season. On Nov. 24, The Athletic's Thomas Drance explained that the Canucks must make him a qualifying offer for that amount to retain his rights.
Seravalli wrote that Rutherford has consistently stressed the need to create salary-cap flexibility. With the Canucks having $70.6 million invested in 15 players for 2022-23, signing Boeser to a new deal would leave little money with which to fill out the remainder of the roster—commissioner Gary Bettman announced in December that next season's salary cap could be $82.5 million. If they don't move him at the trade deadline, they could shop him during the offseason.
This season could be Boeser's last in Vancouver unless the Canucks convince him to accept less than $7.5 million annually or they free up cap space by moving out one or two other players. But if he hits the trade block, here's a look at five potential landing spots and the type of return he could fetch. Feel free to weigh in with your views on this topic in the comments section.
Anaheim Ducks
The Canucks would likely prefer to trade Boeser to an Eastern Conference club, but that might not be easy because of the needs of certain clubs and available cap space. That could force them to consider trade partners within their own conference—and perhaps even in their own division. The Anaheim Ducks could become a trade partner if the need to move Boeser becomes pressing by this summer.
Boeser could prove to be a good fit with the rebuilding Ducks. Twenty-five goal man Troy Terry, 24, is enjoying a career-best season, but the Ducks could use another scoring right winger, especially if Rickard Rakell tests the free-agent market this summer. Jakob Silfverberg, 31, is past his prime and no longer capable of logging reliable top-six minutes.
With $48.8 million in projected cap space for 2022-23, the Ducks could afford to sign Boeser to a lucrative long-term deal. The 24-year-old would fit well within their plans to build with young talent, perhaps lining up alongside rising star Trevor Zegras on their top line.