The Vancouver Canucks have work to do if they want to re-sign one of their best forwards.
The team has not yet engaged in intense contract negotiations with pending free agent Brock Boeser. If no new deal is agreed upon, the 27-year-old will be free to sign with the team of his choice on July 1.
“Very quiet on the Boeser front, not hearing of any hot and heavy talks as of late, lots of work to do before a deal gets done,” said CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal on Donnie & Dhali.
The Canucks have been eligible to sign a new contract with Boeser since July 1 of last year. The American forward scored 40 goals for the first time last season but the Canucks opted to wait before rushing into an extension, partially due to concerns over his consistency after a career-best shooting percentage and also because of health issues that forced Boeser to miss Game 7 of the second round last season.
He’s answered both of those concerns so far this season. He’s got 14 goals already and hasn’t missed any games due to the blood clotting issue.
The NHL’s trade deadline is roughly two months away. General manager Patrik Allvin previously admitted in an interview with Sportsnet that a decision on Boeser would need to be made before that date. If it doesn’t look like a contract will materialize, then the Canucks will need to seriously consider trading the player else he might leave with nothing to show for it.
While Boeser has a hugely positive impact on the ice, scoring goals and eating up minutes as a reliable two-way winger, that doesn’t even come close to quantifying what he means to this team. He’s one of the most beloved players in the dressing room and a huge off-ice presence.
The sniper is currently making $6.65 million per season and a new contract would likely mean a raise.
Canucks and Lankinen have started talking
While things are quiet on the Boeser front, the Canucks and goalie Kevin Lankinen have started talking.
The goalie will also be an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and just became eligible to sign an extension on January 1.
He’s been one of the biggest positive surprises of the season and has a 15-7-4 record, helping the Canucks get good goaltending even with Thatcher Demko missing time.
“The two sides have touched base, initial conversations have taken place. The fact that that’s happened tells you that they have big interest in re-signing him. They got to him right away,” said Dhaliwal.
Lankinen signed a one-year, $875,000 contract near the end of last summer. He’s going to get a massive raise for next year and the Canucks will need to determine how much confidence they have in Demko to stay healthy to see how much they can spend on Lankinen.