After the Bo Horvat trade yesterday, the floodgates appear to be opening on the trade front. That’s especially true for the Vancouver Canucks, who have some desirable trade assets other than Horvat that could find their way out of town by the trade deadline.
One of those is Brock Boeser, who TSN’s Darren Dreger said today continues to receive interest from around the league. However, he reported that any Boeser trade, and the corresponding interest, hinges on how much salary Vancouver is willing to retain in a potential trade. Boeser is signed to a steep cap hit of $6.65MM for the next three seasons. With so many teams already dipping into LTIR pools to stay cap-compliant, Vancouver is unlikely to find a trade partner willing to take the full brunt of the deal. The 25-year-old has nine goals and 30 points in 41 games this season. That’s a 60-point pace over 82 games.
- TSN’s Chris Johnston also reported on today’s edition of Insider Trading that the IIHF has a council meeting set up for March to discuss the status of Russian and Belarusian players in future international hockey events. Johnston notes that any changes to the current ban on those athletes participating won’t be lifted by the World Championship events in Spring 2023. Still, there could be a change in policy heading into the 2024 calendar of events. The conversation was reignited by the International Olympic Committee’s decision to allow Russian athletes to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, they likely would have to compete under a neutral flag.
- As the NHLPA continues its search to name a new executive director, NHL analyst John Shannon today reported the list of players comprising the organization’s search committee. Ian Cole (TBL), Jacob Trouba (NYR), James van Riemsdyk (PHI), Justin Faulk (STL), Kevin Shattenkirk (ANA), Kyle Okposo (BUF), Mattias Ekholm (NSH), Nate Schmidt (WPG), Sam Gagner (WPG), and Zach Hyman (EDM) are the members who will determine the replacement for outgoing director Donald Fehr.
