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Brock Boeser

West Notes: Boeser, Soderstrom, Edstrom

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The 2023-24 season was a breakout showing for Canucks winger Brock Boeser.  He reached the 40-goal mark for the first time while his 73 points were also a personal best.  Despite that, a contract extension doesn’t appear to be on the horizon as Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic report (subscription link) that there have yet to be any discussions about a new deal.  The 27-year-old is entering the final year of his existing contract which makes him extension-eligible.  He’s bound to be eyeing a raise from his current $6.65MM AAV with some potential comparables starting with a seven.  For now, it appears that Vancouver’s management wants to see if Boeser can have a repeat showing in 2024-25 before committing to what will be another long-term, big-money agreement.

More from out West:

  • In an interview with Mattias Ek of Hockey News SE, Utah RFA defenseman Victor Soderstrom expressed some frustration with how he was continually passed over for recalls with Arizona last season despite a solid performance that saw him put up 32 points in 62 games with AHL Tucson. The 23-year-old played in just three games for the Coyotes in 2023-24, giving him 53 career appearances at the top level.  Soderstrom didn’t rule out the possibility of signing overseas but acknowledged that a return to Brynas (where he spent most of his time before coming to North America) was unlikely for the 2024-25 campaign.
  • New Predators prospect David Edstrom spent last season on loan to SHL Frolunda after signing his entry-level deal with Vegas. However, it doesn’t appear as if that will be the case this time around.  In an interview with 102.5 The Game (audio link), Nashville GM Barry Trotz indicated that he envisions his new center playing big minutes with AHL Milwaukee.  Since Edstrom wasn’t drafted out of the CHL, he is AHL-eligible despite being just 19.  He played in 44 games in Sweden last season, picking up 19 points and should be counted on to produce a bit more than that in his first taste of action in North America.

Poll: Who Will Be The Top Free Agent Option Next Summer?

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As things currently stand, the 2025 free agent class is set to be headlined by Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers, Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche, and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Like most years and particularly at the top of the free agent market, all three players are expected to reach extensions with their current clubs in the coming weeks with other potential candidates taking the same approach.

However, even outside of the three-headed monster at the forward position, there will still be quality names available next summer. Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs has seen his name pop up numerous times in trade rumors this summer without anything coming to fruition. The Maple Leafs are expecting head coach Craig Berube to get the most out of Marner (particularly in the playoffs) and may look to extend him during next year’s campaign.

Toronto could also give in to the pressure and allow Marner to walk next offseason especially if the team fails to make waves in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Marner would quickly become one of the premier playmakers to have entered the open market and would certainly get a lucrative offer. Being nearly unstoppable during the regular season over the last six years, Marner has accrued 417 games for the Maple Leafs in that span while scoring 356 assists and 509 points. He is not limited to his offensive prowess either as Marner has earned Selke Trophy votes as the league’s best defensive forward every year since 2018-19.

Dissimilar to Marner, it is almost entirely out of the question that Nikolaj Ehlers will sign an extension with the Winnipeg Jets. Ehlers has been a part of the Jets organization since being drafted by the club with the ninth overall pick of the 2014 NHL Draft and has put up 201 goals and 457 points in 605 games in Winnipeg’s uniform. There have been rather public reports out of Winnipeg that Ehlers won’t be re-upping with the organization and immediately became one of the top trade options available this offseason. The native of Aalborg, Denmark excels in passing the puck but also regularly puts up some of the best possession numbers in the game.

Lastly, Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks could be the top goal scorer to enter the free-agent market next summer. His market and projected contract will be more difficult to ascertain however as he averaged between 28-29 goals through the first seven years of his career before rifling off 40 markers this past season. Boeser’s shooting percentage was also up 7.1% last year compared to his career average which may be a sign of regression next year. If he can get anywhere near 40 goals again this season with the Canucks, he may cement himself as one of the top-five options next summer.

The proposed list is not constrained to these three players as the likes of Carter Verhaeghe, Brock Nelson, John Tavares, and Jamie Benn could all be available as well as the three players initially listed. The list will thin considerably over the next calendar year but who do you think will be the top option available once the season turns over to July 1st, 2025?

What Will Brock Boeser’s Next Contract Look Like?

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The looming contract of Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks was recently analyzed by Patrick Johnston of The Province. Johnston argues that Boeser is almost certainly set to get a raise from his current $6.65MM salary but it shouldn’t be an unpalatable one from the Canucks’ perspective.

Like many members of the 2023-24 Canucks, Boeser is coming off one of the best statistical seasons of his career. He cracked the 40-goal mark for the first time while finishing third on the team in scoring among forwards with 73 points. Boeser also finished third among forwards in ice time while averaging 18:36 a game and played the most out of any forwards when Vancouver was tied, or leading by one or two goals.

As much as he’s relied upon by head coach Rick Tocchet, Boeser will have a hard time arguing he is more than the third-most important forward on the roster. Because of this, he will almost certainly not crack J.T. Miller’s salary of $8MM per season in Vancouver, and he must also prove that last season was not a flash in the pan. From 2017-23, Boeser averaged a 12.7% shooting percentage while being a solid secondary scorer, and his 19.6% mark this past season leads to assumptions that regression towards his mean will soon follow.

Compared to his peers around the league, Boeser’s $6.65MM cap hit ranks 30th among wingers in the NHL, and he will once again have difficulty arguing that he is worth more to the Canucks than Jason Robertson is to the Dallas Stars who gave him an AAV of $7.75MM for four years. According to HockeyReference, Boeser shows a near-identical similarity score to Clayton Keller of the Utah Hockey Club who makes a salary of $7.15MM.

A modest $500K salary increase over a presumably longer-term deal may feel like a slap in the face to Boeser which could seriously hinder the extension negotiations. However, especially with all the data available to teams, it’s hard to envision Boeser landing more on the open market. There may be a scenario where he could earn closer to $7.75MM with the cap set to rise considerably over the next few years but that will likely be the cutoff point for many teams.

A contract in the $7.15MM-$7.75MM over the next four to six years shouldn’t be unpalatable to Vancouver either. The team will be laser-like focused on the upcoming contracts for Quinn Hughes and Thatcher Demko, but a hypothetical contract in that range for Boeser shouldn’t prohibit any long-term plans. This team will only go as far as their core can take them and given Boeser’s importance to the organization’s turnaround last season, he should be a player they envision on the team moving forward.

Canucks Notes: Boeser, Pettersson, DeSmith, Myers

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Canucks winger Brock Boeser won’t have his offseason training routine interrupted by the blood clotting issue that kept him out of their second-round Game 7 loss to the Oilers, he said during today’s end-of-season media availability (via Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650). All indications point to him being ready for the beginning of training camp in the fall.

That’s because Boeser’s clot had a clear root cause – a shot he blocked during Game 1 of the Edmonton series, he disclosed. He didn’t notice bruising or pain until roughly a week after the game and went for scans after their Game 6 loss that showed enough clotting to prevent him from suiting up.

While a handful of important Canucks players could be moving on this summer in free agency, Boeser won’t be one of them. He’ll be back in B.C. as he completes the final season of a three-year, $19.95MM extension signed by GM of the Year finalist Patrik Allvin back in July 2022.

Boeser’s resurgence to his early-career form was one of the bigger reasons Vancouver captured its first division title since 2013. He set career-highs across the board with 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games but is an unlikely bet to repeat that production after shooting 5.8% above his career average in the regular season.

Here’s more on the Canucks:

  • Star center Elias Pettersson offered an explanation today for his underwhelming play down the stretch and in the postseason, telling reporters he’s been playing through a knee injury since January (via Thomas Drance of The Athletic). Pettersson, whose point production dropped from 102 last season to 89 this year, won’t require surgery to address the issue but will need to rest and rehab the injury before beginning offseason training. The 2017 fifth-overall pick signed an eight-year, $92.8MM extension shortly before the trade deadline that carries an $11.6MM cap hit beginning next season.
  • The injury to backup Casey DeSmith in Game 3 of the first round against the Predators that forced third-stringer Arturs Silovs into action for Game 4 was a minor groin issue, DeSmith said today (via Batchelor). DeSmith, who had a .911 SV% and 2.02 GAA in two appearances against Nashville after starter Thatcher Demko was injured in Game 1, said the team sat him for precautionary reasons and elected to play Silovs. He was available to play throughout the entire second round, but the younger Silovs remained between the pipes, compiling a .898 SV%, 2.91 GAA and one shutout in the first 10 postseason starts of his career.
  • Pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Tyler Myers said he’d like to return to Vancouver this summer (via Drance). The 34-year-old right-shot defender is coming off a five-year, $30MM contract that was hardly a good value proposition for the team, but the veteran had a decent season in a reduced role this year with 29 points and a +16 rating in 77 games. It was the only time he’d averaged less than 20 minutes per game in his 15-year career. Evolving Hockey projects a Myers extension in Vancouver to come in at $3.5MM per season for two years.

Canucks’ Brock Boeser Out With Blood Clotting Issue, Likely Out For Season

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May 20: Boeser’s blood clotting issue is in his leg and is expected to sideline him for the rest of the playoffs no matter how far the Canucks advance, Daily Faceoff”s Frank Seravalli reports Monday. He’s been placed on medication to address the clot.

May 19: The Canucks will be without top-six winger Brock Boeser for Monday’s Game 7 against the Oilers, per freelance reporter Irfaan Gaffar. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds it’s a non-life-threatening blood clotting issue sidelining Boeser, who could miss more time if Vancouver advances to the Western Conference Final.

The timing of this news couldn’t be any worse for Boeser and Vancouver as they head into the seventh and deciding game of their series against Edmonton on Monday night.  The 27-year-old has been one of Vancouver’s top threats this postseason, collecting seven goals and five assists in 12 games.  He leads the team in playoff goals and is tied with J.T. Miller for the lead in points with 12 while logging more than 20 minutes a night on their top line.  Those numbers come on the heels of his best regular season, one that saw him set career-highs in goals (40) and points (73).

Among the options to take Boeser’s spot will be Ilya Mikheyev if he’s ready to return from an undisclosed injury that has kept him out of the last two games, Sam Lafferty, who has been scratched the last two games after a tough start to the playoffs, or Linus Karlsson, who was among their Black Ace recalls earlier this month and has gotten into a pair of games so far.  Head coach Rick Tocchet suggested earlier this week that he might be comfortable using top prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki as well although that would certainly be a risky move to give a youngster his NHL debut in an elimination game.  None of those players will be able to step into the role that Boeser filled so Tocchet will have to juggle his lines to see if he can find the right combination to pick up a win without one of their top forwards.

Pacific Notes: Boeser, Demko, Kraken

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Harman Dayal of The Athletic tweeted that Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet downplayed Brock Boeser’s early exit from practice today. Boeser had left the ice after taking a shot up high on the wrist during a powerplay drill. Tocchet said that Boeser was fine as far as he knew and added that Boeser hadn’t said anything about a potential ailment.

The Canucks are already dealing with a significant injury with goaltender Thatcher Demko out of the lineup and can ill afford to lose more key pieces from their team. Boeser has just one assist through the first two games of round 1 but is coming off a career year having posted 40 goals and 33 assists in 81 regular season games.

In other Pacific Division notes:

  • Speaking of Demko, the netminder travelled with the Canucks to Nashville (according to SportsNet’s Dan Murphy). Although he made the trip, there doesn’t appear to be any change to his status as he remains week-to-week. Patrick Johnston of Postmedia writes that his sources tell him that Demko wouldn’t be able to return from injury until the Conference Finals, while Donnie & Dhali of CHEK TV believe he could return late in round 2 if the Canucks can survive until then.
  • The Seattle Kraken announced a new partnership today that will see their local broadcasts shift from ROOT Sports over to TEGNA-owned stations KONG as well as KING 5. KONG will broadcast all non-nationally televised Kraken games while KING 5 will simulcast 15 games as well. The deal effectively ends the Kraken’s relationship with ROOT Sports, who had broadcast Seattle games for their first three seasons. In addition to the new local television deal, the Kraken will also see all non-nationally televised games broadcast on Amazon Prime Video for people in Washington State, Oregon, and Alaska at no extra cost. Seattle becomes the first NHL team to strike a deal with Prime and could become a model for other franchises going forward.

Offseason Notes: Canucks, Capitals, Penguins

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With a murky salary cap situation and a glut of forwards ready and able to play in the NHL next season, the Vancouver Canucks should not be considered done with their lineup tweaking leading into training camp this September. Patrick Johnston of The Province agrees with that narrative, indicating that the Cancuks appear forced to move out a winger before the season begins.

Taking into account the probable return of forward Tanner Pearson, Johnston argues that Vancouver has five wingers set to fill three spots in the lineup. With Pearson, the Canucks have Vasily Podkolzin, Conor Garland, Brock Boeser, and Nils Hoglander set to fill three open spots on the wing for Vancouver. The team does have some flexibility with Pearson, however; if he is not ready for NHL minutes after the conclusion of training camp, the team could waive him and assign him to the AHL, as it is unlikely that another team would put in a claim.

It’s never a problem to have too much depth in the NHL, and the Canucks may wait out training camp before making a significant move to thin out their roster, but they have put themselves in a territory to make a move regardless. Boeser has been the one name most oft-mentioned in trade rumors over the last several years, as well as Garland more recently, but the two may provide too much on-ice value to Vancouver to have them seriously consider a trade that far in advance of the trade deadline.

Other notes:

  • This summer, the Washington Capitals and their General Manager, Brian MacLellan, have been adamant about adding some forward depth to the lineup. Having this in mind, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News asserts that the Capitals should entertain the idea of bringing in free agent Jesse Puljujarvi on a professional tryout for training camp. Throughout his time in the NHL, Puljujarvi has not lived up to being the fourth-overall selection of the 2016 NHL Draft. However, as Silber points out in her article, the new Capitals head coach, Spencer Carbery, has excelled throughout his career in getting the most out of up-and-coming players and may be exactly what Puljujarvi needs to turn his career around.
  • Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins have hired Cam Charron as a Hockey Research and Development Analyst. Charron had previously held a similar title with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the previous eight seasons and will join the new President of Hockey Operations, Kyle Dubas, in his transition to Pittsburgh.

Pacific Notes: Boeser, Johansson, Weegar, Sharks

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Canucks winger Brock Boeser has been featured in plenty of trade speculation in recent months but while a deal didn’t materialize last month, some have wondered if he’ll be on the move this summer.  But if the 26-year-old has his way, he won’t be going anywhere.  He told reporters including Thomas Drance of The Athletic (Twitter link) that he doesn’t want to be traded and would prefer to remain with Vancouver.  This season was a mixed bag for Boeser who actually came one point shy of matching his career high but he managed just 18 goals which isn’t a great return on a $6.65MM AAV.  He has two years remaining on his contract.

Elsewhere in the Pacific:

  • Canucks prospect Filip Johansson will be joining AHL Abbotsford for their playoff run, relays Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic (Twitter link). The 23-year-old was a first-round pick by Minnesota back in 2018 but the Wild opted to take a compensatory second-round selection instead of signing him; Johansson signed with Vancouver soon after.  He played in 51 games with Frolunda of the SHL this season, picking up five goals and 16 assists, both career highs while also chipping in with five points in a dozen playoff contests.  This will be Johansson’s first taste of action in North America.
  • Flames defenseman MacKenzie Weegar will suit up for Canada at the upcoming World Championship, reports Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson. The 29-year-old had a bit of a down year in his first season with Calgary, seeing his point output dip from 44 to 31 (in 81 games) while his playing time was shaved by more than two minutes per game.  While Weegar’s current contract expires in June, he has already locked in with the Flames for the long haul, inking an eight-year, $50MM extension back in October.  This will be Weegar’s first time suiting up for Canada in an international tournament.
  • Sharks winger Tomas Hertl won’t be suiting up at the Worlds next month, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). The 29-year-old struggled defensively in what he called a challenging season but reached the 60-point mark for the second straight year and third time in his career while winning nearly 55% of his faceoffs.  His 63 points placed Hertl third on the team in scoring.  Meanwhile, in a separate tweet, Pashelka notes that center Nico Sturm will play for Germany in the tournament, his first time representing his home country.  The 27-year-old had a career year this season, collecting 14 goals and 12 assists in 74 games.

Nominees Announced For 2023 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

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The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is given out annually to the NHL player who exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. The Professional Hockey Writers’ Association has voted on the award since 1968, and today they announced their nominees for 2023.

Past winners of the award include Carey Price (2022), Oskar Lindblom (2021), Bobby Ryan (2020), Robin Lehner (2019), Brian Boyle (2018), Craig Anderson (2017), and Jaromir Jagr (2016).

Below are the nominees from each team:

Anaheim Ducks – Jakob Silfverberg

Arizona Coyotes – Clayton Keller

Boston Bruins – Nick Foligno

Buffalo Sabres – Craig Anderson

Calgary Flames – Mikael Backlund

Carolina Hurricanes – Jordan Martinook

Chicago Blackhawks – Alex Stalock

Colorado Avalanche – Andrew Cogliano

Columbus Blue Jackets – Boone Jenner

Dallas Stars – Jamie Benn

Detroit Red Wings – Robby Fabbri

Edmonton Oilers – Derek Ryan

Florida Panthers – Patric Hornqvist

Los Angeles Kings – Pheonix Copley

Minnesota Wild – Mason Shaw

Montreal Canadiens – Alex Belzile

Nashville Predators – Cody Glass

New Jersey Devils – Dougie Hamilton

New York Islanders – Zach Parise

New York Rangers – Jimmy Vesey

Ottawa Senators – Derick Brassard

Philadelphia Flyers – Nick Seeler

Pittsburgh Penguins – Kris Letang

San Jose Sharks – Nikolai Knyzhov

Seattle Kraken – Brandon Tanev

St. Louis Blues – Sammy Blais

Tampa Bay Lightning – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

Toronto Maple Leafs – Mark Giordano

Vancouver Canucks – Brock Boeser

Vegas Golden Knights – Phil Kessel

Washington Capitals – John Carlson

Winnipeg Jets – Sam Gagner

Deadline Notes: Trade Bait, Oilers, Bjork

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After a whirlwind start to the trade deadline, TSN has released a new and improved trade bait list leading up to the last day of action. Shortly thereafter, number seven on the list, Max Domi, appears headed to the Dallas Stars. Pending unrestricted free agents on the list include James van Riemsdyk, Dmitry Kulikov, and John Klingberg, among others. Notably, there are a couple of Vancouver Canucks still on the board, J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser, both with term remaining on their contract.

Although many contending teams have already improved, these players could still provide reasonable depth for a playoff pursuit. Because the activity leading up to the deadline has been hectic, many might think that tomorrow’s activity will not live up to recent years’ official deadline day. However, with the ensuing arms race seemingly across the entirety of the league, teams could still look to push themselves even further over the edge.

Other notes:

  • After adding Mattias Ekholm and Nick Bjugstad, Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic reports the Oilers appear finished with their deadline activity. Adding a bonafide top-four defenseman, as well as making their bottom six harder to play against, the Oilers addressed two large needs this trade deadline. Already employing the sport’s most dynamic duo in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, this looks to be the group the Oilers will take into the playoffs. After losing to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final last year, the door is wide open in the west for the Oilers to go to their first Stanley Cup Final since the 2005-06 season.
  • Earlier today, disgruntled forward Anders Bjork was traded by the Buffalo Sabres to the Chicago Blackhawks for future considerations. As the future came to pass, both teams announced that forward Carson Gicewicz will be sent from the Rockford IceHogs to the Rochester Americans, thus completing the trade. In his second full season in the AHL, Gicewicz has scored six points in 43 games this year.

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