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Canucks reportedly looking to trade Bo Horvat amid stalled contract talks
The Canucks could be looking for a new captain in the near future.
Vancouver reportedly made a contract extension offer to forward Bo Horvat in recent weeks but the 27-year-old declined, per insider Rick Dhaliwal. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun added the Canucks are now “focused on the trade market” with that offer rejected.
Further to @DhaliwalSports’s report, told that the Canucks made Horvat’s camp the new contract offer a couple of weeks ago. With the offer rejected, Canucks focused on the trade market between now and March 3 https://t.co/7aWU39ucCD
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 12, 2022
Terms of the proposed deal are unknown, but Horvat would be in line for a sizeable raise given he is still in his prime and is enjoying a productive 2022-23 campaign. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported the Canucks made an eight-year offer over the summer with an average annual value of $5.125 million. The London, Ont., native is currently in the final year of a six-year, $33-million pact ($5.5 million cap hit) signed in 2017.
Horvat released a statement on Tuesday reaffirming his commitment to the team amid the speculation.
"I am focused on this season and playing for the Vancouver Canucks, helping the team in any way I can," Horvat said. "I will not have any further comments this year about my future."
Horvat’s play has been a bright spot in what has been a tumultuous season for the Canucks so far. Rumours have been swirling for weeks about head coach Bruce Boudreau’s job security as the Canucks stumbled out of the gate with a number of gut-wrenching losses. The club has managed to climb up the standings lately, currently sitting three points back of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with a record of 12-13-2.
Horvat has recorded 20 goals in 28 games, which puts him on pace to blow away his career-high mark of 31 tallies set in 2021-22. If he is indeed available on the trade market, the list of suitors should be long, as he can slide into the top-six of just about any team in the league.
The ninth-overall pick in the 2013 draft isn’t the only Canuck surfacing in the rumour mill, as fellow forward Brock Boeser could also find himself in a different sweater come the March 3 trade deadline. Vancouver recently gave Boeser’s agent permission to talk to opposing teams about a potential trade, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Pivotal few months on the horizon for the Canucks franchise, no doubt.
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