After catching lightning in a bottle in 2023-24 — and coming within one victory of a trip to the Western Conference Final — the new season has not been kind to Brock Boeser and the Vancouver Canucks. Now 19-15-10 and mired in a stretch of eight losses in 10 games, Rick Tocchet's club has completely fallen out of the playoff picture in the Western Conference.
And Boeser knows there's no guarantee he could still be playing in British Columbia come the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline.
“Any team that's not doing well, there's going to be changes,” Boeser told Sportsnet's Iain MacIntyre on Friday. “I haven't played to my best this year, and I expect better for myself and, you know, I'm an (unrestricted free agent) at the end of the year, so they could look at me and be like, ‘He's the easy guy (to trade) right now.'”
Boeser signed a three-year deal to remain in Vancouver back in 2022, carrying an annual cap hit of $6.65 million. After the best campaign of his career — the American scored 40 goals and 73 points last year — he's managed 15 goals and 27 points in 37 games in 2024-25.
But the 27-year-old has been noticeably poor offensively as of late, chipping in just a goal and two points in his last eight games. Like most of the team, he struggled mightily in a 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, playing just over 13 minutes and going minus-three.
“I need to be better for the team and help drive the bus and be a leader,” said the former first round pick, per McIntyre. “Things haven't been easy. There's been a lot of injuries and distractions and stuff. It's been a hard year. But right now, I'm just trying to be a part of the solution and come to the rink and keep working.
“All I want to do right now is help our team and be part of the solution, getting our team back on track. I mean, really play some good hockey with these guys, and then let (management) make a decision on me. I don't want to have it be like this.”
There could be some huge changes coming in Vancouver over the next six weeks if the roster doesn't turn things around, and Boeser isn't the only name on the trade block.
Canucks continuing to struggle mightily in 2025

Despite being just a point back of the final wildcard berth in the West, the Canucks don't look at all like a playoff team right now. And the continued rift between JT Miller and Elias Pettersson certainly isn't helping.
General manager Patrik Allvin is reportedly listening to offers on both star players, and there's a real chance that one of them gets moved before March 7. But Vancouver is still in the playoff hunt in the middle of January, and a second half surge could be just the tonic to putting the trade speculation to bed.
“We're still a point out of the wild card. That's a blessing,” Boeser said. “Like, if we right this ship and start winning some games, we're right there. That's one of the positives we need to take away right now: we're right there. We've got to come together as a group. That's the only way that we're going to get out of this – if we stick together and have each other's backs.”
The Canucks will look to begin righting the ship when the surging Edmonton Oilers visit Rogers Arena on Saturday night.