Subscribe
Follow Us
It looks like the days of Bo Horvat as a Vancouver Canuck are numbered, but after rejecting the team's latest contract offer, the team captain reinforced his focus to the club on Tuesday.
Horvat issued a bold statement through the team which affirmed his commitment to Vancouver for the duration of the 2022-23 campaign.
“I am focused on this season and playing for the Vancouver Canucks, helping the team in any way I can,” Horvat said, according to Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli. “I will not have any further comments this year about my future.”
To be fair to Horvat, there isn't much else he can say at this point. He's in the final year of his contract, and after rejecting the last offer Vancouver presented, it's almost certain they'll have to trade him so they don't risk losing him for nothing in free agency.
“At this point it’s not about me,” Horvat said on Tuesday, according to Thomas Drance. “I’ve always wanted to keep this confidential… I don’t want to let this be a distraction… I feel bad for my teammates having to hear all about this in the media.”
The 27-year-old is putting together a career year for the Canucks, amassing 29 points in just 28 games, including an incredible 20 goals. That puts him fourth in tallies, just five behind Connor McDavid for the league lead.
It's a tough pill to swallow for Canucks' fans; with the team paying over $7 million for an aging Oliver Ekman-Larsson and nearly $5 million each for Conor Garland and Ilya Mikheyev, it's easy to think that money could have been better utilized to ensure a new contract for Horvat.
It seems to be only a matter of time before Horvat is donning a new jersey, and unless the Canucks' get a mammoth return for the versatile star, it'll be another mistake to add to a long list of errors made by this team's management.
Bo Horvat was drafted by the Canucks' in 2013, after the team traded up to the ninth pick to select the Rodney, Ontario native. He's spent his entire eight year career with the franchise.
