The NHL trade deadline is on March 3, but teams are working the phones well ahead of that date. However, players are also angling for moves themselves. One example of this is Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser.
Boeser is on the trade block as the Canucks look to sell at the NHL trade deadline. His preferred destination is his hometown Minnesota Wild. On Wednesday, he came one step closer to facilitating a reunion.
The Canucks have given Boeser and his agent to speak with Wild general manager Bill Guerin, according to The Athletic. Boeser's agent and Guerin are trying to work out a contract restructure.
Boeser is not a rental player. After this season, the Canucks forward has an additional two years left on his contract with an annual average value of $6.65 million.
The figure is a bit of an issue for the Wild moving forward. Minnesota will have a ton of dead cap space on the books over the next few seasons. The dead cap space accounts for the contracts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, who the team released in July 2021.
Boeser's agent, Ben Hankinson, likened the situation to another scenario Guerin found himself in last year. Guerin attempted to fit defenseman Ryan McDonagh under his cap structure last off-season. However, the Tampa Bay Lightning shipped the blueliner off to the Nashville Predators.
“(Guerin) is always looking at every scenario, whether that’s center or winger or Brock Boeser specifically,” Hankinson said. “He’s (Boeser) 25 years old, and can score. He’s not scoring at a great rate this year, but he’s putting up a lot of points. But I think he’d be a great fit.”
The Wild are fighting for a playoff spot. Minnesota is currently fourth in the Central Division with 67 points. The team only trails the Colorado Avalanche on a tiebreaker. Perhaps Boeser is the piece the Wild need to get them to the next level.
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