CANUCKS BETTER BET ON BOESER
Many advocates for locking up winger
ANAHEIM, CALIF. On an off day Tuesday and with roster uncertainty looming in the off-season, Bo Horvat knows there will be a constant when Brock Boeser returns to the Canucks next fall.
The winger’s feet will be on the ground and his head won’t be in the clouds. He will continue to improve. And he’ll continue to score.
“I think it will carry itself over big time,” said Horvat. “He’s not the type of kid who will just go out and think it’s going to happen easy for him every year. I know he’s going to work hard and be even better next year and get to 30, 35 or 40 goals. That’s just the type of kid he is.
“He doesn’t get too high or too low. He obviously has confidence in himself and his game, but nothing seems to faze him. He gets a lot of media attention, but he pawns it off to somebody else because he doesn’t like being the centre of attention and that speaks to his character. “He’s got a bright future.” Whether the Canucks choose to extend Boeser’s contract in July or wait with a year left on his deal, there’s an argument to be made for both approaches. General manager Jim Benning could lock up Boeser with a long-term extension in the belief that a guy who contended for the Calder Trophy this season is only going to get better. And that’s going to cost more.
Or the Canucks could choose to do what they did with Horvat. The restricted free agent didn’t sign his six-year, US$33-million extension until Sept. 8.
The Canucks could do the same and see if Boeser’s amazing 29 goals and 55 points in 62 games — it included an eye-popping 16.2 shooting percentage — was an anomaly because he’s only going to draw more attention. Then again, Boeser isn’t a one-dimensional dynamo and his agent could bet on his client pushing the complete-player envelope. And that will cost even more.
“Travis (Green) wanted him to be a goal-scorer, but a goal-scorer who knows how to win,” Horvat said of his linemate. “The biggest thing over the course of the year is he improved immensely in being hard on the backcheck and hard to play against and not just completely thinking offence.”
What’s all that worth?
It’s a short study, but the 21-year-old Boeser is already the club’s best offensive threat. Does that mean Johnny Gaudreau money? The Calgary Flames’ flash signed a six-year, US$40.5million extension on Oct. 10, 2016, after a 78-point season.
David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins inked a six-year, US$40million extension six days after Horvat’s deal. The winger was coming off a 70-point season, so there’s something to be said for a standard set for young, premier players hitting that point plateau. The Canucks could rightfully say Boeser isn’t there yet or bank on the fact he will be a 70-point producer next season.
“To be perfectly honest, we haven’t gotten to that yet — we wanted to see where he finished up,” said Benning.
“We’ve talked about it (an extension), but we haven’t honed in on it yet. We wanted him to finish the year and then strategize on how to handle it. We don’t have anything right now on that, but for sure it’s something we’re looking at.”
Boeser’s agent Ben Hankinson said Tuesday his client is “fine either way” whether an extension gets done this summer or next season, which is what you expect from the mature winger.
And if Boeser is going to get lumped into comparables, consider this:
Could he have surpassed Pavel Bure’s rookie franchise record of 34 goals had he played the final 20 games? Probably. Would you bet against him? He maxed out all his bonuses for US$850,000 and if he went at a point-pergame clip, he would have finished with 75 points.
The Canucks have also lost four straight since Boeser was injured March 5. Their power play has slipped from sixth to 10th. Sam Gagner has tried to man Boeser’s sweet spot on the dot, but Boeser has the shot and the movement to give the power play pace and punch.
“Brock is a shooting threat that guys have to respect,” Horvat said of the winger’s 10 power-play goals that still lead all rookies. “Missing him on that half (wall), we don’t have that element to our power play.”
What else could come into play is if the Canucks want to wait on a Boeser extension. Horvat went through it and admitted it was a challenge to focus last season.
“Obviously you’re thinking about it in the back of your mind what players get and if you’re going to get signed in time for camp,” said Horvat. “And what guys are signing for and whether it’s long term or short term — you’re always thinking about that stuff.
“The biggest part is balancing it out”
What everybody agrees on is that Boeser is something special.
Henrik Sedin called the winger the most natural goal-scorer he has played with. Daniel Sedin called him the real deal.
What’s all that worth? We’re going to find out.
I know he’s going to work hard and be even better next year and get to 30, 35 or 40 goals.