Canucks Captain
Bo Horvat is having himself one hell of a contract season with the Vancouver Canucks thus far, with ten goals in the first eleven games and 24 in his last 29 matches dating back to last season. He’s dialed in, which isn’t unusual at all for players looking for a new contract. It just seems to happen, time after time after time.
That’s OK. Great in fact, for the Canucks and for the player. The questions will soon arise, and a lot of it will depend on how the Canucks do over the next four to six weeks, as to where Horvat will be signing that contract. If the club hits the skids and plays itself out of contention, it’s likely the ink on Horvat’s next contract will be drying in another NHL market.
Even if the team plays itself into a playoff spot, does it guarantee that Vancouver Canucks President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford and General Manager Patrik Allvin will want to ‘double down’ on another member of the current core, as they did with JT Miller and Brock Boeser this past summer? These and other questions …
Let’s Skate …
Tampere, Finland was the location for the NHL’s latest foray into the Euro-market with the first of two Global Series games between the Colorado Avalanche and the Columbus Blue Jackets, with the defending Stanley Cup champions coming out on top 6-3.
The ‘local’ boys did well. Mikko Rantanen, who grew up 165 kilometres south of the city, tallied a hat trick for the winners while hometown boy Patrik Laine contributed a goal and an assist for the struggling Jackets. Columbus fell to 3-and-8 on the season and lost their fourth straight.
Laine’s total of five goals scored in Finland in NHL regular season games dating back to 2018 is the highest total for any NHL player in games played outside of North America.
The same two teams play again there on Saturday.
Sen’s for Sale
Grab your chequebook, there’s a Canadian NHL team for sale. Sheldon Plener, the governor of the Ottawa Senators, officially announced the hockey club was on the market, but keeping the team in the capital city was one of the conditions of sale.
A recent report from Sportico had the Senators valued at $655-million, the 27th most valuable franchise in the 32-team NHL.
Canadian movie star and Vancouver native Ryan Reynolds doesn’t have that level of personal wealth, but he has expressed an interest in being one of the owners.
Enjoy the Hockey Action !!
