Rogers Sportsnet reported on Thursday evening that it’s unlikely the longest tenured Vancouver Canucks player, winger Brock Boeser, will return next season.
That information is based on a pregame conversation reporters had with the 28-year-old in Denver.
Boeser was the Canucks 1st-round draft choice in 2015 and joined the club the following spring for nine regular season games after he concluded his college hockey season at the University of North Dakota.
Boeser told Sportsnet that he’s not even speaking to his agent until this season is over, to avoid distractions. There have been plenty of those this campaign in Vancouver, including a shake-up of the roster that brought the departure of his former linemate J.T. Miller.
Boeser is an unrestricted free agent this summer and with Canucks contract negotiations apparently stalling, it appears the affable Minnesotan is out the door.
The right shot sniper peaked last season with career highs in goals and points, 40 and 73 respectively, but has slipped to just 49 points in 71 games this time around.
Thursday night he played in his 551st regular season game with Vancouver.
Boeser missed seven games due to a head injury in November.
Aside from that, he reiterated to reporters that he doesn’t play as well when he’s surrounded by distractions. It looks like he’ll get a change of scenery and a chance to cash-in elsewhere this July.
