It still hasn’t really sunk in: The Canucks signing winger Brock Boeser to a new $50-million contract last Tuesday. There’s so many unusual elements.
All signs pointed to the 28-year-old Minnesota native signing elsewhere. Instead, the Canucks player with the longest current tenure will begin his ninth full season with the club in October.
First of all, in this era of take-the-money-and-run, it was refreshing to see a player choosing his love for his location over love for money, or his need to keep up with the Joneses.
Sentimentality overcame business. Boeser made it very clear he loves Vancouver and its fan base.
At the same time, if one looks at the reality of the situation, one might view it as being a bit complacent. Does the 28-year-old really believe this is the team that best provides him the opportunity to win a Stanley Cup? Or is winning a Cup secondary to just being happy in time and space?
“I did run through the scenarios in my head of different jerseys coming back into the building and not being on the right side of the hallway and being on the other side. It was feeling weird,” Boeser told the Canucks website.
Is $7.250-million average annual salary over seven years considered taking a ‘hometown discount’ for a guy who scored 40 goals two seasons ago and another 25 last year in a Vancouver season that was a complete mess?
Given the term, maybe it’s not a discount at all. Hey, as long as he’s happy. And why wouldn’t he be?
“I think it’s really important identifying the culture that we want,” Boeser said on the Canucks website. “I feel like we did identify that two years ago, on the type of team that we want to be, and I think we kind of lost it for a little bit last year. So, I think getting back to that. As a leadership group, just making sure we’re all committed to that and committing to holding each other accountable and pushing our group as hard as we can to be the best.”
That coach from that identity two years ago? Gone. The grittiest player from that identity two years ago? Gone. The skillset of arguably the most talented player on the roster? Vanished … with hopes of getting it back.
Did the team screw this up? How long can Boeser stay healthy and keep up the goal scoring pace. Seven years? Where will his skating ability and skillset be in four?
Oddly enough, that’s when the no-move element of his contract dips down to a limited no-trade clause.
In a way, his last minute signing almost seemed like a necessity.
For now the Canucks are much stronger on the wings than they are in the middle. That’s an intrinsic weakness. At the same time, they’re a move or two away from being a serious contender again.
Even now, this should be a playoff team.
If Boeser is correct and they can get some or all of that identity and swagger back, they’re in business. It sounds like he’ll be happy either way.
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