Canucks force a new trade plan 48 hours ahead of deadline!

At this time in the season, with 48 hours to go ahead of the trade deadline, the Vancouver Canucks’ most pressing decision surrounds forward Brock Boeser. The top winger could leaves the franchise as a free agent this summer unless he’s re-signed or traded by Friday. The Canucks have already moved on from one star player in J.T. Miller and could potentially lose another in Elias Pettersson. For weeks now, Boeser found himself in trade talks linking him to different suitors, however, the feeling from Frank Seravalli now is that the Canucks will not be aggressive sellers as they heavily value making the postseason this spring.

This means the plan has now shifted from wanting to get a huge return from Boeser to keeping him in the fold. While the first offer they made earlier in the season is no longer on the table, Seravalli believes both camps could reach an agreement and have the top forward staying put in Vancouver.

“Boeser is a loyal guy and wants to be in Vancouver,” said Seravalli.

“The Canucks either add one year, they offered five [years] by eight [million dollars], make it six by eight and call it a day. Or do they use that extra time to find a deal and try and get themselves into the playoffs or do they just cut bait and say whatever happens this year, whether they get in or we miss, it’s okay, they don’t need Brock Boeser.

I just don’t think they can come to that conclusion yet. And I think with all the offense that’s eroded from that team in JT Miller and now potentially Elias Pettersson in the summer, who’s going to score them 30 goals or close to it?”

If Seravalli is right about the Canucks being focused, first and foremost, on clinching a playoff spot, keeping Boeser seems like the right call as Vancouver drastically increases its odds of making the postseason with him in the fold.

Flipping him for assets ahead of the deadline on Friday might put an end to all playoff hopes… and so the trade plan might have changed again in Vancouver.