NHL agent posts online seeking a trade partner for his player

It's not exactly a secret that things are contentious in Vancouver this season.

The Vancouver Canucks were expected to take a big step forward this season under head coach Bruce Boudreau, but instead they've been the most inconsistent team in the entire NHL. They started off horribly, rebounded a bit and are now up and down seemingly every game.

This is all transpiring while the future of their captain Bo Horvat is up in the air due to his contract status. The 27 year old Horvat is having an incredible season with 20 goals and 29 points in just 27 games to start the season and is poised to cash in BIG time as an unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason. So... certainly the Canucks must be trying to lock him up, right? Well... kinda...

On his latest appearance on the Sekeres & Price podcast yesterday, NHL insider Frank Seravalli reported that Canucks GM Patrik Allvin and President Jim Rutherford presented Horvat with a contract offer worth $5.125 million a season.

Seriously?

For the record Horvat currently earns $5.5 million per season and has been an absolute steal on that contract for the past six seasons. Now the Canucks are looking for him to take a discount? That... that just doesn't add up.

Look at the contract awarded to teammate JT Miller at $8 million per season and then compare it to Horvat. It's insulting.

The longer this draws on, the more I believe that Horvat will be traded before season's end. If the Canucks aren't willing to table an offer in the $6-$8 million range, there's absolutely no point in negotiating, which is a damn shame in my opinion because Horvat is going to be an excellent trade deadline for a lucky team out there.

Another Canucks player who could land on the trade market is veteran defenseman Luke Schenn. The NHL's all-time leader in hits has been an absolute rock for the Canucks the past two seasons and is on a cheap deal. He'll no doubt generate some interest ahead of March's deadline and, in fact, his agent Ben Hankinson has taken to social media to effectively advertise on behalf of his client.

Check out this Tweet from Hankinson that reads like a Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist ad:

Incredible. 

If you're an NHL player how can you not love having a guy like that in your corner?

I know that people like to rag on agents for their role in the pro game, but the fact of the matter is that it's this guy's job to get guys like Schenn into the best possible situation and to negotiate as much money for them as he can. I can't hate on a guy for going the extra mile like Hankinson clearly has done in this case.