Report: “Horvat is done.”

The Vancouver Canucks have been absolutely DREADFUL to start the 2022-23 NHL season and things don't seem to be getting any better. 

Prior to the team's current five game road trip, team President Jim Rutherford openly stated that the stretch would go a long way to determining what he elects to do with his roster the rest of the season. The Canucks have gone 1-3 on the trip so far with three consecutive losses, they play the Buffalo Sabres this evening to finally, mercifully wrap up the road trip.

So that leads us to the question... what next?

Surely head coach Bruce Boudreau's job is in peril, but what about the players? Will underachievers like Brock Boeser, Conor Garland and Tyler Myers ultimately pay the price and be shipped out for future assets? And then there's the case of captain Bo Horvat. He's in the middle of a career season with 13 goals and 17 points in 16 games but he's currently unsigned for next season. He's slated to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career and... well... would you blame the guy for wanting out of this giant mess?

Horvat, along with Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes, seems to be one of the few players who actually gives a damn this season but I wouldn't blame him if he sought out a fresh start elsewhere in the league. There's been plenty of trade speculation surrounding Horvat and today NHL insider Craig Button stated that he believes Horvat is "done."

From the Donnie & Dhali show earlier today:

"Horvat's done. It appears to me that Bo Horvat, he's done and he's best served going somewhere else."

"The criticism that we've heard about Bo Horvat and the contract negotiations is that he's a player that's going to be on the move."

- Craig Button

If that's the case then the Canucks would be wise to move off of Horvat as quickly as possible. You simply can't have the captain of the team hanging on in a bad situation like this. It only serves to further muddy the waters in Vancouver and alienate those players who you believe ARE a part of your future, ie Pettersson, Hughes and goaltender Thatcher Demko.