Countdown to TradeCentre: Boeser trying to tune out trade rumours
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The NHL's March 7 Trade Deadline is approaching, and teams are making decisions on whether to buy or sell, and on which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Check out today's trade rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.
Boeser not focused on trade talk
With the Vancouver Canucks just inside the playoff picture, the future of pending unrestricted free agent Brock Boeser has become a talking point as the trade deadline draws closer.
Boeser has 18 goals and 35 points in 48 games this season after hitting the 40-goal mark for the first time in his career last season. The 27-year-old, who carries a cap hit of $6.65 million, told reporters on Wednesday he has not received an update from management regarding his future.
"No, not really," Boeser said. "There's not really an update. I haven't really talked to my agent, so I'm just trying to worry about continuing to play well.
"I feel that me and my linemates have got some good chemistry going and have been playing solid hockey, so I'm really focused on continuing that and getting back to my game and helping contribute and helping our team win. That's really all I'm focused on right now."
Boeser had two goals in three games before the 4 Nations break after posting just two goals in the month of January. He was a key contributor for the Canucks in the playoffs last spring, posting seven goals and 12 points in 12 games before being forced to miss the team's elimination game due to a blood clot that kept him off the ice well into the off-season.
The Canucks have already been active ahead of the trade deadline, moving J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers and adding Marcus Pettersson and Drew O'Connor in a deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Vancouver quickly signed both Pettersson and O'Connor to extensions, but are still projected to have $17.1 million in space this off-season as the salary cap jumps by $7.5 million.
Drafted 23rd overall by Vancouver in 2015, Boeser has spent his entire career with the franchise and reiterated Wednesday he would like to remain with the team.
"I've said how much I love it here and willing to come back, so we'll see if we can figure something out," Boeser said.
The Canucks, who will visit the Vegas Golden Knights as the NHL resumes Saturday, currently hold the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference with a three-point lead over the Calgary Flames.
Jones watch in Chicago
Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Seth Jones further fueled trade rumours on Wednesday when he told Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times he is open to a move.
Jones has not formally requested a trade, but he told Pope that his agent, Pat Brisson, and Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson have been talking "back and forth" regarding the possibility of one.
‘‘We all know the whole story and what happened when I got here,’’ Jones said. ‘‘I would like to give myself a chance to win in my career. I know that the money is not an easy thing to move, and that’s what we’re figuring out.
‘‘If it happens, it happens. Obviously, while I’m here with the Blackhawks, they have my full effort [and] full attention to this team to try to get this team better.’’
Jones was acquired by the Blackhawks from the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2021 in a exchange for a handful of draft picks, one of which the Columbus used to select David Jiricek sixth overall in the 2022 draft.
The 30-year-old blueliner has six goals and 26 points in 38 games this season while averaging 24:38 of ice time per game.
As he eluded to, the largest obstacle standing in the way of a Jones trade is the eight-year, $76 million contract he signed upon joining the team in 2021. TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported last month, though, that the Blackhawks were receiving calls about the veteran from interested teams.
"It's not like Kyle Davidson and the Chicago Blackhawks are shopping the defenceman," Dreger said on Insider Trading. "I mean, he's got a pile of years left at $9.5 million AAV, his contract doesn't expire until 2029-30 and he has the full no-move clause across the board. But look, he's a quality defenceman, and yes, teams are calling and they're asking about Seth Jones’ availability. So it's going to be something that we have to continue to watch as Kyle Davidson, again, put some form of stamp in this fight to the rebuild of the Chicago Blackhawks."
Pope notes that Jones could be come an affordably priced piece on another team's blueline if the Blackhawks retain 50 per cent of his contract, dropping the cap hit of $4.75 million. That would saddle the Blackhawks with the same amount in dead money for five seasons and finding a return to justify that expense could prove difficult.
The Blackhawks have yet to reach the playoffs in Jones' tenure with the team, with their postseason drought dating back to 2020. Sitting second-last in the Western Conference, the team appears set to once again to miss out on the postseason this spring, but Pope writes the Blackhawks are still focused on taking a step forward and moving Jones would prove counterintuitive to that.
Fanning the Flames
TSN Flames reporter Salim Valji joined Jay Onrait on Wednesday to break down the biggest reason the Flames have given themselves a chance to make the playoffs after most experts predicted they would be a lottery team.
Valji believes the Flames already made their biggest move ahead of the trade deadline in swinging a blockbuster trade to bring in Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee from the Philadelphia Flyers last month. However, a right-shot centre to add into the bottom-six is a top target for the team now and, longer-term, finding a defence partner for MacKenzie Weegar could be on the wish list.
Watch Valji's full breakdown below: