The Vancouver Canucks have begun their season at a moderate record of 2-1-2 and finally played their first complete game of the season on Saturday (Oct. 19) in their win over the Philadelphia Flyers. A big contributor in that game was Brock Boeser, who has started the season as Vancouver’s top point scorer with three goals and two assists in five games. His start to the season has a different air to it because the forward is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. The Canucks will obviously want to re-sign him, but what could the forward’s next contract look like?
What Will Be His Cap Hit?
Boeser signed his last contract on a team-friendly cap hit of $6.65 million on a three-year term. The forward was coming off one of his worst seasons in recent memory scoring only 46 points in 71 games. The Canucks that season also dealt with plenty of distractions such as a coaching change from Travis Green to Bruce Boudreau and a change in the general manager position from Jim Benning to Patrik Allvin. There were plenty of distractions that I’m sure did not help him achieve his highest potential. Since signing that deal, he has become one of Vancouver’s top weapons and offensive play drivers. When called upon to score a big goal he often does as seen by the hat trick he scored in Game 4 of Vancouver’s first-round series against the Nashville Predators last season. Now is his time to get paid and he deserves it.
Looking at the Canucks’ salary cap situation, they can give Boeser a big pay raise, it is just a matter of how much. The club just extended Elias Pettersson to a massive eight-year contract at a cap hit of $11.6 million that just kicked in this season. They also have JT Miller locked up for the future with a cap hit of $8 million until 2030. Not to mention that the team will also need to extend captain Quinn Hughes at the end of the 2026-27 season. A comfortable number for Boeser on a long-term contract should be between the $7.5 and $8.5 million range. If they can lock him down to a number in that range or even slightly higher with $9 million being the absolute maximum for him, that could turn out to be a comfortable deal for both sides.
Easier Said Than Done
As much as the Canucks feel they can map out what to give Boeser, negotiations are usually not as simple as that. If they were, the Jeremy Swayman negotiations would not have dragged out as much as they were. These contract talks will be different than the ones done in the past. Boeser becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season instead of a restricted free agent makes things more complicated for the Canucks front office. If he won’t budge on a number that is over what the Canucks are willing to pay, he can simply just walk to free agency and sign with a team that is willing to give him the money he wants on the open market.
Related: Canucks Notebook: Myers, Lankinen, Sherwood, New Second Line & More
Also, with the salary cap set to take another jump to over $90 million in the 2025-26 season, teams will be more willing to spend large amounts of money on players, especially players like him who are looking for the first long-term contracts of their NHL careers. With Vancouver not signing Boeser in the offseason, he may turn into a player they can’t afford because of how well he is playing. If he continues at his pace or even plays better and scores 90 points, the Canucks may be forced to give him somewhere in the $9-10 million range if they desperately want to keep him because another team will pay that or potentially more in free agency.
The Canucks clearly want Boeser back but they will want to re-sign him on a cap hit that works for both sides. If they agree on a contract soon, it could be a great signing for the team. But if they continue to wait and he keeps scoring, they may watch their first-line winger walk out the door on July 1.
