Like Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street, Brock Boeser isn't leaving.
In a stunning turn of events, the Vancouver Canucks made a last-ditch effort to re-sign Boeser and actually succeeded in doing so.
It seemed all but certain that Boeser was leaving Vancouver. He himself called it "unlikely" that he would re-sign with the Canucks and his end-of-season press conference had an air of finality to it. Rumours connected Boeser to teams like the Minnesota Wild, Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, and Los Angeles Kings.
Shockingly, the Canucks instead re-signed Brock Boeser to a seven-year deal with an average annual value of $7.25 million.
Compared to projections, that's a great deal for the Canucks, arguably a bargain with the salary cap expected to go up significantly over the course of his contract. AFP Analytics projected a six-year deal for Boeser with a cap hit of around $8.5 million.
The Canucks reportedly offered Boeser a five-year deal worth $8 million per year during the season that he rejected, wanting a longer-term contract. He got two extra years, with the Canucks cutting $750,000 per year off the salary.
In terms of absolute dollars, it's more money: $50.75 million compared to $40 million. It provides Boeser with security in a city that he loves. He surely could have gotten more money on the open market, but Boeser wanted to stay in Vancouver.
With the Canucks becoming hyper-aware that a lot of players don't want to come to Vancouver, hanging on to a player that already loves being here makes a lot of sense.
"Brock has been a huge part of our organization, and we are extremely happy to have him back in the fold," said Canucks general manger Patrik Allvin in a press release. "He has scored some big goals for our hockey club and has established himself as a very dangerous offensive player. Brock is a leader and culture setter in our locker room, and we’re confident he will continue to play an important role for our team moving forward doing great work both on and off the ice."
Boeser scored 25 goals and 50 points last season, good for second on the Canucks in both goals and points. He's one season removed, however, from scoring 40 goals, and also showed he can produce in the playoffs, tallying 7 goals and 12 points in 12 games in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
