Four trade destinations to watch for Canucks’ Brock Boeser

Vancouver Canucks right winger Brock Boeser

Credit: Nov 2, 2024; San Jose, California, USA; Vancouver Canucks right wing Brock Boeser (6) warms up on the ice before the game between the Vancouver Canucks and the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

With just more than a week until March 7, we continue to provide at least one Trade Deadline story at Daily Faceoff each day. Next up, we explore possible destinations for Vancouver Canucks right winger Brock Boeser, currently No. 15 on Frank Seravalli’s Trade Targets board.

2025 NHL Trade Deadline Countdown: 8 Days

Is Brock Boeser a crucial part of the Vancouver Canucks’ core or on his way out? It depends on the year. Two seasons ago, he was talked up as a trade candidate amid a disastrous rollercoaster season for the franchise. Last year, he put it all together and finally delivered a 40-goal campaign, helping the Canucks to a Pacific Division title. This season? The rollercoaster takes another daring dive downward. The Canucks are a mess. Their superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes has battled an oblique injury. The dressing room clash with J.T. Miller came to a head with his trade to the New York Rangers. With goaltender Thatcher Demko’s health a perpetual question mark, Vancouver handed goaltender Kevin Lankinen a five-year extension last week at an AAV that seemingly transitioned him from backup to long-term starter. The Canucks’ remaining star forwards, including Boeser and Elias Pettersson, have underachieved.

And so the Canucks reach another crossroads with Boeser. He’s 28 and set to become a UFA for the first time in his career this July 1. President of hockey ops Jim Rutherford and GM Patrik Allvin stare down some difficult decisions in the coming weeks and months. Can this core group still get it done? Or do they need to go backward to go forward and trade Pettersson, Boeser and Demko, among others?

On one hand, there’s still reportedly mutual interest in keeping Boeser a Canuck. As my colleague Frank Seravalli pointed out last week, someone still needs to do the scoring on this team. Boeser is off his pace from last season, but he’s still tracking for close to 30 goals, and his 5-on-5 playdriving metrics haven’t actually changed that much from last season’s. He can still be part of the medium-term solution. On the other hand: it’s risky for Vancouver to go beyond March 7 at 3:00 p.m. ET with Boeser unsigned. What if the two sides don’t agree on a deal and he walks for nothing in the summer? Considering it’s a seller’s market and Boeser could net a package including a first-round pick and respectable prospect, the Canucks have to at least entertain offers for him.

Where could Boeser end up if the Canucks decide they must trade him? We like these four destinations as logical landing spots.

Colorado Avalanche

Why he makes sense: Yes, the Avalanche got Valeri Nichushkin back Wednesday night. But his next injury or absence never seems more than a few weeks away, and Colorado was rolling with Juuso Parssinen as a top-six forward while Nichushkin was out. It’s a reminder that the Avs’ forward depth is an obstacle in their quest to reascend the Stanley Cup mountain. They could use a new No. 2 center as much as anything, but if the market doesn’t yield what they want – if the bidding war for Brock Nelson gets too fierce, for instance – could Colorado pivot and simply focus on adding any forward who can boost their scoring? Their power play sits a middling 16^th in the NHL. Four players have scored 49 percent of their goals this season. Depth scoring matters in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and Boeser could fit on either scoring line or power-play unit. Don’t forget: if GM Chris MacFarland acquires a winger instead, there’s always the option to try Martin Necas at his original position of center.

Fly in the ointment: The Avs are not well positioned to outspend many rivals – not so much in terms of cap space, as they have $4.76 million, but more in terms of assets. Their farm crop is neither deep nor impressive. They have a couple second-rounders and their firsts for 2026 and 2027, but if the Canucks seek more of a reload trade than a rebuild, Colorado isn’t an ideal trade partner unless Vancouver wants to experiment with a Casey Mittelstadt reclamation project.

Los Angeles Kings

Why he make sense: The Kings can’t score. It feels like every incarnation of this team since the Darryl Sutter era has to labor twice as hard to put the puck in the net as it does to keep it out. Case in point: the 2024-25 Kings are fourth in overall scoring defense and have the lowest 5-on-5 expected goals against per 60 in the NHL, not to mention a top-10 penalty kill, whereas they ice a mid-pack scoring offense with a pitiful power play converting at 15.2 percent. Boeser would slide in so nicely as a shooting threat – almost like he’d fill the role L.A. hoped Arthur Kaliyev was going to play before he went bust as a prospect. The Kings also have a full complement of picks and, with a farm class that has matured, they have some NHL-level youngsters Vancouver could conceivably take a chance on. Think Alex Turcotte, for example.

Fly in the ointment: That should be obvious. Vancouver and Los Angeles share a division and are separated by five points. They are direct competitors. They haven’t traded with each other in five years. That last deal happened because the Canucks were buyers at the time and the Kings were not contenders, meaning the two teams weren’t in competition. To consider trading with L.A. in the next eight days, the Canucks would have to adopt a seller mentality and not think of themselves as a playoff threat.

New Jersey Devils

Why he makes sense: The Devils clearly need one more higher-end forward for their top six. Their depth scoring is pretty strong this year thanks to surprising contributions from Stefan Noesen and Paul Cotter but, with Dawson Mercer still not levelling up and Timo Meier seemingly levelling down, it feels like New Jersey needs an extra game breaker.

Fly in the ointment: The Devils only project to have $2.59 million in cap space by the deadline. Even if you factor in 50 percent retention on Boeser’s $6.65 million AAV, New Jersey would require a third-party broker or to send some decent cap space out. Boeser also might be more of a luxury; the Devils’ greater need is arguably third-line center.

Vegas Golden Knights

Why he makes sense: The Golden Knights can never be counted out if any shiny thing becomes available. They transcend “cap space.” They always find a way to get what they want. They’ve traded almost every first-round pick (pre- and post-draft) in franchise history, so they wouldn’t hesitate to dangle someone like Brendan Brisson in a package for Boeser. They still have Mark Stone and Jack Eichel leading their forward group, carrying over much of their 2023 Stanley Cup winning core, but another finisher would help. They’ve gotten some surprise scoring contributions from bottom-sixers like Brett Howden and Keegan Kolesar, which makes for a fun story but can’t be counted on consistently come playoff time. Boeser scores at a 32-goal pace and carries a shooting percentage of 19.0 percent in his 19 career postseason appearances. He scored seven times in 12 games last spring.

Fly in the ointment: If the Canucks don’t see a roster player or NHL-ready prospect they like, the pick situation gets a bit dicey for Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon. He already moved his 2025 and 2026 first-round picks last season in deadline-week trades for Noah Hanifin and Tomas Hertl. A 2027 first-rounder may appeal to a team in scorched-earth rebuild mode, but that’s not Vancouver right now.

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