The Vancouver Canucks are willing to listen to offers for their captain Bo Horvat according to The Athletic. The Canucks made the decision to put Horvat on the trade block after he rejected their latest extension offer.
Horvat is currently in the final year of his six-year, $33 million contract he signed back in 2017. The Canucks reportedly offered him a new deal in late November but were rejected by the 27-year-old player.
The details of the Canucks’ offer are kept under wraps, although sources told The Athletics’ Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal that it “was well shy of $8 million” in terms of average annual salary. Considering this is a number that became a norm for top-level centers, it doesn’t surprise that Horvat’s representatives think he can get a much better offer on the free-agent market.
Horvat’s trade isn’t imminent, although Vancouver would like to seal the deal sooner than later. They communicated to interested teams that they are looking for “multiple young players” in return, with centers and right-handed defensemen being preferred.
Bo Horvat, ninth overall pick in 2019, played 572 games with the Canucks since his debut in the 2014–15 NHL season. He has 170 goals and 196 assists for a total of 366 points. Horvat, who has an All-Star appearance from 2017, is considered a face-off specialist with a 58% success rate.
