Brock Boeser said he doesn't expect to return to the Vancouver Canucks next season.
“Honestly, it's unlikely at this point,” the 28-year-old forward told Sportsnet in a story posted Thursday. "It [stinks], it's unfortunate. I'm just trying to play good hockey, and then I'll worry about everything after that. We all know it's been a roller coaster of a year. There's been a lot of different things.”
Boeser, the longest-tenured Vancouver player in his ninth NHL season, all with the Canucks, can become an unrestricted free agent July 1; he's completing the final season of a three-year, $19.95 million contract (average annual value $6.65 million) he signed on July 1, 2022.
He told Sportsnet he would not have any discussions with his agent, Ben Hankinson, until after the end of the season.
“Yeah, I’m refusing to talk to 'Hank' right now,” he said. “I feel like I'm playing a lot better hockey recently, and I don't want to get distracted. That's one of the things I've learned: When there's distractions, I don't play my best hockey. The mental aspect of the game is so important. This year, there's been a lot of distractions.”
Boeser has 49 points (25 goals, 24 assists) in 71 games this season, which followed his first 40-goal season in the NHL and a career-high 73 points in 2023-24. He got off to a quick start with 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in his first 12 games this season before sustaining a concussion on a hit by Los Angeles Kings forward Tanner Jeannot in a 4-2 win Nov. 11. Boeser missed the next seven games and Jeannot received a three-game suspension.
After he returned on Nov. 26, he had 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) in his next 48 games, but picked up his game down the stretch, with 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in his past 11 games.
The Canucks (36-29-13) were eliminated from contention for a Stanley Cup Playoff berth when the Minnesota Wild defeated the San Jose Sharks 8-7 in overtime Wednesday; last season, Vancouver finished first in the Pacific Division and advanced to the Western Conference Second Round, where it lost in seven games to the Edmonton Oilers. Boeser had 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in 12 playoff games.
The Canucks have failed to qualify for the playoffs in four of the past five seasons.
“It hurts,” Boeser said. “We wanted to be in the playoffs again so bad. If you get in, you never know what can happen. We were playing some good hockey when we had everyone in the lineup, and then we ran into more injury problems. We've had the distractions this year and injuries throughout the lineup all year. Yeah, it's been a rough year. But there's no excuses; we didn't win hockey games when we were supposed to.
“We look back at times this season where we struggled as a team, and if we were just a little better, we'd be in the hunt right now. It's frustrating.”
The No. 23 pick by Vancouver in the 2015 NHL Draft, Boeser has 433 points (204 goals, 229 assists) in 550 regular-season games and 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 29 playoff games.
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