4 Possible Landing Spots for Canucks’ Bo Horvat in Deadline Trade

It was reported this week that Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat rejected the club’s latest contract offer and the team is now pivoting to the trade market in regard to the pending unrestricted free agent. Horvat has a ton to offer contenders as an offensively capable, defensively responsible center with excellent leadership skills, among many other attributes that have value.

Despite his pending UFA status, there will be plenty of suitors given the plethora of avenues Horvat has to help a postseason club go on a deep run. Horvat’s pro-rated $5.5M cap hit for the 2022-23 season is reasonable given his services but plenty of teams will have to no doubt move money around to fit him under the budget.

Let’s look at four teams that should be giving Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin and president Jim Rutherford a ring to see what it will take to snag a unique player prior to the March 3 NHL Trade Deadline.

Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche have been decimated with injuries to their forward group this year, most recently to superstar Nathan MacKinnon. The club has also been waiting for captain Gabriel Landeskog to make his season debut following October knee surgery while Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen have missed time as well. Furthermore, Evan Rodrigues and Darren Helm remain out of the Avs’ lineup.

Related: Horvat Rejects Contract From Canucks, Team Focused on Trade

Keep in mind this is also a club that lost second-line center Nazem Kadri to the Calgary Flames in free agency. As a result, it appears to be a perfect match for both player and team on paper. Horvat would slide in nicely behind MacKinnon as the club’s second-line center, perhaps skate on the top power-play unit, kill penalties, and win faceoffs as he’s done at an elite 57.7% clip this season, good for a share of 12th among players who have taken at least 300 draws this season. Horvat leads the NHL with 678 faceoffs taken this season.

Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic is as bold as it gets so don’t be surprised if he lands Horvat in search of back-to-back Stanley Cup championships.

Carolina Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes could be another club looking to add an impact center to their roster for a postseason run.

The ‘Canes aren’t short on center depth, but they don’t exactly have any high-end options over the currently-injured Sebastian Aho. The top four healthy centers in Carolina right now are Paul Stastny, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jordan Staal, and Derek Stepan. While players such as Stastny and Staal have plenty to offer in the postseason, Kotkaniemi has struggled to produce and veteran Stepan has one point in 25 games along with 8:52 time on ice per game.

Horvat is a major upgrade for a team that needs to add a true No. 2 center to their group. With 29 points in 28 games and plenty of intangibles to bring to the table, Horvat would be a nice fit in Raleigh.

New York Rangers

Speculation about the Rangers adding a major piece at some point has been constant as the club sports more cap space than the majority of postseason contenders. They’re also a little unsure at the center-ice position.

After Mika Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck has largely skated as the team’s second-line pivot. Trocheck is a fine player with 20 points in 30 games but struggled to connect with Artemi Panarin consistently, forcing head coach Gerard Gallant to put his lines in a blender almost on a nightly basis. Filip Chytil and Jonny Brodzinski currently round out the Rangers’ depth chart at center.

Currently sitting in the second Wild Card spot in the east, the Rangers will be in a dogfight to get into the postseason. Horvat is certainly an upgrade on Trocheck in the 2C slot in the Big Apple, giving New York the ability to slide Trocheck (who has 99 hits on the season) into a third-line center role and perhaps moving Chytil to the wing.

Regardless, Horvat could be the impact player the Rangers need to avoid scratching and clawing for the next few months.

Minnesota Wild

After a dreadful start to the season, the Minnesota Wild have won six of their last eight games and have tied the Avalanche for third place in the Central Division albeit with the Avs owning a game in hand. Perhaps a bidding war for Horvat takes place in the Central, after all.

Joel Eriksson Ek has enjoyed a really fine season for Minnesota with 23 points in 28 games, but the Wild continue to deploy him to use his elite defensive skills on the third line. After Eriksson Ek, the second-best producing center on the Wild is Fredrick Goudreau and Connor Dewar with 10 points and Sam Steel with eight. Part-time center Mason Shaw has nine points.

The club’s offense has taken a significant step back this season, ranking 20th after finishing fifth last season. The Wild also sit 24th in faceoff percentage, an area Horvat can help in a major way.

Following a sluggish start, the Wild could become a threat in a hurry with Horvat on board.

Next: NHL Trade Talk Podcast: Rumors on Boeser, Horvat, Karlsson