Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
Bo Horvat’s future with the Vancouver Canucks remains a hot topic of media speculation. The Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights have been mentioned among the potential destinations.
On Saturday, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek mentioned that “a lot of people” had talked about the 27-year-old Horvat perhaps heading to the Colorado Avalanche. Meanwhile, Elliotte Friedman wondered if the Seattle Kraken might get into the bidding.
The Avalanche have been lacking an experienced second-line center since Nazem Kadri departed for Calgary last August. Horvat would definitely address that issue.
However, The Athletic’s Peter Baugh believes the Avs lack sufficient trade chips to meet the Canucks’ asking price. His colleague, Pierre LeBrun, reported last month that they would seek a “hockey deal” to upgrade at center or defense rather than a return of future assets.
Cap Friendly also shows Colorado with limited cap space. The Canucks would have to retain part of Horvat’s remaining cap hit, while the Avalanche would have to send them a player to make the dollars fit.
Meanwhile, the Kraken are jockeying for playoff contention in their second NHL season. They possess sufficient trade deadline cap room to take on Horvat’s prorated salary and possess plenty of draft picks to offer up as trade bait. The problem is they don’t have enough young tradeable roster assets to suit the Canucks’ immediate needs.
Young centers Matty Beniers and Shane Wright would undoubtedly interest the Canucks. However, the Kraken won’t part with either of those two for a veteran who will likely test the free-agent market on July 1.
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