All signs point to Canucks sniper Brock Boeser being ready for the season after he told reporters he’s off blood thinners and has been cleared for contact, via Noah Strang of Daily Hive Vancouver. He missed the final game of Vancouver’s season, a Game 7 loss to the Oilers in the second round, after scans showed clotting that stemmed from a blocked shot earlier in the series.
However, Boeser, 27, isn’t entirely out of the woods yet. He made it clear the situation will be one to “monitor throughout this season,” Strang said. He also added that he’ll need to wear compression gear on flights to prevent additional clotting issues.
After a breakout 40-goal, 73-point regular season, the clotting issue didn’t impact Boeser’s usual offseason training routine too much. During Vancouver’s end-of-season media availability in May, the winger said that he anticipated being ready for training camp in the fall. He didn’t disclose Monday if his contact clearance was a recent development or if it came earlier in the offseason.
And, as expected, Boeser also said he hasn’t begun negotiations on a contract extension and will instead let those play out after the season starts, per Strang. Boeser is entering the final season of a three-year, $19.95M deal with a $6.65M AAV, one he’ll eclipse by a significant amount if he can repeat last season’s showing.
It’s unlikely that will be the case, though. Boeser could still earn a raise, but expecting him to hit the 40-goal mark again seems unrealistic. The Minnesota native shot 19.6% last season – nearly six points above his career average. With an expected regression to the 13-14% range, the 30-goal plateau is still reachable.
He still projects to play a starring role on a new-look Canucks offense that now features Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen and Daniel Sprong, replacing some outgoing names like Sam Lafferty, Elias Lindholm and Ilya Mikheyev. He’s slated to start the season as Vancouver’s top right wing in first-line minutes alongside J.T. Miller.
