By all indications, he was gone.

After the Canucks didn’t deal or sign Brock Boeser at the trade deadline (and when they essentially said the offers they got for him were bad), it seemed like a matter of time before the club let the winger walk for nothing. 

Then, a twist. After letting Boeser get to July 1 as an unrestricted free agent, general manager Patrik Allvin and president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford flipped the script and announced that Boeser was coming back to play for the only NHL team he’s known. 

The deal is seven years long and will cost $7.25 million against the cap. Depending on who you talk to, it’s a slight hometown discount, at least relatively compared to what other players are being paid today. 

The Canucks keep Boeser at a somewhat reasonable price (relative to what was out there). Just needs to get back closer to his 23-24 level to be worth it. pic.twitter.com/fg22XHbkQT

— dom (@domluszczyszyn) July 1, 2025

 Boeser is 28 years old. He’s coming off a 50-point season after racking up 73 points the year before. Obviously, the conditions around the Canucks changed year to year and it wasn’t hard to see that Boeser, like many on the team, wore the effects of a tough season last year. 

He’s still one of the better goal scorers in the NHL and, if Elias Pettersson can bounce back or Filip Chytil can stay healthy, he can likely find chemistry with a pass-first centre. Speed has never been Boeser’s calling card, and it’s possible the contract starts to age badly in the back half. But as the salary cap rises, Boeser should still be able to be a productive player into his 30s. 

Just as important as the on-ice factors is what Boeser means to the team, the fanbase, and the community. 

Brock Boeser never wanted to leave Canucks. Was hurt by how things were handled at the deadline, but follows his heart to stay in Vancouver when team circled back. Huge morning for team — resigning its own players who want to stay.

— Iain MacIntyre (@imacSportsnet) July 1, 2025

It would have been difficult to see Boeser play for another team, and that has been avoided. For many in the fanbase, that’s important. The longest-tenured Canuck is sticking around. And you have to think that the Canucks had Quinn Hughes’ next contract in mind with this as well. 

As much as it may be tempting, the Canucks aren’t about to ignite a rebuild. With a solid defence and top calibre netminders, the only real move is to hope Elias Pettersson can find his form as a top NHL centre again. Having Boeser in tow should help him do that. 

It’s a lot of money and a lot of years, but Boeser was one of the top free agents on the market. We likely won’t see what top dog Nikolaj Ehlers gets on the market today, but the price will likely be very high. To have Boeser locked in for seven years at a relatively manageable hit is nice work.

Grade: B+

Am I being a bit of a softy here? Maybe. There’s a decent chance the last couple years of this contract are pretty hard to stomach. 

But I don’t think anyone wanted to see Brock Boeser, the person, leave Vancouver.