Bo Horvat is in the middle of an outstanding season for the Vancouver Canucks but he might finish it with another team.
The Canucks captain has already reached the 30-goal mark and the season is barely half over. He’s on pace for 57 goals, which would be the third-best season in Canucks history behind two 60-goal seasons by Pavel Bure. He has a chance to set the franchise record, in fact, with a few more hot streaks in the second half of the season.
Unfortunately, the team as a whole is not having the same level of success, so Horvat won’t be setting any franchise records. Instead, he’s likely to be traded.
On Monday, Jim Rutherford said that the Canucks have already given Horvat their best offer and it has been rejected.
“We have, I believe, taken our best shot,” said Rutherford. “The contract we have on the table for Bo right now, I think is a fair contract for what he’s done up until this year. But it’s certainly under market value for what he’s done this year.
“So we’re in a pickle here. He’s had a career year, a career run, and he’s looking for his money. He deserves it, I don’t blame him. But even with what we have on the table for him now, without any changes…we’re well over the cap on the projection.”
There’s an argument to be made that the Canucks shouldn’t re-sign Horvat at this point — his astonishing goalscoring pace is likely to make his next contract far too dear for a Canucks team with minimal cap space available and he’s unlikely to score at this pace again.
In any case, whether the Canucks should re-sign Horvat is a moot point if they can’t re-sign him. That means the Canucks have to trade Horvat because they can’t afford to let him walk in free agency for nothing.
The rumour mill has been busy, connecting Horvat to the Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, and Seattle Kraken. It’s enough to make your head spin, but Horvat is keeping his noggin on an even keel.
“I’ve been here for a lot of years and the media gets out there, no matter what,” said Horvat. “We all hear it in here, we’re not blind to it, obviously. It’s just how you tune it out. There’s nothing that we can do to do or change what’s going on out there, it’s purely what’s going on in here, that’s all we’re worried about.”
When Horvat was asked if he’s gotten better at tuning out the noise over time, he laughed.
“Oh yeah, big time,” said Horvat. “Deleting Twitter and stuff like that was probably the best thing I’ve ever done. Just blocking out the noise and just focusing on myself, my game, and not letting anybody try to get to me.”
Horvat still has his social media accounts, both Twitter and Instagram, and has even casually trolled his haters on both platforms. He no longer has the associated apps on his phone, however, which ensures that he at least doesn’t have outside news and negativity in his back pocket at all times.
“Obviously, you hear the noise and you hear everything going on outside,” said Horvat. “It’s not just online but you see it on TV — it’s tough to ignore but at the same time, for me, it’s just trying to get better every single day and that’s getting points, scoring goals, doing little things to help our team win.”
If deleting Twitter has helped Horvat score 30 goals, maybe more people — not just hockey players — should follow suit.
