As per Darren Dreger, who appeared on Sekeres and Price , the Canucks would like to keep Bo Horvat, but they aren’t rushing a deal. As such, they believe there’s a potential this becomes a distraction over the course of the season and note, “The Horvat contact is going to hang out there.”
As much as having these types of negotiations linger and cast a shadow over a player’s season, the Canucks are in no hurry to sign the forward. The bigger concern for the team was not having both the J.T. Miller and Horvat extensions not completed and possibly being a distraction. With Miller done, the Canucks are less concerned.
Dreger notes, “They’d like to keep Bo Horvat, they would, but it feels like there’s a concession required, it’s going to have to come from the player’s side and I don’t know what that looks like. Either in terms or in money.” The NHL Insider adds, “But the messaging I continue to get is that there is no hurry.”
This has to be a bit frustrating for the player who is seeing other contracts get taken care of but not his. Still, Dreger says the Canucks are digging in their heels on this one and intend to simply wait. “I don’t suspect that’s going to change,” says Dreger.
The issue seems to be Horvat’s ask. Elliotte Friedman recently noted, “One of the comparables there I think is Couturier, 7.75… Do you really think that you’re going to get Horvat in the 6 millions? C’mon. It’s starting with 7 at least and we’ll see where it goes”. Clearly, there is a disconnect between the player and the organization. If Horvat feels he’s worth just shy of $8 million and the Canucks don’t want to pay much more than $6 million, this one could drag on for some time.
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