MASSIVE Canucks Contract Update...Insiders Reveals CRAZY Details

Elliott Friedman has chimed in on the Brock Besser talks, adding his piece on what it'll take to keep Brock happy in Vancouver. And Frank Seravalli drops a massive scoop on a reported offer made to Besser that will be indicative of what the Canucks do going forward. We're going to be breaking down all of that in this episode of Canucks Digest, but first, if you're enjoying this Canucks content and you want to stay up to date, make sure to hit that subscribe button and join the nearly 30% of viewers that are already subscribed. And with that, let's hop into the first topic of the day, which is Friedman pitches Besser term. So on 32 Thoughts podcast earlier today, Elliott Friedman was talking about the Brock Besser situation, what it'll take to keep Brock in Vancouver. He says, the Canucks prefer five years for Brock Besser, which makes me think six is not impossible. But will that be enough? Besser is a very good human, a loyal Canuck, but it's very hard to see everyone rewarded around you and wonder if your time will come. The tough business, the one thing I don't see is Vancouver allowing itself to get worse in the middle of a playoff fight. It's so hard for them to score, and they can't afford to move Besser without a replacement. We saw that on full display just last night against Anaheim Ducks, where we choked a 2-0 lead to lose 5-2 thanks to an empty netter at the end of the game and a late third period goal that made it 4-2. But yes, this is a very tough situation for the Canucks because we're trying to make a playoff push here. We are trying to make things work where we can just go into this playoffs and not have to lose any big pieces so we can carry a little bit of momentum and just have Bonafide goal scorers on our team. I know it hasn't been the season that we have been hoping for Besser following a 40-goal season, but he's still on pace for about 25-plus goals this season. So it's still a matter of time before Besser just finds that click. And what is our biggest fear, like we've said with players like JT Miller and the prospect of trading Elias Pettersson, is that you trade him to a contender or a really good team, especially one that you're going to have to play if he stays in the West, and he goes and dominates for that team and ends up winning the Stanley Cup with that team. Or just ends up reaching career-high numbers that you just wish he could have reached for the Canuck. Because, like Elliott said, he's such a loyal Canuck, a member of this community. He has just been a pillar of Vancouver, not only the team, but also the city. Ever since he showed up here and has tried to make an impact not only on, but off the ice as well, while also being one of the best players that we have in our organization, that we've ever had, really, for that matter. You look at the goals that he's scored. I've said it so many times. He is the most clutch player that we have. The goals that he scores, when he scores them, what they mean, it is everything. You need a comeback to get sparked, you look to Brock Besser. You need someone to get the game going and get an early first period goal, Brock Besser is there. You need someone to put the team on your back and to be that X-Factor and that difference maker that just decimates teams, Brock Besser is that guy. So yes, it hasn't been like that this season necessarily, but last season he was absolutely that guy. And he goes to show that he can be that guy. And it goes to show why the Canucks need to re-sign him. I know looking at his contract, only on a three-year deal at the end of it this season, 6.65, so yes, him wanting six years is still pretty lengthy because of his age at 28 years old, so he will be pretty in his mid-30s, early to mid-30s, sorry, by the time that that contract would end if he gets six. Five years seems like the Canucks might be able to do a little bit more with that just Just based on how much they would have to pay. per season but still this is something where we're going to be monitoring it basically until the trade deadline because the Canucks have said they don't want to lose guys for nothing or have rentals. Brock Besser that's a very valuable piece that if you can't re-sign him you're going to have to move on from him and try and get something by March 7th which sucks because no matter what we trade away we're not going to get the immediate return on Brock Besser that we want and especially when we're trying to make a playoff push. It's a very very tough situation where the Canucks are almost pressured. To have to sign Brock Besser now or not at all and have to lose him in the spring and not even have him for a playoff push before that contract expires. So this is a very, very tough situation for Vancouver. And everyone knows how I feel about this, where I would love to keep Brock Besser around no matter what. However, I do understand the financial hole that we would be putting ourselves in if we are to re-sign him to a big extension. So it's a very tough situation. If I was Patrick Alvin, I do not envy the position that he is in right now. I don't envy the position that Jim Rutherford is in right now. I just hope that they can make this work for both sides and hopefully keep Brock as a Vancouver Canuck for just a little bit longer. But what do you guys think about this down in the comments? Do you think it's fair to give Brock five or six years? Or would you go a little bit less considering his age and his health issues? Let us know what you guys think down in the comments below. But that's going to take us into our second topic of the day, which is Sarah Vallee drops a massive Besser scoop. So on Twitter this morning, retweeting from Frank Sarah Vallee's tweet about his show that he was having today. David Quadrelli was saying that according to Frank in here, the Canucks offered Brock Besser a five-year contract at $8 million a year, $40 million total. Besser is looking for more term than that. And the full quote here that was on Daily Faceoff, Sarah Valley goes into it saying, The Canucks put a five-year, $40 million offer on the table, but Besser is looking for more term in this slow-moving game of chicken. Expected to heat up this week, the Canucks essentially dared him to go out and replicate his 40-goal season. He's on track for 28 with seven games missed due to injury, which is close to his career average. Now, with the increasing cap on his side, he's a younger UFA, and the Canucks are really going to need scoring support if they have designs on competing anytime soon. Plus, they currently have the cap room to re-sign him, and it's not a huge jump in AAV compared to what he's currently making. So I definitely agree with this here, where the Canucks seem like they do have the money to be able to do this. They are meeting the price that Brock wants. In the reports that we were seeing, Brock Besser wanted $8 million a year, and it seems like the Canucks are willing to offer him exactly that. However, the Canucks are essentially asking Besser to leave roughly $16 million USD on the table. As any contract he signs in free agency would almost certainly be for seven years and close to the cap that the Canucks are offering. Quadrelli reported on Thursday evening that the Canucks would make one more offer to Besser ahead of the deadline. If that offer isn't up to Besser's liking, the Canucks will presumably explore trading him ahead of the deadline so they don't lose him for nothing. That being said, they may also elect to keep him as their own rental. And although you may not necessarily agree with that idea, it likely helps the club secure playoff games, something we know matters a ton in this ownership group. And that last part there, I think, is the big one. We know the Canucks don't want to have rentals. We know the Canucks don't want to lose guys for nothing, like I said in the first topic. However, if it comes at this expense where we can't afford to lose Brock because we want to win playoff games, but we also can't afford to just re-sign him to a longer seven-year deal like he's been wanting, we can meet the number. It seems like the number is able to be met as far as salary, but just the term is the one that is very troublesome, it seems. And like it said in the article there, if other teams are willing to offer that just right off the bat, give him that seven years and eight million a year, he's going to jump at that regardless, I think. So Vancouver has a very, very pressured situation, even more so now where, yes, as much as it would suck to use Brock Besser, a franchise player, as a rental for a hopeful playoff run where it's not looking like the strongest of playoff runs, if the season were to end today, we'd probably get swept in the first round, if I'm being honest, or at least five games. So yeah, it's not looking very bright as far as that goes. So Vancouver has a big decision to make. Do you sell on this season and get rid of Brock Besser? Or do you keep him as a one-year rental if you can't get a deal done and just plow through this with the best optimism and enjoy the glory days while you have them? Or do you just back up the Brinks truck and give him what he wants? Which of those three options would you guys rather see for Brock Besser to stay in Vancouver or to go off on another team or to stay as a one-year rental? Let us know what you guys have to say down in the comments below and what do you guys think is going to be the Canucks' biggest move that they make at the trade deadline. I know Brock Besser is the one being floated out there, but with all the rumors that are floating around, I know we're focusing on Besser and Pedersen a lot. But we can't forget Carson Soucy, Derek Forbert, Nils Hoaglander, even though he's scoring now, that's bumping that stock up as well. We are seeing other guys that are potentially on the trade block that the Canucks have also said are on the trade block, like Carson Soucy. So what other guys besides the main two that we've been talking about with Brock Besser and Elias Pettersson, which of the other guys do you think are most likely to get traded before the trade deadline coming up on March 7th? Let us know what you guys have to say down in the comments below. We'd love to hear you guys' feedback, and it's going to be a very exciting ride up until the trade deadline. We're going to have so many updates coming your guys' way, so many rumors to cover, so many concrete offers to cover, and trades to cover. It's going to be a very busy week and two weeks, I should say, for Canucks fans and for us, so stay tuned for all the new updates. Leave a like, comment, subscribe, hit that bell icon so you don't miss any updates when they drop, but with that, I've been your host, Griffin. Take care.