[ad_1]
Breadcrumb Trail Links
Brock Boeser and Jake Guentzel share the same agent. You can bet that Boeser is urging Guentzel to sign in Vancouver.
Get the latest from Patrick Johnston straight to your inbox
Published Jun 14, 2024 • Last updated 2 hours ago • 4 minute read
You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.
Brock Boeser and Jake Guentzel share the same agent. You can bet that Boeser is urging Guentzel to sign in Vancouver. Photo by Frank Franklin II /AP
Article content
If you’re someone who likes to draw straight lines in your hockey gossip, try this one on for size:
Advertisement 2
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
- Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events.
- Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account.
- The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.
- Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword.
- Support local journalism.
SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
- Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events.
- Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account.
- The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.
- Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword.
- Support local journalism.
REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
- Access articles from across Canada with one account.
- Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.
- Enjoy additional articles per month.
- Get email updates from your favourite authors.
Sign In or Create an Account
or
Article content
Brock Boeser and Jake Guentzel have the same agent.
A random observer might wonder if there’s reason to think that Boeser is doing what he can to urge Guentzel to consider joining the Vancouver Canucks, now that Guentzel appears set to hit unrestricted free agency.
You can bet that he’s suggested to his agent more than once that Guentzel would be a great fit with the Canucks, obviously on the ice, but off the ice too. Boeser, after all, has come to love his adopted hometown. You know he’ll sing Vancouver’s praises to anyone who will listen — but especially to high-profile potential teammates.
So that’s one direct line.
The other line you can draw, of course, is to the Canucks’ management team, who know Guentzel so well from their days with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Canucks Report
Thanks for signing up!
Article content
Advertisement 3
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Drafted by Pittsburgh in 2013, he signed on with Pittsburgh late in the 2015-16 season after three seasons with the University of Nebraska-Omaha. A high-scoring player in junior, he evolved into a top-end two-way player, scoring a point per game and taking on all the toughest matchups.
He played first with the Penguins’ farm team in Wilkes-Barre, quickly adjusting to pro hockey and by midway through the 2016-17 season was ready for the NHL. He made an immediate affect the Penguins, scoring at a point-per-game pace in the second half of the season, then scoring 13 goals in 25 playoff games.
His career has only carried on from there. He was a key player for the Penguins right until this spring, when he was the top trade target at the trade deadline. The Carolina Hurricanes ended up snagging him and he was a strong performer for Carolina down the stretch and in the playoffs.
Advertisement 4
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Now it seems likely he’ll hit free agency next month.
The funny thing here is that in a different universe, Guentzel might have already been a Vancouver Canuck.
At the 2016 trade deadline, a deadline where then-GM Jim Benning and his key AGM John Weisbrod ended up doing nothing, there was plenty of chatter around Canucks defenceman Dan Hamhuis, who was still one of the best blueliners in the game and a pending unrestricted free agent.
The veteran defenceman was one of two notable trade chips that Benning held; Radim Vrbata was the other. But rather than make a move that he felt wasn’t good enough, Benning chose to make no move at all.
Before the deadline there were trade talks with both the Dallas Stars and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins, you may recall, were then helmed by now-Canucks president Jim Rutherford, who was always looking to add blue-line depth.
Advertisement 5
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
A prospect was offered by the Penguins. The Stars offered a third-round pick.
In the end, neither was what Benning and Weisbrod thought the player was worth and for some reason felt that to accept a lesser offer would somehow hurt future negotiations. (Rutherford would end up moving a third-round pick to Edmonton for defenceman Justin Schultz.)
In pondering a trade with the Penguins, obviously a few names came up. One prospect who came up in the Canucks’ internal discussions was a young forward with the University of Nebraska-Omaha: Jake Guentzel. Now at the time, he wasn’t a player who anyone thought would be a 40-goal scorer, or even a key player a year later in a Stanley Cup chase, but scouts saw a player who did everything well. He’s Swiss Army-type forward now, and even then he was that player, though obviously at a lower level. If they needed a goal, often it was Guentzel who would make it happen. He killed penalties. He lined up against the opposition’s best players. Sometimes he would take the big faceoffs, even though he was nominally a winger
Advertisement 6
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Simply put, he was The Man for Omaha.
Now whether he was the player put on the table by the Penguins, or even whether Benning and Weisbrod heeded the input of their scouts on Guentzel isn’t known. The duo generally kept their own counsel, usually meeting one on one, the door closed to Benning’s office.
Even team president Trevor Linden would have to poke his head in to inquire on what was going on.
But there’s little doubt his name was in consideration.
Anyway, fast forward to today: there’s little doubt that Guentzel is on the Canucks’ radar.
They made inquiries after Guentzel when the veteran winger was on the trade block going into the trade deadline this season. There’s chatter now that the Canucks might even look to flip a mid-round draft pick in the coming weeks to get direct negotiating rights to the player, before of the market opening on July 1.
Advertisement 7
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
And you know when the market opens on July 1, if Guentzel hasn’t been flipped anywhere, you know the Canucks will come calling.
And maybe then, finally, Guentzel will be a Canuck.
pjohnston@postmedia.com
Recommended from Editorial
-
Why the Canucks are hoping to trade Ilya Mikheyev
-
Could the Canucks trade Filip Hronek? Sure
Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add VancouverSun.com and TheProvince.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.
You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber: For just $14 a month, you can get unlimited access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province.
Article content
Share this article in your social network
[ad_2]
Source link
Fitnessnacks – #Canucks #Brock #Boeser #love #Jake #Guentzel #teammate
Courtesy : https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/canucks-brock-boeser-jake-guentzel-share-agent