Canucks' Boeser entering contract year surrounded by high expectations

PENTICTON, B.C. — Talk about a tough crowd. 

Brock Boeser had never scored 30 goals in a National Hockey League season until he scored 40 last year, and then someone suggested he should have had 50.

And that was his general manager!

“I think I could have had 50, too,” Boeser said Friday. “I had four disallowed and I got cold there for a little bit. That's the thing, like, it's hard to be consistent in this league. That's why there's not many 50-goal scorers or 100-point guys. It gets hard to stay consistent all year. That's one thing I think I'm focused on this year — making sure I'm bringing it every single night.”

The four disallowed goals by Boeser were all on video reviews after friend and linemate, J.T. Miller, either went offside or interfered with the goalie. 

“Sorry,” Miller said last season.

Maybe GM Patrik Allvin was considering that quartet when, during Wednesday’s pre-training camp press conference, he said about Boeser’s contractual status, “For now, his main focus is to come back here and play to the level that he showed last year, and even be more consistent. I told him he could’ve scored 50 goals, but I felt he took his foot off the gas when he scored 30. And we want to see him pushing through.”

Allvin’s blunt observation was a little surprising because Boeser’s previous career-high was 29 goals, set during the Minnesotan winger’s rookie season in 2017-18.

After starting last season with a four-goal game in the Canucks’ 8-1 romp over the Edmonton Oilers, Boeser reached his long-stated target of scoring 30 when he had a hat trick in a 5-4 win against Columbus on Jan. 27. 

The 27-year-old then went seven games without scoring, and in March endured a nine-game spell when he managed only a single goal. But Boeser validated his strong regular season by scoring seven times in 12 playoff games, including another hat trick in a 4-3 win in Game 4 of the opening round against the Nashville Predators.

And Boeser could have made a difference in Game 7 of the second round but was forced to miss the Canucks’ 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers due to blood clots in his lower leg — the result of a contusion from blocking a shot earlier in the series.

“I think Patrik just meant Brock had a chance to score 50,” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said Friday. “It was more like, ‘Hey, man, keep going, you can score 50.’”

As Boeser indicated, there really wasn’t anything wrong with what Allvin said. But anything Canucks management says about the player this season is going to get noticed because, just like Elias Pettersson last year, Boeser is going into the final year of his contract.

But unlike Pettersson, whose offence began to collapse late last season as contract pressure intensified, Boeser is eligible for full, unrestricted free agency next July.

After consecutive three-year “show-me” bridge deals in Vancouver, Boeser is now starting a show-me season after scoring 47 times in 93 games.

“I just like three-year deals,” Boeser quipped on Friday. “We've made it known to them that I'll sign long term here, so we'll see what happens. I mean, it's kind of out of my control. I'm just worried about winning, honestly. With the guys we signed, I think we have an amazing group of hockey players. I think we're going to be unreal this year.

“I think (the contract) was more on my mind last time. This time, I haven't thought about it as much as when I was younger.

“I think my mindset was so focused on winning last year, things just happened naturally. So I think that's one of the things I work on — trying to just focus on winning a day at a time. When I start thinking about, 'I need to score,' I don't score. That's when I think I play bad. I overthink things.”

It would be easy to overthink his blood-clot issue, too. If he had gone into the summer fully healthy, the Canucks may have been more willing to open negotiations on a long-term extension. 

In interviews with Sportsnet, both Allvin and Canucks president Jim Rutherford have said they believe in Boeser, want to see him build on the new level he established last season, and management will start talking to agent Ben Hankinson in due time. 

As Allvin confirmed last weekend, the franchise must make a decision on their leading goal-scorer before the NHL trade deadline next March.

Relaxed but focused, Boeser certainly doesn’t seem distracted in training camp.

Through the first two days, Miller, Boeser and new linemate Danton Heinen have looked every bit like a superior NHL top line. They appear fast and sharp, and they’ve started virtually every drill for their training group, accepting Tocchet’s pre-camp challenge to players to come to the rink ready to go and with higher expectations than a year ago.

“They're obviously really smart and have a lot of chemistry. . . from playing with each other,” Heinen said of his camp linemates. “It's natural for them now. In certain spots on the ice, they know where they're going. So for me, it's trying to read off them, trying to learn their tendencies, listening to them and what they want. Try to win puck battles, try to get pucks in their hands, try to go to the net and try to make some high-end plays. That's what I think I can bring to that line.”

Tocchet praised Heinen’s camp so far. The 29-year-old winger from Langley, B.C., scored 17 goals for the Boston Bruins last season and is one of four fast and skilled forwards that Allvin added in free agency.

Still, Tocchet isn’t predicting 50 goals for Boeser.

“I don't put pressure on points and assists on players,” Tocchet said. “I just want Brock to know that when he does the right things, he's a really good player. I think he had three empty-net goals last year; I don't think in the past anybody played him in that situation (with the lead late in games). I've given him that responsibility, and he wants it, and he's passed the test. Now he knows he's got to continue.

“We've had some really good discussions and there's been times where I've put heat on him — I'm not going to say why — and he's accepted it. He doesn't go in the corner and pout; he stands up the next day. That's what I really respect about Brock. I know it's hard, the contract. I'm sure he’s had the same worries: 'I might get traded. Where am I going?' I think he's just got to stay focused and use the past and what he’s been through as a resource.”

CAMP NOTES — Centre Teddy Blueger was expected to miss camp after off-season surgery, but appeared on Day 2 on Friday. . . Tocchet said he hadn’t yet received the final results of Canucks fitness testing but lauded the conditioning of Miller, Nils Hoglander and Daniel Sprong. . . Veteran energy forward Sammy Blais, at camp on a tryout, has caught Tocchet’s attention. . . After a concussion and an aborted return to the ice last spring seemed to imperil Guillaume Brisebois’ career, the 27-year-old defenceman is skating at camp with the least-experienced, entry-level players in Group C. Tocchet explained the team wants to allow Brisebois to work his way back in increments, and believes it’s better for him to start with the younger group before hopefully rejoining the NHL group during the pre-season. The longest-tenured player in the organization, Brisebois was going to finally make the Canucks roster one year ago until he was concussed by Brandon Tanev’s pre-season hit. Tocchet said Brisebois is "passing the test so far."