Brock Boeser’s name keeps floating around NHL trade rumors, and somehow, despite being one of the more reliable snipers in the league, he’s once again rumored to be available.
This isn’t the first time his name has come up in trade speculation, and yet, the Vancouver Canucks still haven’t made a clear decision on what they actually want to do.
One moment, they’re a playoff team.
The next, there are talks about a potential rebuild.
But if they are indeed open to moving him, the New Jersey Devils should be paying attention because their offense issues are only becoming more obvious.
The Devils have the talent, but it doesn’t seem to be translating as it should.
And the game against the Philadelphia Flyers was another reminder of that.
It was a 4-2 loss, and New Jersey didn’t even score until late in the second period when they were already down three goals.
This has become a frustrating trend: plenty of possession and skill players, but not enough who prioritize shooting the puck.
They have playmakers, sure, but they need a finisher.
They need someone who doesn’t hesitate when the puck is on their stick, someone who is wired to find the back of the net, and that’s exactly what Boeser does.
Now, let’s actually look at what he brings to the table because it’s easy to say a team should trade for a guy without addressing whether he’s worth the investment.
Boeser scored 40 goals last season and finished with 73 points in 81 games.
This year, he’s still producing at a strong pace, with 16 goals in 42 games, putting him on track for around 30 again.
His shooting percentage is 19.5%, almost the same as last year’s 19.6%, so he’s been consistent.
New Jersey needs that kind of goal-scoring, and if they want to go further this season, this move could help them.
Right now, they have too many players who like to pass and not enough guys who just shoot the puck.
Their power play is another problem, which has been frustratingly inconsistent.
If you just look at the numbers, three goals in their last five games don’t sound awful, but then you realize all three came in one game against Boston.
That means in the other four, the Devils had nothing with the man advantage, and that’s a major problem for a team with so much offensive talent.
They need someone who can sit in the left circle and wait for Jack Hughes or Jesper Bratt to find them––someone who can one-time the puck without hesitation.
And that’s what Boeser does.
But the Devils have been linked to J.T. Miller, another Canucks forward, and for some reason, this idea keeps coming back.
The problem is that Miller doesn’t fit what New Jersey needs.
He’s a talented player, but with Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier already locked in as the team’s top two centers, where exactly is Miller going to play?
On the third line?
That doesn’t make sense financially or in terms of lineup construction.
The Devils need a scoring winger, not another center who would be forced into a role that doesn’t maximize his strengths.
Miller is a good player, but Boeser is the better fit.
So what’s the price?
That’s the real question, and recent trades around the league might give us some insight into what it would take to close a deal.
The massive trade between the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes that sent Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall to Carolina was expected to set the market, but the biggest surprise?
No first-round pick was involved.
That’s huge because it means acquiring high-end talent might not be as expensive as it has been in previous years.
And that’s important for New Jersey because they already traded their 2025 first-round pick when they acquired Jacob Markström, a move that’s working out well so far.
If a package of second-round picks and a prospect is enough to get Boeser, then Fitzgerald should already be making calls.
Of course, if the Devils can’t land Boeser, there are other options, though none of them are quite as exciting.
Former Devil Kyle Palmieri has appeared on TSN’s Trade Bait Board at No. 24, and while he’s still producing at a solid rate—12 goals and 32 points in 49 games—he’s not a game-changer in the way that Boeser is.
Palmieri would be a solid depth addition, maybe even a decent fallback option, but he’s not the answer to New Jersey’s scoring problems.
And if they are going to make a trade, they should aim for someone who can push them forward, and that’s Boeser.
The trade deadline is still over a month away, but the market is already moving, and the Devils don’t have time to wait.
Fitzgerald has already said he wants to add a third-line center, but this team’s issues go beyond that.
They need another goal-scorer who can help unlock this offense’s full potential, and Boeser is one of the best available players who can do that.
Vancouver is open to making a move; the asking price might not be as high as expected, and the Devils have the assets to close the deal.
The only question now is whether they’ll actually make the move before someone else does.
