Brock Boeser was fully prepared to find a new team Tuesday, but he ended up saying yes to a last-minute opportunity to remain with the Vancouver Canucks.
"It was a roller coaster. My head was spinning a lot during this time," Boeser said Wednesday, per NHL.com's Kevin Woodley. "I definitely didn't think that this was going to happen. A phone call in the last hour changed everything and I'm just happy that we could find common ground and work something out."
Boeser signed a seven-year, $50.75-million contract with the Canucks after he was widely expected to leave the club as one of the top free agents available this summer.
The Canucks shopped Boeser prior to the trade deadline in March but held onto the winger due to a lack of suitable offers. Late in the season, Boeser said it was unlikely he'd return to Vancouver after nine seasons with the club. Then Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin called Boeser's agent less than an hour before the 28-year-old was supposed to enter unrestricted free agency.
"In my head, I think I was fully set on going somewhere else," Boeser said. "And so I had kind of a list of teams in my head that I thought maybe would be good fits, and then I just still was kind of uneasy about everything. And then they called, and at the end of the day, I think my heart was still in Vancouver.
"That phone call kind of came out of nowhere, so it was definitely a shock to me, but the way I felt when that phone call came is I told my agent, I was like, 'Get a deal done.'"
Boeser recorded 25 goals and 25 assists in 75 games last season. He's collected 434 points in 554 contests with the Canucks.
Vancouver also signed goaltender Thatcher Demko and forward Conor Garland to extensions Tuesday as the club looks to get back in the playoff picture in the Western Conference.
