Bo Horvat’s agent says he’s a ‘number-one centre’

Bo Horvat and J.T. Miller are in the final year of their contracts. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman claims they are at a stalemate in contract negotiations. Sean Couturier's contract extension worth $7.75 million per year kicked in this season.

A $7.75 million cap hit for Bo Horvat would make him the second highest-paid forward on the Canucks behind Miller's $8 million. It would match Jason Robertson, who scored 41 goals last season, and Andrei Svechnikov, a 21-year-old who also scored 30 goals. Pat Morris, HorVat's agent, believes his client is a first-line centre.

Bo Horvat is not the number one centre on the Canucks. He is a second-line centre who plays on first power play unit. HorVat scored 13 goals on special teams last season. He's behind J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson in goals and points. His agent says he's a number-one centre. The Canucks have a lot of depth at centre, so it's not a clearcut number two.

Bo Horvat is a good player for the Canucks but not a number-one centre. HorVat finished 102nd in points among NHL forwards last season. He is 52nd on Evolving-Hockey’s Goals Above Replacement. He's a second-line centre on most other NHL teams. The bar for being a first-liner centre is higher.

Bo Horvat's agent, Morris, says he's a number-one centre. HorVat is 27 and he could be a free agent next season. There were some big contracts given to centres this past summer. Most of them are younger than Hor Vibert and they have out-produced him. Horvert is not close to a contract with the Canucks. He's not as valuable as some of the centres who signed this summer, like Nathan Mackinnon. They are all older than him, but they are better players. It's no wonder that he and the team are not getting close in their negotiations.