NHL Rumors: Insider drops Brock Boeser bombshell, claims Canucks only circled back after losing $5.4M center to Flyers

Brock Boeser’s return to Vancouver came as a surprise to many. On Tuesday, the forward signed a seven-year, $50.75 million contract with the Canucks. However, according to NHL insider Rick Dhaliwal, Boeser was not the team’s first choice on Tuesday.

Speaking on Wednesday's edition of the "Donnie and Dhali" podcast, Dhaliwal said the Canucks were focused on signing center Christian Dvorak. Vancouver reportedly entered a bidding war with Philadelphia for Dvorak but lost out. Dvorak signed a one-year, $5.4 million deal with the Flyers.

"Brock had options. I've been told that he had five serious offers on the table," Dhaliwal said. "They were going down the pathway of cutting a deal with another team.

"Then out of the blue, the Canucks call with one hour to go and free and you knows why they called because the Canucks' No. 1 priority on July 1 was not Brock Boeser, it was Christian Dvorak."

Dvorak was expected to play as a third-line center in Vancouver. He chose to sign with Philadelphia instead. After losing Dvorak, the Canucks turned to Boeser.

"The Canucks got into a bidding war with Philadelphia over Dvorak," Dhaliwal said. ... "When Dvorak said, 'Sorry,' they ran out of options at the center. They had to go to Brock. They had to go to Brock and say, 'Okay, we'll fix the center position, maybe early next year in a trade.'"

Boeser, who had 50 points last season, will now enter his 10th season with the Canucks, the longest-tenured player on the team.

Canucks GM's comments on Brock Boeser's signing

Despite the last-minute shift in plans, Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin praised Brock Boeser's return.

“Brock has been a huge part of our organization, and we are extremely happy to have him back in the fold,” Allvin said, according to NHL.com. “He has scored some big goals for our hockey club and has established himself as a very dangerous offensive player.”

Allvin also credited Boeser’s agent for keeping talks open, even while Boeser vacationed overseas. Boeser has 434 career points in 554 NHL games.

Boeser also described the past few days as confusing. He said his head was spinning during free agency talks.

"I definitely didn't think that this was going to happen," Boeser said on Wednesday, according to NHL.com." 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 was glad both sides found common ground, and he now looks forward to continuing his career in Vancouver.