It takes time for the mortar to dry when building around a cornerstone. The process can't be rushed.
The Vancouver Canucks seem to have been in no hurry to secure the future of their best building block in 22-year-old restricted free-agent forward Bo Horvat. General manager Jim Benning calls it a typical negotiation process, according to Ben Kuzma of The Province.
"I think the talks are progressing and I think we’ll get something done," Benning said.
It appears Horvat is next in line to be named captain and become the new face of the franchise with Henrik and Daniel Sedin entering the final year of their contracts at cap hits of $7 million.
Horvat broke out to lead the Canucks with 52 points in 2016-17. He's totaled 117 points in his first 231 NHL games since being selected with the No. 9 pick in the 2013 draft.
The $14 million owed to the Sedins for the upcoming season leaves the Canucks with a little over $8.1 million in cap space, according to Cap Friendly. The front office needs to re-sign just two RFAs in Horvat and forward Brendan Gaunce.
According to Kuzma, Benning expects to reach an agreement with Horvat before training camp.
"I would say that everything has been positive to this point and we’ll just continue to go through the process because Bo is a very good young player for us and we want to figure something out that is fair to him and fair to the team," Benning said.
Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.