The Vancouver Canucks are standing at a crossroads, and neither pathway seems all that appealing.
The entire NHL knows J.T. Miller is on the trade block, and while a deal was nearly completed with the New York Rangers on the weekend, he remains a member of the Canucks — for now.
The Rangers and Canucks negotiations reportedly fell apart after a disagreement over how much of Miller’s $8 million contract would be retained, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. With five years after this one left on Miller’s deal, any retained salary would stay on the books for a long time, much longer than any team would want.
So if the Canucks wanted to fully get rid of Miller’s contract in the deal with the Rangers, they would’ve been forced to accept a lesser return. Reports suggest that neither Braden Schneider nor Alexis Lafreniere, both exciting young players, were involved in any potential deal. The Canucks would’ve been forced to accept players of a lesser tier, and the two sides couldn’t agree on what that return should be. Talks have now slowed.
“I think things have really cooled off with the Rangers to the point where I think they’ve probably taken a back seat,” said Seravalli on Flames Talk.
With the Rangers looking less likely as trade partners, other teams, such as the Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils, and even the Dallas Stars — although Seravalli says they’re involved to “a lesser extent” — have emerged as potential Miller destinations.
The issue for the Canucks is getting a return they like. With such a public spotlight on this issue, management has little leverage, especially considering Miller has a full no-movement clause.
“[Those teams have], I don’t want to say pulled back, but they’ve realized the Canucks aren’t in a great spot here.”
“The offers weren’t really great to begin with, and I think now they’re kind of fishing to see how low can we get the Vancouver Canucks to go. Can we get them to basically just have a fire sale here and say take this 100-point player off of our hands?”
That doesn’t bode well for the Canucks. It’s looking more unlikely they will get an exciting package in return for a player who has been among the league’s most productive since joining the franchise.
If they choose not to trade Miller, the Canucks will have to deal with the consequences of this drawn-out, public debacle.
The Canucks have reportedly softened their stance on accepting futures in any return package, per TSN’s Pierre LeBrun. They’re now more willing to receive picks or prospects in any Miller trade, which they could then flip if they’re determined to improve their roster this season.