The Vancouver Canucks are exhausting all their options when it comes to trade discussions involving Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller.
Reports surfaced last weekend that the team had a particular return in mind with a potential trade involving either of those players and now its come out that they will be casting a large net in trade discussions. While some teams may be weary of trading a star player to a team within the same conference, that is not the case with the Canucks.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the latest edition of Saturday Headlines, Canucks GM Patrik Allvin has not been phased by interest by Western Conference teams.
“One of the things the Canucks have indicated in both Pettersson and Miller is they are not shutting off interest from the Western Conference,” Friedman reported. “Teams from the West who have reached out have not been told no… Still unsure how to handicap how this will go.”
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Doing this is a risky move by the Canucks as trading one of Pettersson or Miller to a rival is much more likely to backfire than a trade with an Eastern Conference team. Yet, it may also be in the team’s best interest as it could maximize the return.
All the rumours thus far involving both players have been with teams out East. Reports surfaced last week that the New York Rangers had offered star forward Mika Zibanejad in exchange for Miller, which the Canucks rejected. It was also reported that Zibanejad also shot down the potential deal as well.
Vancouver has also been connected to teams like the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, and even the Columbus Blue Jackets in trade talks. All three of those teams have interesting trade pieces, but a path to a potential Pettersson or Miller deal remains unclear.
You would have to think that any trade involving a Western Conference team would up the asking price from Vancouver for both players.
As the trade deadline is less than two months away, clarity on the situation is bound to come sooner rather than later.