When you’re a team on the edge of making or missing the playoffs, it can be difficult to make decisions on some of your better players, especially when they could fetch a decent return if traded before the NHL trade deadline. Such is the case with the Vancouver Canucks when it comes to forward J.T. Miller.
Miller is going to want a long expensive contract when his current one lapses at the end of the 2022-23 season, but he will be at an age (30) when his production will start to decline in the latter years of the deal. He is at his most valuable to a contender over the next couple of seasons and the Canucks might not be contenders in the same window of time. He would bring in good assets but there’s the whole idea of giving up a player who is helpful as your own team tries to squeak into a playoff position.
The Canucks don’t know yet if they should be buyers or sellers, but there are teams that are going to show interest, possibly moving on to other candidates if the Canucks don’t seize an opportunity to get the most out of any deal. Frank Seravalli reported this week that the Canucks could trade Miller before the team officially hires a new general manager, that’s how close things might be to a potential move.
Thomas Drance of The Athletic isn’t sure a trade will happen that quickly but did say:
There is significant interest in Miller around the NHL. There are teams that rate the tough, versatile, skilled Canucks forward as the second-best player that could be available ahead of the deadline, league sources suggested to The Athletic this week.
Drance is also aware that a decision on Miller will need to be made by the Canucks. Noting the Canucks have time to wait out the market a little bit, he adds, “A Miller trade doesn’t have to happen this year — he’s not on an expiring contract, after all.” The Canucks could move him this season and get something ahead of the deadline, but they could also wait and move him in the offseason when teams have a little more salary-cap space.
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