Nazem Kadri says he left money on the table to sign in Calgary, making signing J.T. Miller even more challenging for the Canucks

It was always going to be hard for the Canucks to re-sign J.T. Miller, but it appears to have just gotten even harder.

After months of trade rumours and a reported trade offer from the New York Rangers prior to the 2022 Trade Deadline that the Canucks declined; along with president Jim Rutherford saying on the record that the Canucks would “have a pretty good idea of where they’re at” with Miller — whether that be to re-sign him or move him — by the time the draft rolls around, nothing has happened.

As it stands, Miller will come to training camp on an expiring deal, and his agent has recently suggested that they may elect to cut off all contract talks once the season begins, turning the chances of Miller re-signing in Vancouver from low to essentially non-existent.

Now, this could obviously — almost likely — just be a way for Miller’s camp to get the Canucks to finally do something, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the player has informed his agent that he doesn’t want the distraction of contract negotiations going on while trying to focus on performing each and every night.

Some believe that the two sides will come to some sort of resolution before that can happen, but training camp is less than a month away and it’s been nothing but crickets so far.

Rutherford said after the draft that the Canucks would still like to get Miller signed, but was certainly aware that that could prove to be difficult considering what Miller could command on the open market after this upcoming season.

And that number — the one Miller could receive if he were to hit free agency — appears to have just gotten higher with Nazem Kadri signing in Calgary.

Kadri, who turns 32 in October, signed a seven-year deal worth $7 million annually with the Flames on August 18th.

What came as the kicker though, was when Kadri told reporters last week that he left money on the table in order to sign in Calgary, the place Kadri felt was his best chance at winning.

Kadri garnered big interest in the UFA market, with the New York Islanders reportedly being all in on making Kadri their one and only UFA signing of the offseason.

With this contract, Kadri cashed in big time, and you can fully expect that J.T. Miller and his camp will be looking to do the same.

Essentially, any hope Canucks fans had of Miller signing for less than six or seven years at a cap hit below $8 million is basically non-existent now.

As we outlined yesterday, the Miller camp will almost certainly use $50+ million over seven years as a starting point for their client, and he should have no problem getting that, especially when you see what Kadri just signed for in Calgary, with other teams eager to match and exceed.