Report: Vancouver Canucks coveted two firsts, ‘good prospect’ from Pittsburgh Penguins for J.T. Miller
By Mike Gould
1 year agoSportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman provided more clarity on the Vancouver Canucks’ widely-rumoured J.T. Miller trade talks with the Pittsburgh Penguins in his latest “32 Thoughts” column on Monday evening.
Friedman indicated the Canucks coveted a “huge ask” — two first-round picks and a “good prospect” — in exchange for the 30-year-old forward, who finished his fourth season in Vancouver with 32 goals and 82 points in 81 games.
Miller is under contract through 2030 at an $8 million cap hit and it’s unclear whether the Penguins, having just fired three major executives last week after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2006, would still have interest in revisiting any Miller talks this summer.
In any event, here’s what Friedman had to say on Monday:
Whatever happened with Pittsburgh and Vancouver and J.T. Miller is like the “white whale” of NHL reporting. We know it was a hugely-complicated move, very difficult to pull off. But, at the base of it all, the Canucks made a huge ask (as they should): I believe two firsts and a good prospect. At the end of the day, I just don’t think the Penguins wanted to go there.
The Canucks acquired Miller from the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2019 offseason, parting with their own 2020 first-round draft selection as part of the package to land the East Palestine, Ohio product.
Miller has been highly productive in his four seasons with the Canucks, topping out at 99 points in 2021–22 and collecting 106 goals and 299 points in 283 games with the club. He added 18 points in 17 games during the 2020 playoff bubble.
The New York Rangers originally selected Miller in the first round (No. 15 overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft. The six-foot-one forward, who shoots left, made his NHL debut with the Rangers during the 2012–13 regular season.
Through 718 career games with the Rangers, Lightning, and Canucks over parts of 11 NHL regular seasons, Miller has recorded 201 goals and 536 points. He’s scored an additional nine goals and 44 points in 78 playoff contests.
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