Report: Vancouver Canucks turned down multiple picks in J.T. Miller trade talks with Penguins
By Mike Gould
1 year agoIt seems the Vancouver Canucks did take calls on forward J.T. Miller during his peculiar absence from the team — and, from the sounds of it, they wanted a lot from any team interested in acquiring him.
According to a new report by Daily Faceoff hockey insider Frank Seravalli, Miller’s name “surfaced in trade talks” involving the Canucks and other teams in recent days.
Not only did the Canucks reportedly want to add another young centre before trading Miller, they were looking for two first-round picks (or equivalent value) in any deal for the 29-year-old forward.
Here’s the full excerpt on Miller from Seravalli’s Thursday evening column, published in conjunction with CapFriendly:
At this point, it seems like a real long shot that the Vancouver Canucks will move forward J.T. Miller prior to Friday afternoon’s deadline. Miller’s name has surfaced in trade talks, but the Canucks wanted to secure a young centre as a replacement before considering moving him. They were also asking for two first-round picks in return for Miller -– or a first and a prospect.Miller’s 7-year, $56 million contract extension kicks in on July 1. His ‘no-trade’ clause kicks in that day, too, making time of the essence this offseason if Vancouver actually does want to move on before losing some control in the matter.If Miller does somehow end up moving before 3 o’clock on Friday, do not expect Vancouver to retain salary on him. Even though Miller is in the final season of his contract with a $5.25 million cap hit, if the Canucks were to retain on that, the same percentage retained would also carry over to the next contract as well. That would be unpalatable in Vancouver as they’re still looking to create cap flexibility that they crave.
In a somewhat surprising twist, Miller dressed for the Canucks against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday — just three days after being listed by the team as week-to-week with an upper-body injury. That’s not even half of a single week.
Darren Dreger provided an update on the mysterious injury situation on TSN 1050 in Toronto on Friday morning, indicating that the Canucks turned down offers from the Pittsburgh Penguins because they didn’t provide immediate help:
“The Penguins, through desperation, [Hextall] had lines in the water everywhere. Including taking a hard run at J.T. Miller, a hard run,” Dreger said. “Vancouver said we like the offer, we just can’t take it because it was draft picks. We need a centreman, and frankly, we’re not rebuilding in Vancouver, and JT Miller is going to be a big part of our future.”
Through 60 games with the Canucks this season, Miller has collected 20 goals and 54 points. As Seravalli indicated in his column, he’s under contract through the end of the 2029–30 season at an $8 million cap hit.
The Canucks will return to action for their first post-deadline game on Saturday when they play host to the Toronto Maple Leafs at 4:00 p.m. PT.
THE DAILY FACEOFF TRADE DEADLINE SHOW
Join us on March 3rd for the Daily Faceoff Live: Trade Deadline edition as Frank Seravalli and the panel break down all of the latest rumours, news, and rumblings from around the NHL. The show will be live on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter from 9 AM-1 PM PT to keep you up to date on all things trade deadline no matter where you’re watching from.
Recent articles from Mike Gould
