A timeline of events of the developing trade discussions between the Canucks and Penguins

Unsurprisingly, there’s been plenty of news and rumours as trade deadline week is in full swing. Obviously, there’s a major emphasis on rumours, but first, let’s talk about some news. Earlier today, the Canucks traded Luke Schenn to the Toronto Maple Leafs, picking up a 2023 third round pick in return. This kickstarted a bevy of other trades around the league, as it seems NHL GMs thought today was Friday.

Here’s what the Canucks have done so far:

And it doesn’t seem like they’re done yet.

Sometimes — not always — where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Someone in the comments section on our article from earlier today asked for an update on the situation between the Penguins and Canucks, and that’s what we’re going to do.

What we’re going to do, to make this easy for everyone, is lay out the timeline of reports and events, and allow you to make your own conclusions with all the available information. Of course, we’ll update this article if/when more happens.

February 26th 10:05 PM: On the same day she was the first insider to have the return for the Timo Meier to New Jersey trade, The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman tweets out the following, and Facebook users everywhere scream at CanucksArmy for even daring to post about another JT Miller rumour. Shayna also wonders if Miller could be held out of the Canucks’ lineup Monday night in Dallas.

February 27th 7:37 AM: Rick Dhaliwal of Donnie and Dhali — The Team gets up bright and early to find out what’s going on. He’s told that Miller did not make the trip to Dallas and could be out a week.

February 27th 9:25 AM: Following Dhaliwal’s report, the Canucks announce that JT Miller is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Notably to some, they do not place him in injured reserve or long-term injured reserve, meaning he can still be moved.

February 28th 8:30 AM: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer Matt Vensel reports the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks have “recently engaged in trade discussions” about Miller, but that talks may have reached an impasse. This is the point where the smoke thickens and ever so slightly begins to point in the direction of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

February 28th 9:17 AM: Shayna Goldman reports that the Canucks are working on “something sizeable” ahead of Friday’s trade deadline.

February 28th 10:00 AM: Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli says he thinks it’s highly unlikely that the Canucks move Miller ahead of Friday’s deadline, and that if they were to make a Miller trade, it would come in the summer before July 1st, before Miller’s extension featuring a full no-move clause kicks in.

February 28th 11:00 AM: The Pittsburgh Penguins place Brock McGinn and Mark Friedman on waivers, in a clear effort to free up cap space. According to PuckPedia, the Penguins would have $4 million in prorated space if McGinn and Friedman went unclaimed and were re-assigned to the AHL. If McGinn was claimed and Friedman was also claimed (or re-assigned after clearing waivers), the Penguins would have $5.7 million in prorated space — more than enough space to fit Miller on their books for the rest of this season.

STAY. WITH. ME. HERE!

February 28th 12:48 PM: Elite Prospects Cam Robinson backs Goodman’s report that the Canucks are indeed gearing up to make a substantial move.

February 28th 1:45 PM: Goodman reports that talks are heating up between the Penguins and Canucks. This is where things really take off, with Goodman wondering if defencemen Marcus Pettersson or Pierre-Olivier Joseph could be heading Vancouver’s way in exchange for the Canucks’ key-piece in the trade, a forward with term. This makes one think Brock Boeser, Conor Garland, or JT Miller would be the forward Pittsburgh would be acquiring.

February 28th 1:59 PM: Sportsnet’s Satiar Shah says it doesn’t sound like Miller is the forward involved in the deal.

February 28th 2:12 PM: Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston reports that he’s hearing talks between the Penguins and Canucks are focused around Brock Boeser, rather than JT Miller. As PJ adds, nothing in hockey is certain until it’s done, and you’re about to find out why that is.

February 28th 3:15 PM: The Athletic’s Rob Rossi, who’s based out of Pittsburgh, reports that sources from both teams say they don’t believe Brock Boeser is headed to the Penguins.

February 28th 3:28 PM: Rossi expands on the recent reports in an article over at The Athletic, adding that Penguins GM Ron Hextall has had discussions with the Arizona Coyotes about Jakob Chychrun, and that the Vancouver Canucks called about his interest in Miller. According to Rossi’s source, Hextall is expected to keep in touch with both teams over the next few days, but adds that it’s unlikely deals will be done with both teams.

February 28th 4:45 PM: A league source texts me and says “I think you’ve covered all your bases” when I showed them this timeline before hitting publish. They add that “it’d surprise me if the Penguins pull the trigger on anything before waiver deadline tomorrow. That will dictate how much cap space they have to play with.”

We’ll be sure to update you if and when anything else arises surrounding this situation.

March 1st 7:51 AM: Rick Dhaliwal reports that “as of now” nothing is close on a Brock Boeser trade.

March 1st 9:01 AM: In an appearance on the Got Yer Back podcast, NHL insider Pierre LeBrun says “my sense is Pittsburgh and Vancouver have had trade discussions over the last couple of days. I can’t figure out whether it’s about Boeser or JT Miller.”

March 1st 11:00 AM: Both McGinn and Friedman clear waivers, meaning the Penguins have $4 million in prorated cap space.

March 1st 3:04 PM: The Ottawa Senators acquired Jakob Chychrun from the Arizona Coyotes. The Penguins lost out on Chychrun, so will they now pivot to Miller? Will the Canucks still entertain that, given the fact they just made a trade for Filip Hronek?

March 1st 4:04 PM: Shayna Goldman is the first to report that the Penguins have traded forward Teddy Blueger to the Vegas Golden Knights, clearing Blueger’s $2.2 million cap hit off their books.

March 1st 4:52 PM: Elliotte Friedman reports that he believes Pittsburgh’s target is Mikael Granlund. This trade comes as a shock to many, and a quick glance at Twitter shows Penguins fans are livid that all of this cap clearing was simply to give up a second round pick for a 31-year-old player who’s been on a steady decline and takes up $5 million on the cap through the 2024-25 season.

March 2nd 7:00 PM: JT Miller plays vs. Minnesota. What a recovery!

March 3rd 4:47 AM: TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the Pens took a hard run at JT Miller.

“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 center.”

Shayna Goldman adds further context roughly an hour later:

And for now, this is where this timeline ends.