The Vancouver Canucks have been receiving calls on both of their superstar centremen, JT Miller and Elias Pettersson, out on the trade market.
The reports out there are saying teams are calling, but outside of the New York Rangers, no other teams have been linked to the Canucks. That was until, however, steam started picking up that the New Jersey Devils have been kicking tires on JT Miller.
Donnie & Dhali’s Rick Dhaliwal mentioned the connection on his hit with Halford & Brough on Sportsnet 650:
Recap of Rick Dhaliwal's interview with Halford & Brough this morning. https://t.co/JQ9DwPpmTJ pic.twitter.com/BA1zqutbi8
— CanucksNewsSummaries (@VCanucksNews) January 17, 2025
Elite Prospect’s Cam Robinson also touched on what he’s hearing regarding Miller and the Devils:
There's some smoke out there that the Devils are really kicking the tires on JT Miller.
— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) January 17, 2025
JT Miller has eight goals and 21 assists for 29 points this season, with a disappointing minus-six rating. He has struggled over his previous five games, which has led to his ice time being sizably reduced. Miller played just 14:24 minutes last night against the Los Angeles Kings, logging the lowest amount of even-strength ice time of all Canucks forwards.
The Canucks have shown previous interest in Devils forward Dawson Mercer in the past.
Mercer, 23, has scored 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points with 78 shots on goal and a plus-10 rating, averaging 17:49 minutes of ice time through 47 games this season. Mercer is trusted in all facets of the game. He’s currently playing the right wing on Nico Hischier’s line, playing against opposing teams’ top competition. The former first-round pick is also playing on the team’s top power play and top penalty kill unit.
Another Devils’ first-round pick, Simon Nemec, has made it public that he is not happy with his deployment.
“It’s hard to say, it’s still too early to request a trade. If this situation continues, it will have to be addressed, but for now, this is how it stands.”
— Tomáš Prokop (@Lewysko) January 15, 2025
New Jersey drafted Nemec second overall in the 2021 NHL draft, but he is currently playing for the Devils AHL affiliate, Utica Comets. The right-shot defenceman has five goals and 11 assists for 16 points through 23 games in Utica. Nemec suited up in nine games for the Devils this season, where he registered just one assist and a minus-two rating.
Rick Dhaliwal further touched on the Devils liking Miller and Nemec’s availability:
“The Devils like Miller. There’s no question about it. But Nemec is a second-overall right-shot defenceman. That’s an expensive piece to get. Although, he just ripped the Devils in a news article saying, ‘Why am I in the minors?'”
General Manager Patrik Allvin will have massive decisions to make before this year’s March 7th trade deadline. However, the links between New Jersey and Vancouver are starting to come to the surface.
