Monday’s edition of 32 Thoughts Podcast Sportnset’s Elliotte Friedman began with detailing a timeline of the events this season that led up to JT Miller’s trade from the Vancouver Canucks to the New York Rangers.

He starts with a reiteration of his report on last week’s Saturday Headlines on Hockey Night in Canada:

“So I think there were a couple of key things that happened during the season inside Vancouver that kind of got things done. Early in the year, the Canucks went on a road trip through Florida – Panthers and Tampa Bay. But there was a conversation with a small group of players, and it was asked that Miller and [Elias] Petterson try to solve this, and it just didn’t get any better.”

Approximately one month later, after the Canucks played the Nashville Predators, and Miller was benched. Fast forward two days later, ahead of the Canucks game against the Rangers, the Canucks announced Miller was taking a leave of absence:

“Then they had the Nashville game and whatever happened after that game. I’ve heard a couple of different versions, and nobody will confirm it, so I’m not going to say it, but whatever the case was, JT Miller went on his leave.”

The belief was that everything would change once Miller returned, but according to Friedman, that wasn’t the case:

“When Miller came back from his leave, things just didn’t get better in terms of the relationship and the stress and everything like that. I think everybody hoped he would come back and, you know, things would change, and they didn’t.”

Afterwards, Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin spoke with Miller and his representatives and came to the conclusion that it was best for both parties to move on.

“I think that was when the final decision was really made. They were going to move on, and Miller was going to move on. It was going to be best for the Canucks, for Miller, for everybody involved, if he goes elsewhere.

“I believe the Rangers were always the preferred destination. I think they were the team that wanted him the most. I think it was where he wanted to go the most.”

Two weeks ago, it was reported that the Canucks and Rangers had a trade in place for Miller. The original trade was going to be similar to what Miller was ultimately traded for. Friedman reports it was Filip Chytil, a prospect and draft pick.

Friedman added some insight into why that first trade between the two clubs did not go through:

“I heard that one of the issues in the first trade was that the prospect they were going to get – and they eventually got it with Mancini, who I think is going to play in the NHL – was unsigned yet by the Rangers, a defenceman, but I didn’t know who it was. Arthur Staple in the Athletic reported on the weekend that the Canucks asked about Drew Fortescue, who’s one of the Rangers top D-prospects. He’s playing right now in the NCAA in Boston. He’s a very good player. So I thought that was interesting because I had heard that Vancouver wanted somebody, a defenceman, who the Rangers hadn’t signed yet, and the fact that Arthur had that in his article indicates to me that that was probably a player that the Canucks liked, but eventually, we got there.”

Additionally, Friedman believes that Chytil also needed a fresh start because the Rangers did not trust his injury history.

“I think the Rangers were in a position; they were kind of worried that he was in and out of the lineup. They didn’t know how much they could really count on him because of his health.

“Chytil has said that whatever bothered him was not as simple as what everybody was assuming. Though, he didn’t really go into it in terms of much depth. When he got hurt last time, everybody talked about the concussion issues. He said, ‘it’s not that simple,’ but he hasn’t said what it is. Whatever the case is, I think he needed a fresh start, too.”

Now that the trade has been completed and the JT Miller era is over in Vancouver, the Canucks will look forward to the players they got in return and hope for a fresh start and a strong push toward the playoffs. With an unprecedented amount of cap space just five weeks out from the NHL trade deadline, there’s sure to be plenty of news and rumours around the Canucks coming up.