The Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers reportedly have permission to speak with Vancouver Canucks forward JT Miller.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman released a short 32 Thoughts article late Wednesday night, which included the report of the teams mentioned above that are cleared to speak with Miller’s camp. He also notes that the Hurricanes are a team to watch as they are active and ready to pounce on any potential target of theirs.
“The Hurricanes and Rangers are two of the teams with permission to talk to J.T. Miller. Believe the New York offer was Filip Chytil, a first-rounder and a prospect. I get very mixed messages on New Jersey. The Rangers have the cap room to do it, but the Devils would need to perform roster surgery to pull it off. Yes, they struggled until pounding Boston on Wednesday, but that’s a good team. I’m not convinced about Dallas, either. I always assume I’m missing something, though.”
Miller’s contract carries a full no-movement clause, meaning that teams would be seeking permission to talk with him before getting to work on a trade with the Canucks for the veteran centre’s services.
Friedman later added that Elias Pettersson spoke with the front office about his desire to remain in Vancouver. Given where things seem to stand with Miller, the Swedish centre may have his wish granted when this saga is over.
It’s not the first time the Hurricanes and Rangers have been mentioned as teams interested in acquiring Miller. Nor is it the first time that it has been reported that teams have been given the green light to begin talking with his camp.
Miller could have found himself back in Manhattan already had the Canucks been willing to retain his salary, which DailyFaceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported was the primary reason why the proposed trade between the two teams fell apart. The reported return package would have included forward Filip Chytil, defenceman Ryan Lindgren, potentially some prospects who were held out of the Rangers’ AHL affiliate (Hartford Wolf Pack) game on Saturday, and a conditional first-round pick.
It is certainly possible for the two teams to circle back and try again, as there are plenty of other players the Canucks could be interested in outside of that reported package. But it would have to involve either Patrik Allvin being okay with retaining salary or Chris Drury accepting Miller’s entire cap hit, and it remains unclear at this time that either side is willing to compromise.
There is certainly no rush to complete this deal, as Donnie & Dhali’s Rick Dhaliwal highlighted that Miller and his camp have not requested or demanded a trade. The trade deadline is a little over a month away, so Allvin and company still have time to work out a deal that they appear to be committed to making. Besides, there are rumblings that teams like the New Jersey Devils and Dallas Stars are lurking around on the Miller sweepstakes, so this could all go down to the wire on March 7th.
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