We’re not sure about making any declarations of true love, but we’re pretty fond of our readers here at CanucksArmy, and we always want to leave you with a little bonus content around the holidays. And, in keeping with musical traditions, when you’re giving someone something to tide them over for the whole holiday season, you need 12 whole days worth of gifts.
That, we can do.
Sure, the NHL’s annual roster freeze is on now, but that only does so much to chill the hot stove of trade speculation surrounding the Vancouver Canucks. Trade speculation is doing brisk business right now.
It’s the wrong time of year to go picking sides in any rumoured or theoretical dressing room divide. But it’s also the wrong time of year to not give the fans what they’re asking for, and given that the names on everyone’s minds right now are “Elias Pettersson” and “JT Miller,” we’ve got to meet you at least halfway.
So, for these 12 Days of Business, we’re pitching 12 different trade proposals to you. Six for Miller, six for Pettersson. There is plenty to consider and chew on as 2024 winds down, and we do hope you’ve got plenty of time on hand to comment and let us know which ones you find ‘nice’ and which ones ‘naught.’
The goal here is fun and diversion – we didn’t take this too seriously, and neither should you.
Trade Proposal #1: Elias Pettersson to Carolina for Martin Necas, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Scott Morrow
Let’s start somewhere we’ve been before. If last season’s hottest rumour could be believed, a trade was on the table at one point that would have sent Pettersson to Carolina for a return that involved Martin Necas, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, a first-round pick, and a prospect.
We can’t help but mention how much better this supposed offer looks today than it did last year, now that Necas is tied for eighth in league scoring with 44 points in his first 32 games. There are those who would currently rank him higher in value than Pettersson, but we’d wait a bit longer before making any definitive declarations.
In any case, Kotkaniemi’s contract puts him into the negative value range, so we decided to combine the pick and prospect into one great prospect in RHD Scott Morrow for what we hope is a package worth circling back on for the Canucks.
Trade Proposal #2: JT Miller to New York for Mika Zibanejad, K’Andre Miller, and Gabe Perrault
Continuing with the established scuttlebutt, we know that the Rangers at least inquired into the availability of Miller at some point. It’s easy enough to see that Miller and Mika Zibanejad’s ages, contracts, and roles line up well enough for a direct swap. However, Miller is absolutely still the better player all around, so some serious balancing would need to be done.
A different, puck-moving defenceman, Miller, coming back in the exchange would help, as would the inclusion of a top-tier prospect like Gabe Perrault. With Zibanejad’s current struggles, the Canucks would be well within their rights to demand some serious sweetening on this one – even if they also needed to demand some form of retention somewhere along the way here.
Trade Proposal #3: Elias Pettersson to Buffalo for Tage Thompson and Bowen Byram
Nobody liked that “Pettersson for Dylan Cozens and Bowen Byram” idea that Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman floated around a week or two back. But what if we could offer up a new and improved version of that deal?
Swap out Cozens for the much larger and more talented Tage Thompson, and you’ve definitely got something closer to fair, at least from our perspective. Thompson, like Pettersson, has experienced issues with injury and consistency, but at his best, he can absolutely dominate games. Byram covers any perceived discrepancy in the players’ respective ceilings.
Trade Proposal #4: JT Miller to Buffalo for Owen Power and Dylan Cozens
While we’re in the Buffalo neighbourhood, why not offer another tweak to the Friedman deal? This time, we’re swapping out Pettersson for Miller and swapping Byram out for Owen Power, 2021’s first overall draft pick.
Power has yet to fully ‘pop’ at the NHL level, but he’s having a bit of a breakout in 2024/25 and is already locked up long-term to a reasonable contract. The fact that he can play on either side of the ice greatly increases his value, and here Cozens slides in as the adequate replacement and solid B-piece, value-wise.
Trade Proposal #5: Elias Pettersson to Colorado for Mikko Rantanen (Extended)
As we look around the league for big-name players who may be changing addresses this upcoming summer, we see two stand out from the pack, and Mikko Rantanen is one of them. A pending UFA, Rantanen could very well be asking for a new contract in excess of Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6 million average annual value (AAV) deal, and it’s as of yet unknown whether the Avalanche can afford that.
By swapping Rantanen for Pettersson, Colorado would acquire a player of somewhat similar calibre, already signed for $11.6 million.
The Canucks would need to be able to sign Rantanen to an extension in the process of completing this trade, and chances are it’d be in excess of what Pettersson currently makes, so that has to be considered. Most would label Rantanen as the better player of the two, but can the Canucks really afford an even more top-heavy salary structure?
Trade Proposal #6: JT Miller to Ottawa for Brady Tkachuk
This is probably our favourite of the set.
Brady Tkachuk’s name has been in trade rumours all year. We know he’s close with Quinn Hughes. We also know he’s signed for just a slightly higher salary than Miller for the next four seasons running, which is a timeline that works just fine for the Canucks.
On the one hand, Tkachuk is a lot younger than Miller, and that should tip the value heavily in his favour. On the other hand, Miller has reached greater offensive heights and plays the more valuable position of centre.
From where we sit, this could very well be a straight-up exchange that works for both sides. The Senators get their shakeup, Hughes gets a bestie, and neither side sacrifices on identity or compete.
Trade Proposal #7: Elias Pettersson to Toronto for Mitch Marner (Extended)
Let’s get chaotic. Similar to the Rantanen discussion above, Mitch Marner is a pending UFA who is due a hefty, hefty salary, probably in excess of what Pettersson is signed for. The Leafs would get cost certainty and someone who can play centre, taking over the 2C role from John Tavares. The Canucks would get a player who might be Pettersson’s superior at both ends of the ice but who has an even greater reputation for being enigmatic – and who plays on the wing.
It could not happen without an extension in place. But if it did, this is the kind of trade that would absolutely dominate the sports narrative in Canada for a long while. It’d be a whole lot of fun, at the very least.
Trade Proposal #8: JT Miller to Toronto for William Nylander
Let’s keep it locked on Ontario. The Leafs have shown interest in Miller before. They’ve now got William Nylander under contract until 2032. While Nylander just keeps getting better as an offensive force, the attempted shifting of him to centre has not exactly panned out.
In Miller, the Leafs get a centre that delivers the exact kind of hockey that many of their fans complain Nylander does not.
In Nylander, the Canucks get a younger and more dynamic talent. They’re free to try him at centre, too, but the possibility of Pettersson and Nylander really clicking as linemates is also a very tantalizing possibility.
This would also make certain segments of the fanbase’s heads explode, and that’s worth something in and of itself.
Trade Proposal #9: Elias Pettersson to Detroit for Lucas Raymond and Simon Edvinsson
Detroit’s rebuild has been cut short by a lack of lottery luck. More specifically, they are missing out on that always-necessary 1C. Trading for Pettersson is one way to fix that, and the Red Wings would presumably pay big to do so.
How big? Lucas Raymond is one of the best young scorers in the NHL and is currently up to a PPG status for 2024/25. He’s not quite Pettersson’s equal, value-wise, but he’s really something. The Canucks would have every right to demand something significant on top of Raymond, due to both ceiling and position. If that extra piece could be one of their great young defenders, like Simon Edvinsson, it would definitely make for a package well worth consideration.
Trade Proposal #10: JT Miller to New York for Alexis Lafrenière and Braden Schneider
Okay, maybe we’re not done with the Miller/New York reunion idea. Zibanejad’s contract is just such a poison pill right now that we realize he’s a non-starter for many, and so we want a second crack at this that doesn’t involve him.
So, we make the main piece here former first overall and still-up-and-coming star Alexis Lafrenière, and then we supplement him with a piece that Canucks fans know and covet well in Braden Schneider.
The Canucks would be betting on upside here, but the fit is excellent, and both players carry exciting physical profiles. Of the two we’ve drummed up, we probably like this offer better.
Trade Proposal #11: Elias Pettersson to Montreal for Juraj Slafkovsky, Kaiden Guhle, and Kirby Dach
Montreal has so many interesting pieces on hand that they’re always worth discussing. We seem to be in a mood to collect former 1OAs, and so we start here with Juraj Slafkovsky, who is finding his way toward living up to that distinction.
We know Lane Hutson is untouchable, so we’ll add their next-best young defender, Kaiden Guhle, on top. That still leaves Montreal a little short on value, so we’ve got potential 2C replacement and still-possessing-of-upside Kirby Dach in the mix, too. It’s a quantity-for-quality package if there ever was one, but that doesn’t mean the Canadien pieces are of a low quality.
Trade Proposal #12: JT Miller to Boston for Brandon Carlo, Elias Lindholm, and Nikita Zadorov
We saved the most controversial for last, and on purpose. Most would agree that just swapping Miller to Boston in exchange for the return of Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov would be bad business for the Canucks. So, how much has to be added on top to even it out?
We came up with defensive RHD Brandon Carlo as a potential answer. This trade rebuilds the Canucks’ blueline in one fell swoop and provides at least a reasonable Miller replacement in the form of Lindholm, albeit at a pretty steep downgrade.
On the one hand, this would feel a little silly just months after letting Lindholm and Zadorov walk via free agency. On the other hand, is silliness any reason to avoid a trade that might make both teams better at the end of the day?
What do you think Canucks fans? Which one of these trade proposals would you like to see the Canucks make if they were to trade one of Elias Pettersson or JT Miller?
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