The plot thickens between the two feuding Vancouver Canucks star forwards. After Brad Richardson provided some insight on the Missin Curfew podcast, this situation might be coming to a conclusion sooner than we thought.
The Toronto Star’s Nick Kypreos shared the latest he’s hearing on Thursday morning’s in his column:
“It’s sounding like the Vancouver Canucks are leaning toward a major roster change as it becomes clearer to management that the current roster — specifically feuding stars J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson — cannot co-exist. Don’t be surprised if we start hearing the Canucks are willing to take calls on Miller.”
This comes after both players addressed the media, announcing that there is no rift between the two players.
“That’s still going on?” said Pettersson when asked about his relationship with Miller. “Well, that’s the same answer, it’s good. I don’t know why people still try and make sh*t up.”
Pettersson was asked a follow-up question and let out a frustrated “Oh my god, next question” before exiting the availability.
“Listen, you guys, in a sense, have created this thing. Like, this isn’t a thing,” Miller said when he was asked about the rumoured rift. “So, am I bothered? No. But you guys are just wasting your time.”
If the Canucks are to trade Miller, one of the teams most interested in Miller has been the New York Rangers. Originally selected by the Rangers with the 15th overall pick in 2011, Miller spent the first six seasons in New York, tallying 172 points in 341 games.
He was later traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in a massive deal, sending Miller and Ryan McDonagh in exchange for Vladislav Namestnikov, Libor Hajek, Brett Howden, a 2018 first-round pick, and a 2019 second-round pick. After a season and a half in Tampa Bay, he was traded to Vancouver where he has played 390 games and registered 426 points.
New York has been one of the more surprising teams this season, as they’ve followed up their President’s Trophy by now sitting eighth in the Metropolitan Division with a 16-19-1 record and 33 points. General Manager Chris Drury has not been afraid to make moves this season in hopes of finding the shake-up his team needs. They traded their Captain Jacob Trouba and made long-term Ranger Chris Kreider a healthy scratch and are now playing him in the bottom six.
The Canucks will have until March 7 to decide if they really want to trade last year’s leading scorer, JT Miller.
