NEWSLETTER
In case you haven’t heard by now, the Vancouver Canucks are dealing with some internal issues. Their two best — and highest paid — forwards, JT Miller and Elias Pettersson, apparently don’t like each other. It’s become enough of a thing that the Canucks are now just trying to figure out a path forward. And that might involve one (or both) of them leaving Vancouver.
Let’s back up a step. Last year, the Canucks finished with 109 points, winners of the Pacific Division. In 81 games, Miller set new career highs with 37 goals and 103 points. That was the first year of a seven-year, $56M contract ($8M AAV) for Miller. Pettersson, meanwhile, was in the final year of his contract and took a slight step back offensively; he scored 34 goals and finished with 89 points (he had 39 and 102 the previous year). In March, Pettersson signed an eight-year, $92.8M extension ($11.6M AAV).
As a 1-2 punch at center, they were one of the best tandems in the NHL.
Then the new year started. And the whispers that they didn’t get along got louder as the two both struggled offensively. On Nov. 19, Miller took an indefinite leave from the Canucks for personal reasons. Entering Friday night, things continued to be bad on the ice for both. In 34 games, Pettersson has 10 goals and 18 assists. In 27 games, Miller has 6 goals and 19 assists. And the Canucks entered Friday night with 44 points, which had them fourth in the Pacific and on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture.
Cluster-Canuck
They’ve both been asked questions about their relationship, as have their coaches and other players. Canucks captain Quinn Hughes and head coach Rick Tocchet were pretty blunt with their comments about it the weekend before Christmas.
“You don’t have to play PlayStation together or go to dinner together, but [if] it’s your turn to go to the net, go to the net,” Tocchet said. “It’s really what it comes down to.”
Here’s part of what Elliotte Friedman said the weekend before Christmas about the two becoming a distraction for the entire organization:
“Now, I think, in a perfect world, and it’s clear just talking around the league, that in a perfect world, the Canucks’ number one choice by far, is that Petters and Miller remain long term players in the organization. … They’re both excellent players, and the Canucks have a better chance to win with them, and I think that is their goal. And they’ve told them, nobody expects you to play Playstation together, as Rick Tocchet said, but they do expect you to have a professional working relationship, and they have to have that. If yes, they can do it, then we don’t have a single problem here. If no, I don’t think there’s a timeline or anything like that, like they haven’t started the clock, but eventually, I think everybody realized something is going to have to give.”
Fast forward nearly two weeks from those comments. Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin was equally plain with his perspective on the two feuding stars in an interview with Sportsnet earlier this week. And during his “32 Thoughts” Podcast on Friday, Friedman circled back, saying: “I do think they’ve talked to other teams about Pettersson. I do think they’ve talked to other (teams) about Miller. I think they prefer to keep both guys, they’ve seen what they can do. But they’re listening.”
Should the Blackhawks make a call?
Which brings us to the idea of the Chicago Blackhawks jumping into the mix to make a bold move to acquire one of the two superstars. In Friday morning’s “32 Thoughts” Podcast I referenced earlier, Friedman said: “If I’m the Blackhawks I’m jumping all over that.”
Would it be nice to add a top-line center who has scored 101 goals over the three normal-length seasons since COVID? With term on his contract? Hell yeah it would! And with the NHL’s salary cap going to significantly in the coming years, Miller’s $8M price tag over the course of the remaining six years on his contract shouldn’t be significant enough to keep the Blackhawks from making other significant moves and/or re-signing their young players.
So… what might it cost?
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period has reported a number of times this season that Vancouver remains in the market for a top-four defenseman. The irony of that is: Miller has the same agent as Alex Vlasic and Connor Murphy — two of the Blackhawks’ current top four defensemen. (Pettersson is represented by Pat Brisson, who also represents Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews… maybe not as easy of a sell there.)
It’s too easy to look at Miller’s contract ($8M cap hit for six more years) or Pettersson’s ($11.6M for seven more years) and Seth Jones‘ contract ($9.5M cap hit for six more years) and the Canucks’ desire for a top-four defenseman and connect the dots. The assumptions that, a) Jones would accept a trade to Vancouver, and b) the Canucks would want Jones (even with some of his cap hit retained) might both have issues.
But the money is close enough, the terms are close (Miller’s matches Jones’) and Jones does fit that need for the Canucks. And the fact that Miller (31) and Jones (30) are comparable in age adds another dimension of symmetry.
One-for-one ain’t happening. And, sadly, regularly healthy scratched forwards like Lukas Reichel and/or Philipp Kurashev aren’t going to be enough to sweeten the pot for the Canucks quite enough. The Blackhawks would probably need to part ways with one of their top forward prospects — Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore, Colton Dach, Nick Lardis, Sacha Boisvert — and likely high draft pick(s) as well. Thankfully, the Blackhawks have a stock of four first- and seven second-round picks in the next three drafts.
What do you think? And which young players in the Blackhawks’ system do you consider untouchable in a deal for either Miller or Pettersson if the Canucks were to answer a call from a 312 area code number?
