The Vancouver Canucks might be ready to part ways with J.T. Miller, as tension builds in what’s becoming a challenging season for the team.
Miller’s very public clash with teammate Elias Pettersson has put both players under the microscope, and neither has been living up to expectations lately.
It’s been a tough year for Miller, who’s only managed to find the back of the net eight times in 35 games. That’s pretty disappointing for a guy making $8 million a year on a seven-year deal. An injury that kept him out for 10 games hasn’t helped either.
Pettersson isn’t faring much better. The star forward, who just signed a massive $11.6 million per year contract, is having one of his worst seasons points-wise. While he’s made it clear he wants to stay in Vancouver, trade rumors keep popping up – especially with his no-movement clause kicking in this July.
It’s a far cry from last season when the Canucks topped the Pacific Division and came within one game of the Western Conference Finals.
Now? They’re struggling just to stay in the playoff picture, sitting fifth in their division and barely missing out on a wild-card spot.
The New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils have both shown interest in Miller. There’s some history there – Miller was originally a Rangers first-round pick and spent his early NHL years in New York.
Word is the Canucks have their eyes on two Rangers players: defenseman Braden Schneider and winger Alexis Lafreniere.
Lafreniere’s been having trouble scoring lately, but he’s still creating good opportunities. Meanwhile, Schneider’s been playing really well since being paired with newcomer Urho Vaakanainen. Their defensive stats are actually pretty impressive – they’re among the top 25 defensive pairs in the league at preventing quality scoring chances.
But here’s the catch: The Rangers might not be willing to part with either player in a Miller deal.
The Devils aren’t exactly jumping at the opportunity either. Their GM, Tom Fitzgerald, has been pretty lukewarm about the whole idea, though he hasn’t completely ruled it out.
