It’s time for the drama to come to an end for the Vancouver Canucks.
The Canucks, a team expected to make the playoffs, are facing a locker room problem between veteran JT Miller and young star Elias Pettersson as the team is one point away from a wild card spot.
Media reporting and analysis may well add fuel to a small fire, making “culture” problems avoidable.
While it makes a lot more sense for the Canucks to move Miller, 31, because of his age – it appears they are trying to do so, with reports that they were in talks with the New York Rangers – it might also make sense to move Pettersson.
Bob Frid-Imagn Images
The Canucks need to ask themselves some questions. One of them is how long they think they can win now with Quinn Hughes and their core.
Besides Pettersson and Miller, only left winger Jake DeBrusk and defenseman Filip Hronek are under contract through the 2030s.
No. 1 goalkeeper Thatcher Demko becomes a UFA in 2026, while captain Hughes’ contract expires after the 2026-27 season.
There is no information that Hughes plans to leave the team once his contract expires, but he is only beginning to enter his prime. The Canucks need to make the most of this and prove to Hughes and their future UFAs in waiting that they can compete for a Cup for years to come.
If the team isn’t confident it can convince its players that it is a Cup contender worth committing to over the next decade, does that affect its willingness to make everything she can to win now?
Related: NHL Rumors Roundup: Vancouver Canucks Trade Saga Continues
Miller appears to be on his way out in a few days, but if the Canucks don’t believe Pettersson has what it takes to perform in the playoffs, then it might make sense for them to move him and get back a huge amount of money. assets. or players who can have more impact in critical moments.
Pettersson is a terrific player, but he also has no trade protection in the first year of an eight-year, $11.6 million extension, and his effort seems to be lacking at times.
The biggest question of all is if they went this route and traded these two players, do they feel they can get back enough NHL ready assets and turn things around so they don’t take a step back, but rather move forward to build a real Stanley Cup contender over the next few seasons?
Pettersson has 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in 40 games, while Miller has 32 points (eight goals, 24 assists) in 36 games.
That’s a lot of offense to make up for, but there’s a major difference between building a team capable of making the playoffs and a team capable of contending for Lord Stanley.
Related: JT Miller delivers on promise against Oilers as Canucks trade drama comes to a head
Trading two strong players at the same position is also nothing new for the Canucks.
Despite having one of the most dominant goaltending tandems in the NHL, the one that won the Jennings Trophy in 2010-11, Vancouver believed in making trades to improve.
They traded Cory Schneider to the New Jersey Devils for the ninth overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, which became Bo Horvat, their future captain.
Then, on March 4, 2014, the Canucks traded Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Jacob Markstrom and Shawn Mattias.
With Horvat now with the New York Islanders and Markstrom now taking the field with the New Jersey Devils, there was a time when Vancouver made a difficult decision to improve its future. This brought them new pieces of their core. If they decide to trade two important coins again, they can once again try to make the most of a difficult situation.
Get the latest news and trends by following Hockey news on Google News And by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below on the article on THN.com or by visit our forum.
