It’s time for the drama to come to an end for the Vancouver Canucks.
The Canucks, a team that should be playoff bound, are stuck dealing with a locker room issue between veteran JT Miller and young star Elias Pettersson as the team finds itself one point away from a wild card spot.
It is quite possible that media reporting and analysis is adding fuel to a small fire, making “culture” problems avoidable.
While it makes a lot more sense for the Canucks to move Miller, 31, due to his age (it appears they are trying to do so, with reports that they were in talks with the New York Rangers), it may make sense. to move Pettersson too.
Images by Bob Frid-Imagn
The Canucks have to ask themselves some questions. One of them is how much time 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 will become a UFA in 2026, while captain Hughes’ contract expires after the 2026-27 season.
There’s no word that Hughes plans to leave the team once his contract expires, but he’s just starting to enter his prime. The Canucks need to make the most of that and show Hughes and his pending UFA futures that they can compete for a Cup for years to come.
If the team isn’t confident it can convince its players that it’s a Cup contender worth committing to for the next decade, does that affect its willingness to do everything it can to win now?
Related: NHL Rumor Roundup: Vancouver Canucks Trade Saga Continues
Miller appears to be on his way out in a matter of 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 assets. or players who can have a greater impact in decisive moments.
Pettersson is a tremendous player, but he also doesn’t have any trade protection in the first year of an eight-year extension worth $11.6 million, and his effort seems lacking at times.
The biggest question of all is, if they took that path and traded these two players, do you feel like you can get back enough NHL-ready assets and game-changers to not take steps back but rather steps forward to build a team? true Stanley Cup contender in the coming 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 big difference between building a team that can qualify for the playoffs and one that can contend for Lord Stanley.
Related: JT Miller meets Oilers as Canucks trade drama comes to a head
Trading two strong players at the same position is nothing new for the Canucks either.
Despite having one of the most dominant goaltending tandems in the NHL, one that won the Jennings Trophy in 2010-11, Vancouver believed they needed to make changes 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.
While Horvat is now with the New York Islanders and Markstrom is now in charge of the New Jersey Devils, it was a time when Vancouver made a difficult decision to improve its future. It brought them new pieces of their core. If it comes to the point where they decide to trade two important pieces again, they can once again try to make the most of a difficult situation.
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Related: Ken Campbell: The worst thing the Canucks could do right now is trade JT Miller or Elias Pettersson
