It’s time for the drama to come to a close for the Vancouver Canucks.
The Canucks, a team that should be playoff-bound, is stuck dealing with a dressing-room issue between veteran J.T. Miller and young star Elias Pettersson as the team sits one point back of a wild-card spot.
The reports and media analysis may very well be adding fuel to a small fire, making the “culture” issues avoidable.
While it makes much more sense for the Canucks to move the 31-year-old Miller because of his age – it seems like they’re trying to do that, with reports they were in talks with the New York Rangers – it may make sense to move Pettersson, too.
Bob Frid-Imagn Images
The Canucks have to ask themselves some questions. One of them is for how long they think they can win now with Quinn Hughes and their core.
In addition to Pettersson and Miller, only left winger Jake DeBrusk and defenseman Filip Hronek are under contract into the 2030s.
No. 1 goalie Thatcher Demko becomes a UFA in 2026, while captain Hughes’ contract expires following the 2026-27 season.
There is no sourced information that Hughes plans to leave the team once his contract expires, but he is only beginning to enter his prime. The Canucks must make the most of that and prove to Hughes and their future pending UFAs that they can compete for a Cup for years to come.
If the team is not confident it can convince its players it is a Cup contender worth committing to over the next decade, does that affect their willingness to do everything they can to win now?
Related: NHL Rumor Roundup: The Vancouver Canucks’ Trade Saga Continues
Miller seems 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 could make sense for them to move him and recoup a tremendous amount of assets or players that can have more of an impact in crunch time.
Pettersson is a tremendous player, but he also has zero trade protection in the first year of an eight-year extension worth $11.6 million, and his effort seems to be lacking at times.
The biggest question of all is, if they went that route and traded these two players, do they feel they can recoup enough NHL-ready assets and game-changers so that they won’t be taking steps back but rather steps forward to building a true 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 that can qualify for the playoffs and one that can fight for Lord Stanley.
Related: J.T. Miller Delivers Against Oilers As Canucks’ Trade Drama Comes To A Head
Trading two strong players in the same position isn’t anything new for the Canucks, either.
Despite having one of the most dominant goalie tandems in the NHL, one that won the Jennings Trophy in 2010-11, Vancouver believed they needed to make 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 back 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 manning the crease with the New Jersey Devils, it was a moment in time when Vancouver made a hard decision to enhance their 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 again try to make the most of a difficult situation.
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