Dark horse jumps both feet into trade race for J.T. Miller!
A strong candidate emerges to land Miller if he becomes available.
There are a lot of rumours and chatter on the drama around the Vancouver Canucks with the apparent feud between J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson in the spotlight, and insider Elliotte Friedman reporting that the team is “definitely looking at the market” on both teammates.
A report from Josh Yohe of the Athletic recently revealed that the New York Rangers attempted to acquire Miller earlier in the season in return for Mika Zibanejad, though the proposal was rejected by Vancouver.
The chatter is growing rampant and insider Elliotte Friedman added fuel to the fire on the 32 Thoughts podcast when he claimed that one dark horse should enter the Miller sweepstakes and do whatever it can to acquire the star forward from the Canucks:
“I’ll tell you one team—and I want to stress that I didn’t really look at how it would all work—it’d be Chicago,” Friedman said. “If I’m Chicago and that J.T. Miller thing is real, that’s the guy I’m going after.”
Friedman went on to explain that he likes the fit between Chicago and Miller, especially when it comes to the Blackhawks who desperately need high-end support around young superstar Connor Bedard. Bedard has shown the potential to transform the Hawks back into a Stanley Cup contender, but he needs a star-caliber linemate to make it happen. Miller could instead be a perfect fit.
When it comes to making a trade between the two teams, Friedman hinted at what could interest the Canucks in Chicago if moving Miller, who is under contract through 2030 with an $8 million annual cap hit.
”Chicago has a lot of picks, they’ve got a lot of prospects,” Friedman said. “Then Vancouver can decide (if) they want that and then do some other things.
“But if (Miller’s availability) is real and I’m the Blackhawks, I am jumping all over that.”
After a leave of absence and the ongoing drama in the dressing room with Pettersson, Miller has six goals and 25 points in 28 games. Last season, he posted 103 points in 81 games.
I have to agree with Friedman : if Miller is on the trade block, the Blackhawks better start calling the Canucks now!
