Canucks fans just want their team to win. But they also want to know what’s going on.
Not an impossible outcome, just very unlikely.
Other teams have certainly called about both players, but how serious those offers really are is unclear.
Desperate teams, like say Steve Yzerman and the Detroit Red Wings, would be foolish not to call. A few others have suggested the New York Rangers have made inquiries as well.
It’s hard to imagine a team in the league who wouldn’t be interested in at least inquiring about the services of either player.
But this is the team that Canucks management built with purpose. That’s why the belief is they can fix this, get past this, move forward. They are disinclined to blow things up. They just want this team to win.
The real topic should be: How is this team going to get back to winning? They were a winning team not that long ago.
Let’s go to the mailbag…
A deal between two teams who are trying to kickstart their season is gonna be tough to work out. Vancouver wants to win this season and in the near future, not “draft pick distance” down the road. Rangers want that, too. Maybe they can work with a Miller for Miller+ deal…? — Erin Butler via Bluesky
This is the thing. The Rangers built a team to win. Obviously, there’s a great deal of unhappiness there and a desire to reset the room. But they also want to win. So a trade for them looks like a reshuffling of the deck, rather than a forward-looking trade of a veteran for prospects deal.
Vancouver wants to win, and coming into the season felt if they added a defenceman, and perhaps another forward, they would be in the contention conversation. Trading a top centre is not exactly what they had in mind.
A so-called “hockey trade” makes sense here. But there’s theory, and then there’s practice.
Miller obviously would interest the Rangers, but they are surely not going to flip youth for him. The Canucks have been interested in Alexis Lafrenière and Braden Schneider for some time — the former especially when he was struggling a couple of seasons ago, the latter because, well, who wouldn’t be interested in a big defenceman who plays as smart as he does? But again, why would the Rangers move two guys who aren’t just contributors but also young?
It’s the same story with the idea of trading Pettersson. He may be struggling, but he’s been a dominant player in recent memory. He’s got the desire to win. The Canucks do believe that he can get back to being the guy they saw in the first half of last season.
Rich here is a Rangers fan.
This is one that makes you go “hmm.” K’Andre Miller is having a down season, but there’s no doubting his talent. He is the kind of feisty, puck-moving defenceman the Canucks would love to add. But now that the Rangers have moved on from Jacob Trouba, it’s hard to see them moving on from Miller. They need his talents, even if he’s struggled.
He’s also still pretty young, so, again, would the Rangers be willing to take on a forward in this 30s, even if New York is looking to re-set their lineup?
This whole thing is just nuts. Why can’t we have nice things in Vancouver!? — canucksmd via Bluesky
We do have nice things — the ocean and the mountains.
Now I’m going to stick my head in the Spanish Banks sand.
You know it’s nice of Elliotte (Friedman) to cover the team and share his thoughts and all that, but in what world does J.T. Miller waive his NMC to go join one of the worst teams in the league? And it’s not like the Canucks won’t need one or more good roster players coming back. — MJ Borrowerman via Bluesky
Let’s remember, the real noise on all this has been from back east. In the end, I do think the Canucks will not making a move.
You never say never in hockey, of course, there’s no doubt there have been internal frustrations of varying degrees at varying times with various people. But in the end, winning fixes all this. Is this team really that far off last year’s squad?
Does Miller really want to leave? He chose this place after all. He likes living here and playing here. It’s possible that’s changed, but if it has, he’s not saying so publicly.