At the halfway mark of the season the pundits grade the Canucks, they drop in all the power rankings, and lead league in trade rumours
The out of town markets and pundits are now starting to wonder: is this team good enough? Here’s what they had to say after the 6-1 loss to Winnipeg on Jan. 14.
“Special panic factor: The prolonged tailspin. Whenever a team spends roughly a month straight in free fall, it can cloud judgment around the big picture.”
“When Pettersson was a pending free agent last season his name was appearing in trade rumours as he still hadn’t signed an extension into February. That bit of pressure led to the Canucks and Pettersson coming to an agreement on an eight-year, $92.8 million contract in March, six days before the trade deadline.
“The 2024-25 season is the first year of that deal, and the only one that doesn’t have a full no-movement clause attached to it, which has again kicked up trade speculation. When Canucks GM Patrik Allvin spoke to Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre he also didn’t slam the door on trade talk, saying “Is it (a trade) possible? I guess I would say anything is possible.”
The Canucks have been struggling to find consistency and are one point out of the West’s second wild card spot with the conference’s ninth-best points percentage. That, too, has opened the door to the possibility of some in-season roster turnover, with Jim Rutherford and his active trade history overlooking everything from the president of hockey operations chair.
If the Canucks make a massive and surprising move, Pettersson isn’t the only candidate who could be in the middle of it. Miller, the team’s other top-six centre, is also in the mix.
Five years older, $3.6 million cheaper, and with two fewer years left on his contract than Pettersson, Miller was Vancouver’s scoring leader last season, but has fallen off that 103-point pace. What complicates this move more than Pettersson’s is that Miller does have a full no-movement clause, and in complete control of his destiny.
While it may be easier to move either, or both, Miller and Pettersson in the off-season, it’s not impossible something could happen before March 7. If it does, keep an eye on New Jersey for either player. They have assets and players the Canucks could find attractive, and at the moment are on track to have about $7.469 million in deadline day salary cap space, according to PuckPedia.
Canucks midseason report cards:
Elias Pettersson: C- “The Canucks need a lot more from Elias Pettersson in the second half.”
J.T. Miller: C+ “Performed at a more complementary level as opposed to the sort of stand-alone driver we’ve seen previously.”
Jake DeBrusk: B+ “Is performing at a higher level than he’s ever previously managed in the NHL”
Jonathan Lekkerimäki: B+ “Has shown flashes in his nine NHL games of the elite speed and finishing ability.”
Kevin Lankinen: A- “In non-Lankinen starts, the Canucks have a 3-6-4 record.”
The Power Rankings
Trade targets tout Canucks
2025 draft picks: VAN 1, VAN 2, OTT 4, VAN 5, VAN 6, VAN 7
With each loss or inconsistent run of play, the trade rumours surrounding star players Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller grows, and like Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on Saturday, there are only three possible options to come out of this: One gets traded, they both move, or both stay.
This week was just another example. Saturday’s effort was something of a statement win for the Canucks after a tough day of travel, but then they followed it up with a putrid 6-1 loss in Winnipeg Tuesday and an uninspiring effort in a 5-1 home loss to Los Angeles Thursday. After winning the Pacific Division’s regular season title last season, how will management measure this team?
It’s not just Pettersson and Miller that could be shopped. Boeser, a pending UFA mentioned on Nick Kypreos’ trade board, could also be on the move with the team just hovering around the playoffs. With President Jim Rutherford at the helm, making huge trades while jumping into the market early is nothing new.
The ongoing speculation over Pettersson and Miller is reportedly affecting the NHL trade market.
TSN’s Chris Johnston reported the Canucks are continuing to work out their options. Meanwhile, he cited sources saying there’s a belief around the NHL that they’re leaning toward moving Miller.
Some have suggested the New York Rangers as a suitable destination for Miller, who began his NHL career in the Big Apple. A recent report claimed the Rangers offered up Mika Zibanejad, but there’s no confirmation whether that proposal reached the stage where Zibanejad would waive his no-move clause.
Pettersson lacks no-trade protection this season, but his $11.6-million annual average value for the next seven years, in some ways, makes him harder to move than Miller with his $8-million cap hit. Still, Pettersson’s name has previously surfaced in recent media trade chatter.
For now, the intrigue continues with no immediate end in sight.
“If they could acquire an improvement in their bottom-six group of forwards or on defence, they’d surely do so. They’re 23rd in goals against per game, with 3.14, and 22nd in goals-for per game, with 2.88. They don’t have a defenceman producing much offence besides Quinn Hughes, for starters.
Despite being stuck in the middle of the Pacific Division, Vancouver still has the opportunity to make a second-half surge and set themselves up for a deep playoff run. They don’t have to hit a home run with a deal involving Miller or Pettersson, but the Canucks are surely intent on improving by the deadline. The Canucks still have their first- and second-rounders in the next two drafts if they need to move them for someone who can help them in the short and long term.
Allvin and Rutherford may not wait until the deadline to make a deal — in fact, that’s the M.O. of Rutherford over the years — but if they stand pat, many, if not most observers would be surprised.
Winnipeg loss a reality-check
Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes lead Canucks over Maple Leafs
“Vancouver landed in Toronto at noon on Saturday and only arrived at their hotel about five hours before puck drop — a police escort apparently failed to expedite their travel down the Queen Elizabeth Way.
“This Canucks side had every reason to drop another one Saturday against the Maple Leafs, but the club instead managed one of their most complete and impressive performances of the season”
“1. Pettersson’s deployment patterns more closely matched how the Canucks have utilized J.T. Miller for much of this season. The swap worked out, and it worked out immediately.”
“2. This was a Hughes takeover game … On the big stage, in the city that he grew up in, against the team his father worked for, it was Vancouver’s captain who stole the show — and two points from the Maple Leafs.
“3. Pettersson was finishing hits, (and) making exceptional defensive plays.”
The perspective from the ‘centre of the hockey universe’
“Toronto was facing a Vancouver Canucks squad on the second leg of a back-to-back that had its travel to Toronto disrupted by weather. The Canucks had also lost four in a row, six of their last seven and nine of their last 12 — and stepped onto the ice dealing with more uncertainty about the core of its team than any franchise in the NHL.”