The Vancouver Canucks already made a minor trade on deadline day, sending Curtis Lazar to the New Jersey Devils for a 2024 fourth-round pick. They are certainly a team in transition and it sounds like they are actively looking to make a few more deals today. Farhan Lalji of TSN reports there is talk of J.T. Miller’s name being out there in trade talks today.
The gritty forward has already signed an eight-year extension that begins next season, but has quickly fallen out of favor with the Canucks. He has 20 goals and 54 points in 60 games this season, but the Canucks are looking to shake things up.
- Jacob Stoller of The Hockey News reports that Conor Garland’s name is also out there in trade talks. He says that the team is interested in acquiring an effective NHL player in exchange for Garland, and do not want to deal him just for draft picks. The 26-year-old winger has three more years left on his contract with a cap hit of $4.95MM.
- As for who the Canucks may be interested in acquiring, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports they have checked in on Alex Turcotte. Turcotte was the fifth-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and has 14 points in 24 AHL games for the Ontario Reign this season.
I don’t really understand how Miller is a trade deadline target. Retention seems to be off the table with his pricey long term contract. The teams who have the cap space for this and next season(s) are either not contenders right now and/or have managed their rebuild carefully and need ample cap space for future extensions of their young players.
I’m honestly clueless which team might pick Miller up today.