When a team like the Vancouver Canucks is entertaining trade offers for star players as skilled as Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller, the possibilities are virtually endless. The Boston Bruins are reportedly one of the teams considering tabling an offer and have engaged in dialogue with the Canucks already.
An NHL executive tells Marco D'Amico of Responsible Gambler that "[The Bruins are] talking to them," but the Canucks will only part ways with the player they want to part ways with. As simple as it sounds, it lines up with other recent reports, including from NHL insider Elliotte Friedman.
"I don’t know who for sure, but I know the Bruins want to get deeper and younger up the middle and not older,” the executive told D'Amico. “That seems like Pettersson, but it’s not about who they want; it’s about who the Canucks decide to move on from."
Miller, 31, is in the second year of the seven-year, $56 million ($8 million AAV) contract he signed with the Canucks on Sept. 2, 2022, and has a full no-movement clause until 2027. This means that Miller cannot be waived, traded, or assigned to the AHL without giving the Canucks his express approval.
With Pettersson, the story is a little different. The 26-year-old is in the first year of the eight-year, $92.6 million contract extension he signed with the Canucks on March 2 and does not have any trade protection until July 1.
In that sense, it would be easier for the Canucks to trade Pettersson, but he also has an $11.6 million cap hit that may not be suitable for most NHL teams.
Another source tells D'Amico, “I just don’t think the Bruins are positioned well, cap-wise and roster-wise, to make a trade like this. The only way they pull it off is by creating a hole to fill a hole.”
This belief aligns with the one held by the executive source, who postulates that the Bruins would have to offer the Canucks some combination of defenseman Mason Lohrei and forwards Matt Poitras, Trent Frederic, and Pavel Zacha.
As a center with 20 goals and 50 points in each of the last two seasons, Zacha would virtually be a lock in such a trade. The 27-year-old has nine goals, 12 assists, and 21 points in 43 games so far this season on a Bruins team that has been mostly bad.
Frederic, 26, has one year remaining on his contract at a $2.3 million cap hit, scoring six goals, six assists, and 12 points in 43 games as a bottom-six center.
The 23-year-old Lohrei would be a nice add for any NHL team, but the Canucks might instead prefer a right-shot option with Quinn Hughes, Derek Forbort, and Carson Soucy holding down the left side.
If this report tells us anything, the league-wide interest in Miller and Pettersson is real, and it's not going to go away anytime soon.