Trade rumour season is in full swing in NHL land, and the Vancouver Canucks are no strangers to seeing their players' names floated in said rumours. Of course, it does not help when a fundamental disagreement between stars like J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson goes national like it has.
The Miller and Pettersson rift has got everyone talking, and at this point, even the insiders are buying in and speculating about the infinite possiblilities the two stars could create for other NHL teams.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman came up with an interesting scenario on his latest "32 Thoughts" podcast episode, floating a Western Conference cellar dweller as a potential Canucks trade destination for Miller, in particular.
Blackhawks a potential Canucks trade partner for J.T. Miller?
"I'll tell you one team, and I want to stress, I didn't really look at how it would all work. But, just thinking about it off the top of my head, especially after what we saw this week," Friedman began. "Would be Chicago. You know what, like, if I'm Chicago and that J.T. Miller thing is real, that's the guy I'm going after. And again, you have to be willing to make a trade. Chicago doesn't have a lot at the NHL level, but they've got a lot of picks, they've got a lot of prospects."
Miller, 31, is in the second year of the seven-year, $56 million contract he signed with the Canucks on Sept. 2, 2022, and notably has a no-movement clause in his contract through 2026.
Plus, with Pettersson out injured, trading Miller would force a depth player like Pius Suter into the No. 1 center role. On the flip side, the Canucks do have their first-round pick in the upcoming draft, so they could, in theory, punt the season and benefit from the higher draft pick.
The only thing is, that does not quite work with players like Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, Thatcher Demko, Brock Boeser, and Filip Hronek all at the zeniths of their respective careers.
Assuming Connor Bedard is off the table, the Canucks would be forced to consider players like Taylor Hall, Teuvo Teravainen, Frank Nazar, Seth Jones, or perhaps Artyom Levshunov.
Ultimately, Friedman's suggestion comes down to how young the Canucks are willing to get. A player selected in 2025 could become a steady contributor within five or six years, but the Canucks veterans listed above would all be in their early- or mid-30s. It's a large risk to take that could prove to be worthwhile if executed correctly.