After all the smoke and rumours that have emerged over the last few weeks, the Vancouver Canucks did not end up trading star forward J.T. Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Instead, the Hurricanes pulled off a blockbuster three-team trade on Friday night, sending Martin Necas and Jack Drury to the Colorado Avalanche and acquiring Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall from the Avalanche and the Chicago Blackhawks, respectively.
Because this is the route the Hurricanes ultimately went, Miller has one less potential trade destination available to him, and the Canucks' hands are only tied further. And, according to NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, the Canucks extensively discussed the framework of an Elias Pettersson trade with the Hurricanes as well.
"Where [the Rantanen trade] leaves the Canucks is a whole other story, of course. As I reported late Friday night, it’s my understanding that Carolina and Vancouver got close on a deal this past week. What I can’t confirm is whether it involved J.T. Miller or Elias Pettersson, because the reality is that the Canes had talks with the Canucks over the past several weeks on each player. All I know is that Miller wasn’t asked to waive his full no-move clause," LeBrun reported.
"We also know that Carolina tried to trade for Pettersson a year ago before he extended with the Canucks. I can confirm that Vancouver had talks with other teams as recently as this past week regarding Pettersson as well. So it remains as it ever was. The Canucks could trade either Miller or Pettersson and perhaps even both when all is said and done between now and next season.
"Whatever the case is, Vancouver lost a trading partner once Carolina went the Colorado route."
Miller, Pettersson, and the Canucks managed to defeat the Washington Capitals by a score of 2-1 on Saturday night, potentially saving their season (or just keeping it alive for now). Perhaps by turning over a new leaf, the two Canucks stars can remove themselves from the chopping block. Only time will tell.