The Canucks might be on the verge of blowing it up and trading one (or both) of their top two centers, but should the Devils be the team to swoop in?
Around this time two years ago when it was apparent that the Devils playoff spot was secure, I started exploring potential trade targets in the six weeks or so leading up to the trade deadline. The first two players I profiled that January were Adam Henrique and Timo Meier, and needless to say, I was pleased that one of the first players that I profiled was indeed traded to the Devils several weeks later.
Two years later, the Devils are in a playoff position again (some would say in spite of their efforts of late) and in the buyer’s market again. And assuming Tom Fitzgerald wasn’t blowing smoke when he sat down with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, he knows what the clear #1 need for this team is heading into the trade deadline. Adding another center.
“Somebody that can come in and maybe give us that extra oomph — and maybe properly slot people to make us a strong, four-line team come playoff time,” Fitzgerald said. “And build depth because of injuries. And build competition, too. We love what we have. I just really want to add on top of that.”
Fitzgerald is correct when he says that adding another center is a top priority. The Devils haven’t gotten much of anything out of their bottom six centers this season. On a related note, the bottom six as a whole hasn’t contributed much of anything offensively as John astutely pointed out last week. Erik Haula was largely ineffective for a prolonged stretch before finally missing time due to an ankle injury and subsequently landing on IR. Curtis Lazar got injured, but it was up for debate whether or not he is even a center at all heading into the season, with plenty of evidence to suggest he’s better off on the wing. At best, he might be a tweener with enough flexibility to do both, but he hasn’t contributed much offensively and is not an ideal solution. As for Justin Dowling, he’s a fine player to have around as organizational depth, but I don’t know how many teams that are serious about playing deep into the spring have a career AHLer like Dowling in their lineup. It goes without saying that Devils MUST add a center at the deadline for the reasons Fitzgerald pointed about above.
That brings me to today’s team in the Vancouver Canucks. You might be surprised to hear that their top two centers, Elias Pettersson and JT Miller, aren’t exactly the best of friends. This feud has been simmering for what feels like aeons but in reality is probably the shorter end of the last two months (at least from what we know publicly). With Canucks coach Rick Tocchet recently benching JT Miller again ….key word being ‘again’, it seems like Miller might be the odd man out in Vancouver and its really just a matter of time before they trade him away to somebody who would be interested in his services.
But does that mean the Devils should be interested in his services?
Reportedly, the Devils are at least kicking the tires, as Cam Robinson from Elite Prospects said there’s “some smoke” there. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski added that he’d be a great fit on the ice (and he’d leave it at that). And TSN’s Pierre LeBrun noted that the Devils are indeed in on him, although they’re trying to determine internally whether it makes sense to go all in on Miller. It would make sense that the Devils are at least checking in on him. But does a Miller trade actually make sense? Would it make more sense to pursue Pettersson, or perhaps a lower ticket item that Vancouver might have available? Or should the Devils look elsewhere entirely? This article will answer those questions.
The Pros Of Trading For JT Miller
Let’s start with what JT Miller does well. He’s a really good hockey player, particularly on the offensive side of the game.
At the center position, he is a point producing machine. In six seasons in Vancouver, he has tallied 433 points in 399 career games as of this writing. He is also a machine in the faceoff circle, winning 55.8% of draws in his time in Vancouver. He is having a down year this season, but this is a player who has topped the 30 goal mark in the previous three seasons, and has been a consistent PPG player. He’s a big body at 6’1”, 218 lb who has consistently been healthy throughout his career. He’s also a player who, in his last two playoff runs with the Canucks, has shown up for them with 30 points in 30 playoff games. Miller has gotten Selke votes in the past, although I’d question whether or not he’s actually still good defensively (with the answer to that question probably being “is he trying today”). He does bring some physicality to the table, and when he’s going right, he plays a style of game that is suited for playoff hockey.
Normally, a player like Miller wouldn’t even be available at the midway point of the season, especially from a team like Vancouver that is squarely on the playoff bubble. But as we’ve discussed, the situation with Miller has seemingly gotten to the point where its untenable to continue moving forward with him on the roster. I wouldn’t say the Canucks are at the point where they’ll just give him away, but we are at least getting to the point where it might be in the best interests of all parties involved to move on.
So what would the Devils be getting if they traded for Miller. For starters, they’d get that lineup flexibility that Fitzgerald craves. Miller is probably overqualified to be a 3C behind Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes, but it goes without question he’d be a massive upgrade over what the Devils presently have. Miller is certainly talented enough though where you could insert him into the top six for a different look and it would be a big upgrade there as well. Simply put, Miller is an elite offensive player that would be a much needed injection of talent for a team that has been in a bit of a rut of late when it comes to putting the puck in the back of the net.
On top of that, it’s an opportunity to solve the 3C issue once and for all, as the Devils don’t really have an internal option coming anytime soon. Erik Haula will be 34 next year and on the final year of his contract. Lazar is a pending UFA. And the Devils don’t really have any center prospects who are close to NHL ready. Miller turns 32 in the spring, so he’s not a young man, but he’s not old either. Even as Miller declines as he approaches his mid to late 30s, he should still remain productive offensively for at least the next few years of his contract.
Now, would having one of Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, or JT Miller as the 3C be overkill? Absolutely. It’s an embarrassment of riches, but it’s an embarrassment of riches at a premium position. Either way, adding another quality forward who can play center gives the Devils a variety of options they haven’t really had. Sheldon Keefe hasn’t tinkered with the line blender as much as his predecessor did but maybe that changes if he decides to stick Miller on a line with Hughes or Hischier for a few games for a spark. While doing that wouldn’t do much to help the 3C issue in the interim, it could be something that can be done help get those guys going in a pinch. Conversely, keeping Miller at center would get the Devils one step closer to Fitzgerald’s stated goal of being able to run a strong, four-line team.
The Cons of Trading for JT Miller
The first negative we have to talk about with Miller is his contract. It’s not great, even though its fair market value for him right now.
Miller is in the second year of an seven year deal paying him $8M AAV. He has a full NMC over the life of that deal (which may be notable if the NHL considers expansion once again before 2030), and a 15-team no trade list that begins in 2027-28. It’s also structured in a way where there’s not a ton of benefit of buying him out until perhaps the final year of his deal.
Even with a salary cap ceiling that might go all the way to $97M next year and would presumably continue to increase in future years, I think its fair to question if spending upwards of $8M on a third center is the best use of resources. I do think looking at recent Stanley Cup champions, you can see the importance of having a quality third center, whether its Florida with former lottery pick Anton Lundell, Vegas with Wild Bill Karlsson, and even the Lightning teams that won with Yanni Gourde being a critical part of their third line. Miller would cost more than any of those guys did against the cap. But also, the cap is going up. The cap is expected to continue going up. The $8M that Jack Hughes is making a year is already a bargain, but how obscene is that bargain if the cap goes high enough where instead of him tying up close to 10% of the cap, that number is closer to 7.5%? I think will Miller, who like Hughes is signed through 2030 at $8M AAV, its at least something to consider.
Of more importance though is Miller’s current situation. His struggles on the ice are apparent. Tocchet pouring more fuel on the fire with first another benching and then saying postgame that “It seems like every time he’s on the ice, something bad happens” isn’t exactly helping matters. Miller’s body language isn’t good and he certainly looks like a player who has checked out, which raises the question “if he doesn’t care now, why would I want that guy here”. Especially when this isn’t the first time that Miller has looked disengaged or detached from the rest of the team.
I am not in the Canucks room, so I don’t want to speculate on Miller off the ice. I do know that sometimes, personalities and egos don’t mesh well, like oil and water. I can’t speak to whether or not I should side with Miller vs. Elias Pettersson because I simply don’t know. Is Miller a guy who is a little too intense? Is he a guy who has no issues calling others out if they’re not as competitive as he is? Is he a little too direct or too blunt with his approach? Conversely, does that excuse Miller seemingly mailing it in as of late?
I will say that I am curious as to what Quinn Hughes thinks of this whole situation since he is in the room, and I am curious as to what the conversations are like when the Hughes brothers get together on the text chain. Tom Fitzgerald shouldn’t necessarily be in the business of running personnel decisions through Jack Hughes, but if there ever was a situation where it was warranted, it might be one such as this where you know Quinn knows the full story and you know the brothers talk amongst themselves.
What I Think a Miller Trade Could Look Like If the Devils Did It
I view Miller as a depreciating asset, but to what degree is up for debate.
It should be noted that there are complications with an in-season Miller trade, aside from his NMC. It’s not an easy contract to move in-season. Supposedly, the Canucks turned down an offer for Mika Zibanejad for Miller straight up, although there are conflicting reports that say the Rangers said no after Vancouver asked for Braden Schneider. There are other reports that a trade package involving Filip Chytil, Ryan Lindgren, and futures got nixed. Add in all of the extra ‘noise’, for lack of a better term, and I question how robust the market is for Miller. For what its worth, Miller reportedly has not asked for a trade, but I do think the fact that he has a say in the matter with his NMC could ultimately impact whatever the return might be.
I do think the three main teams in the mix at the moment for Miller are the Rangers, Hurricanes, and Devils. I also think the trade packages that haven’t been accepted yet are an indicator of what it actually might take to get Miller.
If you would’ve asked me before the year what Miller might cost in a trade with the Devils, I probably would’ve said a combination of a 1st round pick, Mercer, and Simon Nemec. To me, that offer is certainly competitive if not flat out better than any of the proposed Rangers offers, but it also isn’t really reflective of a so-called depreciating asset in Miller, who is having a down year and at a minimum has a bunch of baggage attached to him at the moment.
I’m open to the idea of Miller IF the Devils are basically getting him for 30 cents on the dollar, which to me means no Simon Nemec. No Seamus Casey. No first round pick, nevermind that the Devils don’t have their first in 2025 anyways. My offer would be Dawson Mercer, Tomas Tatar, and one of the Devils second round picks for JT Miller with the understanding being that the main ‘get’ for Vancouver would be the out on the Miller contract, and if that’s not enough to get a deal done, so be it. As much as I like the idea of JT Miller, I don’t know that I NEED JT Miller at all costs.
Do I think that trade would be accepted? I do not. Do I think the Devils should offer more? I guess it depends how badly they think they need a JT Miller, but for me, I would not offer much more than that. So I’m very comfortable with the idea of losing out on Miller as a result.
Why Not Try To Trade For Elias Pettersson Instead?
Of course, Miller isn’t the only Canucks center who may or may not be on the trading block. One way the Canucks could rectify their situation is if they elected to keep Miller and trade Elias Pettersson instead. So let’s take a look at his situation and see if that makes sense instead.
Like Miller, Pettersson is a point producing machine. Like Miller, Pettersson has topped 30 goals in the last three seasons prior to this year. And like Miller, Pettersson is signed to a mammoth long-term contract, as he is in the first year of an 8-year deal paying him $11.6M AAV.
Pettersson does has a full NMC, but that clause doesn’t kick in until Year 2 of that deal, so the Canucks could move him anywhere before July 1 if they’re having second thoughts on that deal without his consent.
The similarities end there though and that’s before considering they play a different style of hockey. Pettersson is five years younger with a larger cap hit and more term remaining on his deal. That will be a difficult deal for any team to fit onto their books. He’s also not nearly a proficient in the dot as Miller nor does he has the postseason success that Miller had last season, with a goal and five assists in 13 playoff games.
I would guess that Vancouver is leaning towards keeping Pettersson and trading Miller and I think that is a defensible stance. Pettersson is the younger player and he’s not the one who has been in Tocchet’s doghouse of late. But even if he were available, I think that’s a more complicated trade to make, both in terms of assets given up and making it all fit within the structure of the salary cap. That’s not to say that Pettersson will never be traded. Never say never, after all. I just don’t see that happening in season, and I think its more likely they move on from Miller and retool around their Pettersson-Quinn Hughes core.
Is There Anyone Else in Vancouver Worth Trading For?
This would raise the question of whether or not the Canucks are actually sellers, or if they’re simply looking to make a trade involving one of their centers because of an untenable situation. I don’t think the Canucks should necessarily sell or tear it down, but lets take a look at their roster.
Teddy Blueger is an interesting option for a potential 4th line center. Not only is he not a complete non-factor offensively, he is consistently north of 50% in the faceoff circle and is one of Vancouver’s main options on the penalty kill. Blueger is signed for another $1.8M for next season and can block trades to 12 teams, but that’s about the going rate for a solid 4th line center.
Kiefer Sherwood is listed as a center but he’s probably more of a winger. He’s on a little bit of a shooting bender this year and has carved out a role on Vancouver’s third line, but his physicality would make him a natural fit with the direction the Devils have gone in since last summer. Sherwood is signed for another year at $1.5M.
The player I’ve long coveted from Vancouver though has been Conor Garland. Garland is not a large player at 5’8” and 181 lb. but he makes up for that with a fearlessness and a tenacity to get to the net to make things happen. He also has a tendency to get under the opposition’s skin, as he recently did with Connor McDavid. Garland has been a consistent 45-50 point producer the last few years, and with another year on his deal at $4.95M, he’d be an interesting candidate for a team that could use some secondary scoring.
I don’t know that Vancouver is in the business of trading guys with term though (aside from Miller), so I’d be surprised if any of those guys ultimately got moved. Vancouver does have two interesting pending UFA forwards in Brock Boeser and Pius Suter who they do have to make decisions on though. Boeser reached the 40 goal mark last season, but that’s also the only season in which he’s topped 30 goals a season. He’s a consistent 20+ goal scorer that should draw interest if the Canucks decide to move on. As for Suter, he could be a 3C option as a rental although he’s been playing winger of late for the Canucks. He’s a solid two-way forward who plays tough minutes against the opposition, so there is value in that. But he’s not the biggest guy, he’s not particularly physical, and he’s been ice cold of late offensively.
Final Thoughts
I would expect the majority of the comments to this article to be a referendum on JT Miller as a player and as a person, and I think there are a lot of arguments that have merit. I think there’s also a lot of unknown out there that we don’t know when it comes to Miller that concerns me to some extent. Is he a malcontent? Is he a locker room cancer? Being labeled a ‘cancer’ is a serious accusation that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Is he being unfairly singled out in a hockey-crazy market where everything is magnified? Would he be better off in a quieter market like New Jersey where every little thing he says and does isn’t overanalyzed by the media? And does any of this noise actually matter at the end of the day?
Allow me to bring up Pierre Luc-Dubois for a moment. Dubois is a player who had earned a reputation for being a bit of a malcontent, for mailing it in, and for giving little to no effort over the last few years. Some people would’ve gone as far as to call him a cancer. At this time last year, I think most people would’ve said that Dubois was untradeable given he was in the first year of a long-term deal. But the Kings, admitting a mistake they made in the process by trading for and signing Dubois, found a trade partner in the Capitals and were able to move on.
Since landing in Washington, Dubois has been on his best behavior and is having a very good season. The Capitals were able to land a Top Six caliber center for pennies on the dollar, but they also had the pieces in place to get the most out of Dubois. The Capitals have a great head coach in Spencer Carbury. They play good, structured hockey. And they have the veteran leadership in place to where Dubois didn’t have to be the savior. He could just blend in and be one of the guys and he’s been great so far. Obviously, there’s a long way to go with Dubois in DC, as he is signed for six more years, but the early returns on that deal are promising.
I think Miller could be a similar case to Dubois where in a new environment with a respected head coach and good veteran leadership in place, he could thrive. And I do think the Devils share some similarities there with the Capitals where they have the coach, the structure, and the leaders in place where Miller can simply focus on hockey and tune out the noise. There has been plenty of good hockey from JT Miller in the recent past and there is no indication that he is all of a sudden washed up. I do think there are some motivation questions with him at this moment, which aren’t ideal, but I also think Canadian media has a tendency to blow things out of proportion. I don’t know that I necessarily blame him for checking out if a hardass coach like Tocchet is going to continually single him out for mistakes. At the end of the day, I tend to believe that the Miller stuff is blown out of proportion based off the little information that I know. If someone can give me specifics on why he’s a supposed locker room cancer, I’m open to hearing about it and discussing in the comments section, but you better bring it with facts and not hearsay.
That said, Miller is still a high-salaried player in a hard cap league where yes, the cap is ultimately fake, but its not that fake where you can just ignore it. The contract is a factor. Fitting it in is a consideration. And I don’t know that the Devils are best served using their remaining cap flexibility and resources to do it for this player. I do agree the Devils need another center. I do agree that the Devils could use an offensive force like JT Miller. And I do think there are ways to make it work beyond this season.
Miller is overkill in terms of solving the 3C issue, so he wouldn’t be a natural fit on the Devils other than “Lets just accumulate as much talent as possible and figure out how the pieces fit later” like an All-Star team. Frankly, if the Devils were to acquire him, I think its fairly likely they put him in Ondrej Palat’s spot in the lineup and have him take faceoffs on Jack Hughes’s line, which doesn’t really solve the 3C issue. That’s not to say that he wouldn’t make the Devils better in that particular role, just that it doesn’t quite fix the problem. Ultimately, Miller is an interesting name on the trade market for sure, but I don’t know that he’s a natural fit, and I’d only really be interested if the Devils were to acquire him for pennies on the dollar. And judging from some of the reported deals that have been rejected, I don’t think Miller is coming at a steep enough discount to go out of my way there to add him. The Devils best trade chip is Simon Nemec, but I don’t know if this is the type of deal where you cash that chip in.
If I could put on my fantasy GM hat for a second, I think it would make more sense for Tom Fitzgerald to look elsewhere for the 3C solution and spread the money around to acquire a couple players rather than put all of your eggs into the JT Miller basket. Ryan O’Reilly would make a ton of sense for the Devils as a 3C option (and I will wind up writing about Nashville soon, so stay tuned there), and you would still have enough flexibility to kick the tires on your rental winger of choice. It would take a little creativity, most likely shipping Tomas Tatar somewhere in a cap dump in the process and getting the other team to retain salary, but its doable. If it were me calling the shots, I’d look to do that instead.
I don’t think the Devils are going to trade for JT Miller. I don’t think the Devils are going to trade for Elias Pettersson. Because his name always comes up when the Canucks are discussed, I don’t think the Devils are going to trade for Quinn Hughes. And unless the Canucks shift towards sell mode, I’m not sure that they’re going to trade off some of their other veteran forwards either. I do think they have some players who would be interesting plug and play upgrades over what the Devils currently have. Teddy Blueger is an instant upgrade over Lazar/Dowling at 4C, and I’d certainly have time for Brock Boeser at 50% retention as a rental. But when push comes to shove, I think the Canucks are more likely to add than sell at the deadline, with the lone exception, of course, being when they move on from JT Miller.
That’s how I see the Canucks situation. Perhaps you view things differently. Please feel free to leave a comment and thank you for reading.