A little bit of info from LeBrun about the Miller rumours.
I don’t blame Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin for trying to minimize the extent of Miller trade talks after the deadline. There’s no currency in publicly discussing trade talks involving a player who signed a seven-year, $56 million extension last summer that hasn’t even kicked in yet.
But what is also true is that the Canucks had some meaningful trade discussions with Pittsburgh before the deadline, to the point where two third-party teams, and maybe more that I didn’t hear of, were approached by the Canucks and asked if they would take a player from Pittsburgh to make the whole thing work cap-wise. One team gave it serious thought but then heard back from the Canucks on Friday that the discussion with Pittsburgh was dead.
So, what do we make of all this? First of all, remember that, per the CBA, when Miller signed his extension Sept. 2 the Canucks could have given him no-move protection right then and there, ahead of the new contract kicking in July 1. They did not, choosing instead to keep that flexibility for this season. So, read into that what you will, but I think Miller and his agent Brian Bartlett filed that away as “be ready for anything until the extension kicks in.”
There’s still a decent chance Miller is part of the Canucks’ opening night lineup next fall, but I also believe management will keep listening prior to July 1, just in case. Miller hasn’t been promised anything either way.
(By the way, it goes without saying that the Canucks will try again on moving Brock Boeser this summer, but I didn’t think we needed a whole section to state the obvious here.)
I don’t blame Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin for trying to minimize the extent of Miller trade talks after the deadline. There’s no currency in publicly discussing trade talks involving a player who signed a seven-year, $56 million extension last summer that hasn’t even kicked in yet.
But what is also true is that the Canucks had some meaningful trade discussions with Pittsburgh before the deadline, to the point where two third-party teams, and maybe more that I didn’t hear of, were approached by the Canucks and asked if they would take a player from Pittsburgh to make the whole thing work cap-wise. One team gave it serious thought but then heard back from the Canucks on Friday that the discussion with Pittsburgh was dead.
So, what do we make of all this? First of all, remember that, per the CBA, when Miller signed his extension Sept. 2 the Canucks could have given him no-move protection right then and there, ahead of the new contract kicking in July 1. They did not, choosing instead to keep that flexibility for this season. So, read into that what you will, but I think Miller and his agent Brian Bartlett filed that away as “be ready for anything until the extension kicks in.”
There’s still a decent chance Miller is part of the Canucks’ opening night lineup next fall, but I also believe management will keep listening prior to July 1, just in case. Miller hasn’t been promised anything either way.
(By the way, it goes without saying that the Canucks will try again on moving Brock Boeser this summer, but I didn’t think we needed a whole section to state the obvious here.)
