Again, I hope you're right that this is some sort of 4D chess move, and Rutherford obviously has much better insight on the situation than some dweeb on the internet (ie me) so it's reasonable to give some deference to him.
I agree that the messaging from the interview had to be "we'll trade Miller if the price is right and keep him if not" and if that was what he said, I don't think he'd be getting roasted on here. The problem is that the message that came across was "we can't fix this internally". To me this means the Canucks will eventually be forced into a trade, and the leverage in their current position can simply be waited out. I just don't see how this is preferable to just not saying anything at all.