I like Miller, I thought his blazing passion when channeled properly can propel the team in the right direction. However...his recent absence which resulted in Pete's resurgence, and his showing since the return, makes me doubt his place on this team.
Fortunately, his contract is decent, so if the chips are down and stakes are up, it should not be super difficult to find a sensible trade.
The team needs a Miller for the playoffs.
The team needs Pettersson playing to his potential.
The team needs a coach that can fix the unfixable.
The Petersson Miller conflict was not so bad when Pettersson was in his first few years here, Petey may not have liked it but Miller was the veteran.
Now they are on equal footing and Miller is short term but very necessary under Tocchet's system and Petey struggles with Tocchet type players. Goal scorers like Kuzmenko play a different game than desperate AHL players hoping for a contract. It just happened that Kuz and Petey fit so well together but neither has done well without since.
But there are long term issues to deal with as well, the cap being a huge one, the construction of the team, the coaching.
This team has as many or more issues than the Rangers without the success the Rangers have enjoyed for years.
Does anyone not consider that Hughes, being a normal human being with all the emotions, might not be happy losing? Apart from personal success his entire career to date from the start with the Canucks has been on a losing team with one exception. His last contract took to FA whereas Pettersson's he was still an RFA by his choice.
Do people think the players don't know hockey? That they float around with fantasy dreams that this team will win a cup when they struggle in the room and if they don't get Vezina calibre goal-tending they can't out score opposing teams or that teams around them aren't improving faster with many more younger players?
The team in three years will be totally different.
Trading now IF the prospects work out might be the very best option, there needs to be a retooling or more and that means ALL the core should be considered but Pettersson might get the best return and Miller can too.
The structure of the team looks like something very major needs to happen it has too many boards guys and not enough star level players. Ya, I know many forum folks will say Boeser or Garland are stars, maybe on this team but others? Then there is often injured Demko. And Hughes who will have for the first time in his career a choice he can make, maybe a human choice.
Maybe just trade them both, maybe not at the same time but if still out of a playoff spot, Miller now and Pettersson if they can get him to waive if he is good enough for the 2026 1rst overall but I think that might be when Hughes get dealt in his last year for a bushel basket of picks and prospects. Maybe in two years.
I think Tocchet is pretty close to being done, isn't he a lame duck coach now?