February 6th, 2025
JC Clemas
On Friday night, the Canucks front office finally woke up and made a deal. JT Miller was traded to the New York Rangers in exchange for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a 1st round pick. This was quickly followed up with a trade for Marcus Pettersson, which eliminated any need for the pairing of Carson Soucy and Noah Juulsen to see the ice together ever again. I’m not here to talk about that, I just wanted to throw it in. Following the JT trade, I have seen an alarming amount of people say that the Canucks “traded the wrong guy.” While I was a big fan of JT, and didn’t want him traded, there is absolutely no reason for me to currently think Pettersson should have been out the door ahead of him. Here’s why:
Potential
The first point, which is the most obvious, is the age difference between the two players. Pettersson turned 26 earlier this season, while Miller turns 32 in a couple of months. That is a 5-and-a-half-year difference between the two. In an ideal world, this means that Pettersson has 5 and a half more years of effective hockey than Miller does. His birth date definitely sets him up to be an important contributor for longer than Miller will be.
We’ve also seen flashes of brilliance from Pettersson in his short career so far. Just two seasons ago, he put up 102 points on a Canucks team that was never really a threat. Last season, he was on pace to pass that before a January injury severely limited his production for the rest of the season. That injury is another thing that Canucks fans have failed to take into account. They say that Pettersson isn’t a playoff guy, but their entire evidence is one playoff “run” where he was injured the entire time. Back in the 2020 bubble playoffs, Pettersson put up 18 points in 17 games. He has shown he can produce under the bright lights and just needs an uninjured body to do so.
Pettersson’s age simply just fits the Canucks’ timeline better. Currently, their youngest forward is Teddy Blueger, who is just 30 years old. This is a really young forward group, and there is no reason for them to be in “win-now” mode. Pettersson makes more sense to keep as a guy who can grow with this core, and especially Quinn Hughes. Keeping the 26-year-old instead of the 32-year-old extends the Canucks’ window of opportunity.
Team Chemistry
It’s been confirmed by everyone (except the two involved) that Miller and Pettersson’s relationship was having adverse effects in the locker room. It can’t be easy to play to the best of your ability when your two alternate captains are constantly squabbling. The issues stem from before the Allvin/Rutherford era in Vancouver, and would apparently come and go. The Canucks tried to make it work, but they eventually felt that there was no other option besides trading one of them. It’s apparent that the tension was initiated by Miller, and it makes more sense to trade him as a result. Pettersson has always appeared to be a quiet guy, and I highly doubt that he’s going to go out of his way to pick on any member of the locker room. If Pettersson were traded, maybe Miller’s focus would have just shifted to someone else?
Frank Seravalli reported that many Canucks were frustrated with the trade, also believing that the team traded the wrong guy. Miller was a very vocal leader for the team, and for those he wasn’t overbearingly tough on, this could have left them a little bit lost. What no report will mention is how many Canucks would back up Pettersson. We likely will never know how the locker room was split.
All I know is that those who were on Miller’s side will get over it if they can just ignore their feelings and be happy for his success in New York. Also helping the case for the Canucks rebuilding their team chemistry are the guys we recently brought in. Chytil and O’Connor appear to be great guys by all accounts. Rick Tocchet was even given a reference letter for Marcus Pettersson by Sidney Crosby, via a text message where the Penguins’ captain praised Pettersson’s leadership role in Pittsburgh.
The early results from the new-look Canucks inspire confidence that their chemistry will be fine. The team’s efforts without Quinn Hughes have been a lot more bearable to watch than the last time he missed games, to the point where the Canucks don’t even have to rush Hughes back this time. The team finally looks like it has some spark!
Trade Value
Does it make sense if I say that trading the player with lower value was the right move? Let me explain why I think that.
Both Miller and Pettersson’s trade values were lower than they were supposed to be. The Canucks failed to keep the locker room rift a secret and lost all the leverage they could have had in a trade of either player. They were never going to get what either player was worth, so to me, trading the player with less value in this case is just limiting the damage. Getting rid of Pettersson for a return such as Dylan Cozens and Bowen Byram would never look good for the Canucks. In the Miller trade, they at least got Filip Chytil in return, who appears to fit the team very well. Along with that, the 1st they got in the trade was ultimately flipped for Marcus Pettersson. The Canucks did a great job of limiting the damage from a trade that they had to do.
In a worst-case scenario reality, trading Miller also gives the Canucks added leverage in an eventual Pettersson trade. With the locker room rift in the rearview mirror, the Canucks do not have to make a trade again. They can absolutely just hold on to Elias Pettersson. This means that they should only really trade him if the offers are more valuable. His trade value must have spiked after Miller’s departure, and just about any team in the league who can afford his contract would likely be interested in acquiring the centre. Though a trade of Pettersson would only happen if he doesn’t impress Allvin in the short run, thus making his value lower than it can be, his trade value now is still higher than it was when Miller was a part of the team. So, if they are to trade both players, doing it in this order makes the most sense.
On-Ice Play
It’s difficult to compare Miller and Pettersson’s stats with each other because it seems like they alternate who gets to have a good season (besides this season, where both have been underwhelming).
One thing that stands out is their work in the defensive zone. Miller has proven he can be a great defensive player, but only when he tries. If we’re being real, there were many times in Miller’s Canucks tenure when he failed to give a satisfactory effort. One moment that comes to mind is a game against Calgary that went to overtime, where Miller was hooked on a breakaway and no penalty was called. Instead of backchecking, or getting to the bench quickly, Miller yelled at the referee and skated slowly back to his team. This left Bo Horvat, who eventually replaced Miller on the ice, with nothing to do except watch helplessly from the neutral zone as the Flames won the game.
Pettersson’s commitment to the team has sometimes been called into question. There have been a couple of times when he’s taken longer to return from injury than he likely should have. One of those was the bubble year, where Pettersson seemingly just gave up on the season after getting injured 26 games in. One of those was this year, when he and Hughes were injured in the same game, and the week-to-week Hughes beat the day-to-day Pettersson back into the lineup by a couple of games.
What’s not called into question is Pettersson’s effort level when he IS on the ice. Though the results are not always there on the scoresheet, especially this season, he is always trying his best on both ends of the ice. He shows no fear in laying out to block shots, particularly making many great defensive plays in the January 11th game against Toronto and late in the January 18th game against Edmonton. He has finished as high as 7th in Selke voting, and could probably be high on that list again this season if the overall narrative hadn’t soured on him so much.
In terms of statistics, Miller’s career high in points is 1 above Pettersson’s. Miller set that in his age 31 season, while Pettersson set his peak in his age 24 season. Pettersson has more raw skill than Miller and just struggles to find production at times in his career. When Miller was on his leave of absence earlier in the season, Pettersson had 15 points in 10 games. He works best when there’s no JT Miller to steal the Quinn Hughes minutes. That being said, Pettersson obviously needs to find offense without Quinn in the lineup. This offense is his for the time being, and he needs to be a leader. If he can find his confidence and get going, I believe in him.
JT’s Health
This is far and away the most obvious reason why the Canucks traded the right guy. Many Canucks fans have selfishly wished for Pettersson to be traded instead, even after hearing Patrik Allvin’s press conference from Saturday. Allvin spoke about how the trade was the right move for not only the Canucks, but JT Miller as well.
While Miller never actually requested a trade, he wasn’t in the dark about a trade potentially happening. Allvin, Miller, and Miller’s agent had been discussing it for months and decided it was best for the forward. As mentioned before, Miller took a leave of absence from the team earlier in the season, which was categorized as a mental health leave. Despite ridiculous speculation from the media, I’ve been given no reason to believe there was another reason. Miller was not in the right headspace in Vancouver, and Allvin wanted to give him a fresh start elsewhere.
New York was the perfect fit for him. Reports indicated that his preference was to go to a team in the eastern United States, and that’s exactly what he got. Plus, he was given a chance with a team he’s already familiar with, with players that he knows quite well, including longtime friend Vincent Trochek. Look how it’s working out for him so far: in 3 games, he’s put up 2 goals and 2 assists. Miller had more goals in his Rangers re-debut than he had in his last 11 games as a Canuck. He also seems far more energized, and the Rangers players have been respecting his leadership abilities already. Additionally, he and Trochek have already been cooking together. This trade was the best thing for Miller both on and off the ice.
This could all mean nothing. Pettersson isn’t out of the woods yet, and could still be traded by the March 7th deadline if he doesn’t impress Patrik Allvin. All he’s been given is a chance to bring this season back. Allvin mentioned that his expectations for Pettersson have shot up with the Miller trade, and Pettersson’s expectations of himself are through the roof as well. In the two games with the new group, Pettersson has failed to manage a point (though could probably have around 3 assists if Brock Boeser figured out his snake bite a little earlier). His contract is one of the highest in the league, and he hasn’t even come close to living up to it. Pettersson needs to start producing ASAP, or he may find himself walking out of the door in Vancouver as well.