Recently, we reported that the Vancouver Canucks received a huge trade offer from the Carolina Hurricanes last year when they were at an impasse with their star forward Elias Pettersson in their contract negotiations.
The offer was tempting and the two teams even took the time to negotiate.
Ultimately, Canucks management refused the Canes’ offer and managed to come to an agreement with Pettersson on the terms of an 8-year contract worth a total of $92.8 million to keep him in Vancouver.
But now Pettersson is currently having a less than expected start to the season and new information surfaced as we learned that there was an internal conflict between him and another star forward on the team, JT Miller.
Suddenly, there was reason to wonder if the team management might be tempted to exchange one of their two attackers to restore the atmosphere in the locker room.
In an interview on the airwaves of Sportsnetthe CEO Patrick Allvin even refused to say that he would not trade Pettersson or Miller in the near future if things do not improve internally quickly.
According to what the journalist reports and insider Pierre LeBrun of The Athleticit is a fact that opposing NHL teams are currently calling the Canucks to try to find out the price to pay for one or the other of the two star players.
For his part, the journalist Josh Yohe of The Athletic reports that the New York Rangers have indeed made a concrete offer to try to get their hands on Miller, that the GM Chris Drury adore.
According to Yohe, the Rangers offered the center Mika Zibanejad in a one-for-one exchange. Offer which, however, would have been declined by the Canucks.
It is not yet known whether the two parties are still talking to try to reach common ground or whether the discussions have broken down.
- Aged 31, Mika Zibanejad is a 6’2″/203lbs right-handed center selected in the 1st round (6th overall) during the 2011 draft. So far this season, he has compiled a record of 8 goals and 16 assists for a total of 24 points in 39 games while last year he finished the season with 72 points. He has 6 years remaining on his contract, earning him an average of $8.5 million per. season.
- Aged 31, JT Miller is a 6’1″/218lbs left-handed center selected in the 1st round (15th overall) in the 2011 draft. So far this season, he has compiled a record of 8 goals and 21 assists for a total of 29 points in 29 games while last year he finished the season with 103 points. He has 6 years remaining on his contract, earning him an average of $8 million per. season.
One thing is certain, it will be very interesting to see what happens in Vancouver between now and the trade deadline.
