Canucks turned down multiple draft picks in Penguins' trade offer: report
The Vancouver Canucks did indeed makes some calls on J.T. Miller — and they wanted a lot for him.
According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Canucks were in talks with the Pittsburgh Penguins on a potential trade and declined multiple draft picks Pittsburgh offered to make it happen.
Meanwhile, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that the Canucks were looking for a âyoung centreâ as a replacement before considering a Miller trade. He adds that the Canucks were also looking for two first-round picks, or a first-rounder and a prospect in a potential deal.
For the Penguins, it was simply too much to pay.
Cap Rules Everything Around Me. Yeah, I did that.
Six salary cap agenda items that will drive the action on Friday: #Leafs/Knies, #Oilers, #NYR, #Canucks / J.T. Miller, Max Domi / #TexasHockey, #Yotes, #Flames.https://t.co/dWdsB0VlGE
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 3, 2023
After missing out on a trip to Dallas with the Canucks due a âlower-body injury” that had him out “week-to-week,” the 29-year-old forward returned to Vancouver’s lineup on Thursday, just three days later.Â
âThe Penguins, through desperation, [Hextall] had lines in the water everywhere. Including taking a hard run at J.T. Miller,” Dreger said on TSN 1050 in Toronto.
âVancouver said, ‘we like the offer. We just canât take it because it was draft picks. We need a centreman, and frankly, weâre not rebuilding in Vancouver, and J.T. Miller is going to be a big part of our future.â
Miller’s seven-year $56 million contract kicks in on July 1, 2023, as does his no-trade clause, making things significantly more complicated should the Canucks try to move him after that date.
Should a team want to add Miller before Friday’s 12 pm PT NHL trade deadline, they would inherit his current $5.25 million cap hit as well as his new contract come July 1.
With the Canucks this season, Miller has 20 goals and 54 points through 60 games, below the pace of his 99-point campaign from 2021-22.
It’s been a busy leadup to the trade deadline for the Canucks so far, with the club making five trades since the new year, shipping out key players in Bo Horvat and Luke Schenn while adding the likes of Aatu Räty, Filip Hronek, Vitaly Kravtsov, and Josh Bloom.
The Canucks return to action Saturday afternoon when they host Schenn and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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