Updated: Mar 22
Yesterday, the Vancouver Canucks seemed to be in the mood to trade, and finally after a long period of deliberation, traded JT Miller to the New York Rangers. That's not where the Canucks ended the day though, as they went on to trade for Marcus Pettersson along with other assets with the Penguins. Here are my winners and losers of Friday’s trade frenzy.
The Vancouver Canucks- 6/10
The whole Elias Pettersson, JT Miller saga was bound to end up with one of the two leaving New York, and in the end it was JT Miller who would be traded back to his former team in New York. The talk over the last week were that New York were prepared to shop Filip Chyil after attempting to move him to Colorado in return for Mikko Rantanen, therefore the Canucks moved in and acquired him, defenseman Victor Mancini and a first round draft pick in return for JT Miller, Erik Brannstrom, and Jackson Dorrington. But how successful exactly was this trade for both teams?
For me, the Canucks have lost this trade simply because of the loss of Miller, and what they got back for him in Chytil. Miller, a former 100 point scorer could have easily fetched somebody in return such as Mika Zibanejad, a similar level player in a straight swap deal, but Filip Chytil doesn't quite fit the bill as to what the Canucks should be looking for. Its no doubt that Miller’s form has crumbled over the last few months, but even with the odd bad performance, he was still a vital point getter for the Canucks, and was their starting top line centre. Getting Chytil in return as the ‘big name’ player in this trade is extremely overwhelming for what they gave up, with Chytil only having 20 points in 41 games, will definitely not produce as much as Miller, and won't have the impact they will have been hoping for. Along with only acquiring a mediocre top nine player, they got rid of Erik Brannstrom, a decent top six defenseman who they picked up in free agency, which not only makes the trade value look even worse for the Canucks, but massively decreases their attraction to players in the free agency by adopting this ‘sign and move’ attitude to the team and the franchise as a whole, driving players away from wanting to be signed. Moving Brannstrom hasn't massively affected the trade value, but has definitely had some other impacts on the team and their status, and could prove a problem for Vancouver in the future.
Along with Chytil, the Canucks did manage to acquire a pretty decent bit of draft capital in a protected top 13 first round draft pick, which made the trade a little more valuable for the Canucks. Until about three hours after the trade when they moved the pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a trade involving Drew O'Connor and Marcus Pettersson. Yeah getting a top four D-Man in Pettersson is good, and what they needed, especially as an upgrade on Brannstrom, and definitely makes the Miller trade better. Essentially the Canucks acquired Chytil, O’Connor and Pettersson for Miller, and have gotten a bit more physical and faster in the offensive and defensive ends, but still could be seen as not the value the Canucks may have wanted with Pettersson becoming a UFA, and O’Connor hardly being a lock top six player, but definitely got something worth while back.
I've given the Canucks a six out of 10 because of the end haul they got in the end. With Pettersson, O’Connor and Chytil being the main three that ended up in Vancouver, and no draft capital whatsoever, the Canucks definitely came out worse in this trade. Although they managed to avoid retaining any of Miller’s salary, got a top four defenseman, and dumped a good bit of cap, they still didn't get what they could have. Along with getting rid of their top line centre in return for a mediocre return, they also damaged their players relations after moving first year free agency, and may have caused a reputation problem heading into the free agency. With Chytil being nowhere near the producer Miller has been for the Canucks, it will be tough for the Canucks to be the dangerous offensive team they were with Miller last year, and definitely have not benefited massively from this so called ‘blockbuster’ trade.
The New York Rangers- 5/10
Although I still think the Rangers have won this trade, it still isn’t a game changer for them, and definitely isn't the big trade everyone expected. Bringing Miller in is a big trade, there's no doubt about that, but with the recent chatter about potentially bringing in Elias Pettersson, the Miller acquisition is definitely disappointing for Rags fans. With an already aging roster, with Trocheck, Kreider and Zibanejad as some of the core players, bringing in a 31 year old JT Miller with a $8 million cap hit probably wasn't the wisest move they could have made. It was looking more and more likely that a player like Zibanejad or Kreider would have been involved in this trade, keeping a young player like Chytil to develop further, and bring some youth to the team, but trading him away for a temporary center isn't ideal.
Despite getting rid of Chytil, they definitely got a much better player back, but for how long. Miller has shown a lot of signs of slowing down, and most likely won't hit the heights he did last season, but is a good temporary fir for the Rangers, but is he worth what they gave up. Giving up a very valuable first round pick in the current position they stand is a big risk with the high hopes that MIller can get them to the playoffs, and could backfire on them, with an $8 million player locked down for the next 5 years who is on a slow decline.
I've given the Rangers a five out of 10 because I think they did win the trade in getting a player like Miller to boost those playoff hopes, but it was still an unneeded risk trading a valuable first for an ageing player on a massive long term contract. I think if the Rangers were serious about a win now situation, going all out for Pettersson would have been the best option with barely any risk at the age and the level of player he is, and the Miller trade as a whole, may completely backfire on them, and be one to forget.
The Pittsburgh Penguins- 8/10
It might be a bit of a hot take, but I'm giving Pittsburgh an eight out of 10. I think Kyle Dubas has done extremely well in involving himself in this trade, and managed to secure a very valuable first round pick for the Pens, a massive bit of capital for their rebuild. With Dubas almost starting a fire sale in Pittsburgh, getting rid of Pettersson who was attractive to a lot of teams in the league, was a good way of acquiring the first at a premium so close to the deadline, and also managed to clear around $4 million in cap space. Along with getting some other role players and AHL level players, the first was definitely the highlight of the trade, and given what they gave up, I think it's a win for the Pens, and a good way to acquire some easy capital for a player who is a pending UFA. some great business by Dubas.
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