Report: Major update on JT Miller trade situation direct from Miller's agent
A complete change of plans in Vancouver?
HockeyFeed
It's been a relatively quiet offseason for Vancouver Canucks rookie GM Patrik Alvvin. Sure, he made some smart pick ups with Ilya Mikheyev and Curtis Lazar, but he hasn't made the big, bold moves that team President Jim Rutherford assured were coming. Namely, Allvin hasn't trade top scorer JT Miller as many have speculated would happen by this point in the season.
The 29 year old Miller put up 99 points in 80 games last season and is entering the final year of a contract that pays him $5.25 million per season. You have to imagine that he's a prime trade target for several teams, but Miller's agent Brian Bartlett now reports that his client is open to signing a contract extension with the Canucks.
“I do think there’s a realistic path for an extension with the Canucks,” said Bartlett to TSN, who reiterated Miller has not requested a trade. “J.T. loves it in Vancouver. He feels like the team is improving, he loved his role there, his family likes the city.
“He would be on board with an extension. The part that we can’t answer is at what value or level the team places on him. From our end, from J.T.’s end, there’s a path forward on an extension but it takes two to tango, I guess.”
As for Allvin, he's not showing his hands much. He has been pretty guarded when talking about Miller this entire offseason.
“As I said before, I think J.T. was our best player last year and he’s a really good player in the league, a top player,” Allvin told The Athletic. “We made an offer to him where we felt it’s fair from our side and the bigger picture in order to be competitive and in order to have a good team, that’s where our offer came into him. We met in Montreal as well, I met his camp, and we’re talking so that’s where it is.
“We still have time from now until the trade deadline to figure things out. I hope we’re continuing to talk in a positive way, we’ll see where it ends.”
If I'm a Canucks fan (and I am), the thought of signing a 29 year old forward to a long term, big money deal is giving me serious anxiety. I love Miller as a player, but does he fit in with the team's young core of Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson and Thatcher Demko? Stay tuned.
