NHL Rumors: Canucks chaos, Wild interested in J.T. Miller, and best defensemen on the trade market
Anthony Scultore
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The Vancouver Canucks are anchored near the bottom of the Pacific Division and well out of a playoff spot.
They’ve lost five of their last six and are all waiting for a shoe to drop. Recently ownership met with GM Jim Benning to determine what they are going to do about the bad start.
If there is going to be no change in management or at head coach with Travis Green, then there’s certain to be trades coming.
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NHL Rumors: Canucks in chaos
On Elliotte Friedman’s latest 32 Thoughts Podcast, he and co-host Jeff Marek referenced the situation to Game of Thrones. The hit TV series on HBO was about factions, struggles for power, and plenty of characters being written off to put it nicely.
“You’ve got agents calling the team to figure out who is getting moved, who are they shopping,” Friedman said. “[The Canucks] are aware that this is the time you make the deal that hurts you for a decade. But you can’t help but feel like something is coming.”
Obviously the situation in Vancouver isn’t ideal, and Benning is going to have to do something to quell the room. Making a few small deals could be what settles the club down. Although, he could shop one of his older stars and shake the team up.
Which leads us to the next tidbit.
Wild interested in Miller
One player the Canucks could move that would not set them back a decade is 28 year-old forward J.T. Miller.
Miller has one more year left on his deal worth $5.25M before becoming a UFA. He’s also been extremely productive with 19 points in 19 games for Vancouver this season. Since joining the Canucks he has 137 points in 141 contests.
Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province indicated the Wild are interested in acquiring Miller.
In a Miller acquisition, the Wild would likely dangle winger Kevin Fiala, 25, who has had ample opportunity to score, but has just three goals despite 58 shots — which speaks to his minuscule 5.1 shooting percentage. He’s also in the final year of a contract that carries a US $5.1-million salary cap hit.
The Province
Another possible player the Wild could use in obtaining Miller is Jordan Greenway. The 24 year-old is struggling this season with just 4 assists in 14 games, but has excellent upside.
Top Five Defenseman Available on the Market
Teams are always looking for defensemen. Here’s a brief list of five blue-liners that are likely on the market and available to be had before the trade deadline.
- John Klingberg, DAL
- Mark Giordano, SEA
- Ben Chariot, MTL
- Anton Stralman, AZ
- Marco Scandella, STL
