miller boeser

Yesterday at 02:16 PM

December and January are traditionally busy months for pro and amateur scouting departments at the NHL level and I've personally been on the road for several weeks for Sportsnet. My latest trip that ended yesterday included a run of five games in five nights on a tour through western Canada. I saw an NHL game in Vancouver and WHL games viewing top prospects from the Everett Silvertips, Vancouver Giants, Tri-City Americans, Prince George Cougars, and Brandon Wheat Kings. It's important for me to view players live, in person as much as possible. I rely on video scouting as a tool, but there is no substitute for watching games live in an arena.

It's especially important to scout a team like the Vancouver Canucks in person.

The Canucks have been one of the most perplexing teams in the NHL this season. They have dealt with their share of injuries, but the noise surrounding star players JT Miller and Elias Pettersson has become the ultimate distraction in recent weeks. 

It was important for me to include a Canucks game as part of my trip. With that in mind, here are my thoughts on the team’s situation and how they should view the trade market this season as we head towards the March 7 deadline.

A LOOK AT VANCOUVER’S SITUATION THIS SEASON

For clarity, I scouted the Canucks live versus the LA Kings on Thursday evening and broke down video of their game versus Edmonton on Saturday (I was in Everett that night scouting the WHL game between the Silvertips and visiting Prince George Cougars). The game versus the Kings compared to the one versus the Oilers were wildly different efforts and outcomes.

It’s precisely what makes the Canucks so frustrating to scout and analyze. 

On Thursday night, the Canucks’ warm-up was atrocious. They lacked energy, execution, and enthusiasm. I turned to my colleague Iain MacIntyre, who knows more about the Canucks than I ever will, and mentioned to him how the Kings looked energized and ready to play compared to the Canucks. I told him it could mean nothing, or it could result in an early lead for the Kings. 

Well, the score was 3-0 for Los Angeles less than 10 minutes into the game. The Canucks didn't register a shot on goal over two power plays following Adrian Kempe's goal in the opening minute of the game. 

Fast forward to Saturday night versus Edmonton and though the Canucks didn't score early, they generally controlled play and jumped out to the lead with a three-goal outburst late in the opening frame.

It’s incredible the razor thin, small details that NHL results are based on. Not starting on time, turning pucks over in key areas of the ice and being outworked early in games usually sets the stage for a poor result. 

Here's a look at the game stats from the Canucks games versus LA and Edmonton:

At first glance the stats don't look horrendous from the Los Angeles game, but the Kings essentially put the game on ice after they went up 4-1 in the second period. They played a low-risk road game and came away with the two points. Conversely, Vancouver paid for not starting on time and chased the game. They had their moments, but their power play didn't execute and their giveaways were egregious. 

The Canucks were booed off the ice by their fans after the Kings game and aggressively criticized by the media for their lack of detail. Things didn't exactly look positive ahead of the Oilers arriving for their Saturday night tilt on Hockey Night in Canada. 

Surprisingly, the Canucks played arguably their best game of the year versus Edmonton. They showed what they are capable of when their group is in sync and buying into a team-first approach.

These two games together are a great example of what makes this year's version of the Vancouver Canucks difficult to figure out. They are an unpredictable and moody team that has enough talent to compete with elite teams in the NHL, but they also battle internal strife that gets in the way of consistent results. 

And this is one year after they won the Pacific Division’s regular season title with 109 points.

The fact this team is so unpredictable on the ice, and speculation has leaked that two of their core players don’t get along, must have Canucks management in knots trying to figure out what's best for the team. 

It's not the job of a pro scout to figure out the reasons why a player is struggling in his current surrounding. What they have to do is eliminate the outside noise and mine down on whether or not the players they are reporting on from the outside could be a fit for their franchise.

The Canucks have no shortage of trade rumours around them, mostly around Miller, Pettersson and pending UFA Brock Boeser. So I’ll take a look at those three players closely, how the organization should view them and what a potential trade return might look like.

HOW CANUCKS SHOULD APPROACHPOTENTIAL TRADE OPTIONS

J.T. Miller
Cap Hit $8 million through 2030

Those in attendance on Saturday night witnessed the best version of Miller. He skated over 20 minutes, owned the face-off circle (winning 18 of 23 draws), pitched in with two power play assists and held Connor McDavid in check most of the night. 

In the previous four games, Miller's ice time had ranged from 14 to 17 minutes, he was held pointless, and was a minus-4. Outside of the game in Winnipeg, where he only won five of his 14 face-offs, Miller gave the Canucks a chance to start with the puck more often than not by winning over 65 per cent of his draws in the other three games. 

Miller is an upper echelon player in the NHL when he's engaged. He's a threat off the rush, works to retrieve pucks off the wall, and has excellent puck touch on the power play. He can also be used in a checking role versus top-six opponents. He can be one of the most competitive players in the league on any given night. This is why he scored 103 points just last season.

But the fact is, for whatever reasons, Miller just hasn't consistently been the best version of himself this season. His game on Thursday versus Los Angeles wasn't simply a "one off". 

On one hand he's averaging .89 points per game this season. On the other, he goes through stretches of uneven play and lacks any offensive production. In his past 10-game segment overall he's contributed 3G-6A, but eight of those points came in three games. He only contributed one assist in the other seven. 

When Miller produced offence over those 10 games, he was a plus-3. The nights he didn't register any points he was minus-4. The fact his "B" game falls off when he isn't scoring is a concern. 

If a team is looking to acquire Miller, his $8 million cap hit is affordable when he is playing to the best of his ability. Important factors to consider here is that his deal is armed with a full no-move clause that turns into a modified no-move in the last three years, beginning in 2027-28, and that he turns 32 in March.

There is always risk in trading out, or acquiring, a player like Miller. Games like Saturday night versus Edmonton serve as a reminder of what he can provide when he's fully engaged. It's not lost on me that Miller has been traded twice in his career. He's a valuable player on any given day, but also a player who seems to rub management, coaches and teammates the wrong way on occasion. 

It's my opinion that something has to give in Vancouver. Saturday night should serve as proof to teams that Miller still has lots to give. The unfortunate reality for the Canucks is that the amount of noise around Miller has grown out of control, to the point where it leaked before Saturday’s game that he might be held out of the lineup because a proposed trade was so close to completion.

Trade Suggestion
To Vancouver: Martin Necas, Spencer Martin, 2025 second-round pick
To Carolina: J.T. Miller, Arturs Silovs

Notes:

• This transaction would have to be approved by Miller since he has a full no-move clause in his contract. On that front, Carolina seems like a fit.

• The Canucks save $1.5 million in cap space on this trade, bringing their total projected available deadline day cap space to $8.4 million. 

• Swapping goalies affords Carolina the flexibility of using Silovs if necessary. He proved he can rise to the occasion in the playoffs last year for the Canucks and Carolina has had a difficult time keeping their goalies healthy. 

• Martin returns to the Canucks to fill the void left by Silovs’ departure in AHL Abbotsford.

Elias Pettersson
Cap Hit $11.6 million through 2032

Things haven't exactly gone well since Pettersson signed his extension and he's trended down for a calendar year now. His cap hit is too big to trade straight up and he remains a very talented, and young, player. I'm banking on him returning to form after the Miller deal is consummated and not recommending a trade. 

Brock Boeser
Cap Hit $6.5 million. UFA this summer

Boeser is a pending UFA. If Vancouver is securely in a playoff position come trade deadline, and trending in a more positive direction at that time, I would consider Boeser as an "own rental" knowing full well he's very likely not going to remain a Canuck on July 1.

That said, the most likely path forward here is that the Canucks identify the need to trade him before March 7.

What comes to mind for me is the return New Jersey got for Tyler Toffoli last year: a second- and third-round draft pick from Winnipeg. The Devils had to retain 50 per cent of Toffoli’s expiring contract to get that, however. So, I would suggest this is the type of return Vancouver could get for Boeser from a team that believes it will have a chance at playoff success: a 2025 second-rounder and 2026 third-rounder, or vice versa.

The Canucks will no doubt be asking for a first-round pick back for Boeser, but I wouldn’t give up that much for the player. He’s been very average production-wise and hasn’t played the game fast enough this season.

Jim Rutherford’s teams tend to jump into the trade market early, so depending on when a deal like this goes down the Canucks could look to re-invest the picks they get into the roster, or potentially do something with them in the off-season to help next year’s roster.

KEEP THE COACH

Rick Tocchet has done a terrific job in Vancouver and the Canucks lacked identity before he took over. That’s not the case anymore. It would be a massive mistake if Vancouver were to entertain a coaching change. The current situation the group finds itself in doesn't entirely fall on the lap of the coaching staff. 

TOP PROSPECTS

Unless a prospect indicates he has no interest in signing a contract with the Canucks, there is no way I’d include any top player in Vancouver’s system in a transaction this trade season. Defenceman Tom Willander comes to mind. He will be completing his sophomore season at Boston University in the next couple of months and likely looking to turn pro. He's a smooth skating, right-shot defenceman who is coveted around the league, but could be a positive contributor to the Canucks before long, and part of their continued push forward in the years ahead.