“Get the best return” – Canucks hold off rash decisions regarding J. T. Miller’s deal until 2023 NHL trade deadline
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J. T. Miller
The Vancouver Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford said on Friday that they are not in a hurry to make a decision regarding forward J. T. Miller until the 2023 NHL trade deadline. He pushed back on the idea of growing impatience surrounding the future of Miller during his time on “Donnie & Dhali – The Team” on CHECK television.
Miller led the Canucks with 99 points, 67 assists, and 32 goals last season. Though the 29-year-old has a chance to enter the unrestricted free zone after this season, Jim noted that they are trying to re-sign him back to the team, but it isn’t easy for them to meet Miller’s contract expectations. Miller has been mentioned in trade rumors quite a number of times since the lead-up to the 2022 NHL trade deadline on March 21.
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Jim Rutherford states no urgency regarding J. T. Miller’s trade
As stated on nhl.com, Jim Rutherford mentioned, “I’ll state the obvious: It can go two ways”. “We can come to an agreement and keep him and we have a very good player. That’s always difficult to do when a player is heading to free agency within a year and he’s got really good numbers, so of course, what the player is expecting in the way of a contrast compared to the team is usually different.”
He further stated that if the sides can’t come to terms then Miller’s trading will become an obvious matter, but there isn’t any pressure as of now. He went on, “If [trying to sign him] doesn’t work, we have to get the best return we can for him”. “But I think when the impatience should come on is when we get closer to the trade deadline, and if we don’t have him signed at that point, making sure that we get a return for him. But I don’t see where there’s any urgency until we get to the trade deadline.”
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The Canucks strengthened their forward depth, speed, and penalty killing with free agent additions – Ilya Mikheyev, Curtis Lazar, Andrei Kuzmenko, and Dakota Joshua. Regarding Miller’s trade rumors Jim commented, “What are they impatient about?”. “We have our best forward we still have in our lineup. What’s the impatience for?” Center Bo Horvat is facing the same unrestricted free agent situation, but Jim is confident in his tone to sign him up before anything happens.
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Kaushani Chatterjee
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