Welcome back in everyone! I got a text the other day about the ongoing friction between J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson and what I thought about the situation, which has now come to a point where the club is willing to deal either of these players. I replied jokingly that maybe this is a dispute between which Vancouver logo each likes the best. Side note – 90's kid here and it will always be the flying skate to me. With trades in mind, you know that I had to look into this from a salary cap standpoint to see where things could progress from here.

Before we even dive in though, my take was getting over whatever dispute you have and play hockey. Simple as that. You can't tell me that there's a locker room at any level of hockey, or in any sport for that matter, where there's not two players that may not think the highest of each other. Here in Chicago, there was more than enough smoke surrounding Duncan Keith and Patrick Sharp's relationship prior to the last Cup run in 2015, but it didn't lead to either getting moved during that season. I've read different articles out there that have speculated that this is at a point where things are unsolvable and if that is indeed the case and there's players to be dealt here, we have to look at the salary cap implications as well as for fantasy.

J.T. Miller – C – Vancouver – 31 years old

Contract: $56M – $8M AAV – Five Year's Remaining – NMC – M-NTC 2027-2030

Elias Pettersson – C – Vancouver – 26 years old

Contract: $92.80M – $11.6M AAV – Eight Year's Remaining – NMC

Looking at these two players, their output right now, age, contract, etc., the obvious choice if you had to pick one to move would be J.T. Miller, right? The argument here would be that Pettersson might have 10 years of elite play making ability left, while Miller is heading towards his age 31 season, and age where players tend to slow down at bit in one facet or another. If I scroll through the Twittersphere as well, it seems like many would agree if that's indeed the case, that it would be Miller on the trade block here. However, I'm going to zag here a bit and say that if it's one or the other, I go with Pettersson and have my reasons why.

I have to preference this all by saying, I really do like Pettersson as a player and have since his rookie year and again, if push came to shove, wouldn't be in this situation to begin with. Still…anyone watch the COVID season or the one following? Even the beginning of this season, his impact on the ice was almost not noticeable by his standards. Through the first quarter of this season Pettersson had 17 points while in that same timespan last year, that number was at 30.  What really makes a difference here to me though does in fact come down to salary cap implications. Yes, Pettersson's contract is more expensive, but he doesn't have something that Miller does, and that's a no-trade clause this season and that is extremely important to keep in mind.

It was reported that J.T. Miller would waive his no-trade to go to the Rangers and only the Rangers and sure, I could see a market there because the Rangers do have cap space available. If the Rangers aren't a dance partner for the Canucks, though, the organization now has to jump through the hoops of having Miller waive his NTC if he's to be dealt. Quick note here as well about waiving a no-trade and wanting to play for the Rangers…We went through this in Chicago with Patrick Kane towards the end and I'm sure there are other examples out there. Guess which NHL players want to play for the Rangers? Take a minute. If you guessed almost all of them, then you'd be right! For Pettersson, I could see having to take a contract back in return, but if the club wants to move him for assets, they can do exactly that. I get that they just signed him over the offseason but this first time a player has been dealt coming off a new deal and it won't be the last. Plus, as possibly the more lucrative player here, I would think that there are general managers that would pick up the phone here if the Canucks call about a deal involving Pettersson. I know Pettersson is on IR right now but let's say a lucrative offer was on the table here, reminder that yes you can trade a player that is on IR so long as each club agrees upon it once the injury is disclosed.

So, what could a return look like? It's player dependent here, but my guess would be that Vancouver would ask for a center back in a deal, having dealt one or both of their top line centers, and if I'm them I'm asking for any help on the blueline. Once you get past the Quinn Huges – Filip Hronek pairing, things go downhill, and they go downhill in a hurry. I'm sure there's going to be salary retained on the Canucks side in either situation and it also might be a case where the Canucks have to take a "bad" contract back in return. It's worth noting as well that Brock Boeser will be a free agent this summer and just watching the line he skates on with J.T. Miller, they're good offensively and elite defensively. Losing both of those players fills a hole on their top line that they will not be able to replace over an offseason.

For fantasy, if you're rostering either player then you've been watching this situation closely. Each player brings something a little bit different to your lineup and either will likely be high draft picks even going into next season regardless of which NHL team they belong to. If there's one worry here it's that we start to see Vancouver sit one or the other closer to deadline if they are in fact serious about making a move. I think back to when Jakob Chychrun was held out for what felt like the entire month of January and some of February, before ultimately being moved to the Senators. That is an extreme scenario I know, but there could be a world where there's a slate where either Miller or Pettersson are a healthy scratched. I was higher on the Canucks coming into this season with a possibly healthy Thatcher Demko, along with a team that was deep at the center position (you guys know how much I love my C depth)…ideal world here is these two mend whatever bridge is apparently on fire, Demko gets healthy, add a piece on the blueline and it all results in a deep playoff run but the arrow right now is pointed in the other direction. This team finds itself in the most nerve wracking position you can be in and that's fighting for a last playoff spot, and in all likelihood, getting bounced early.

*Salary Cap data from PuckPedia.com  

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