After months of drama and noise around the Canucks locker room, general manager Patrick Allvin has finally pulled the trigger on what the fans have seen coming since the start of this NHL season. The team announced the trading of star forward JT Miller to the New York Rangers in exchange for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini and a first round pick. Later that evening Vancouver flipped that first alongside Danton Heinen and Vinnie Desharnais to Pittsburgh in exchange for Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor effectively changing this team’s identity overnight. Now on paper this might not look like the best move for the Canucks, however there’s a lot of fine details to look at when analyzing these moves.
Firstly looking at the JT Miller trade, the Canucks additionally gave up Brannstrom and Dorrington however the Swedish defenceman was getting few looks on the main roster while Dorrington was likely to never touch Vancouver ice. For the Canucks losing a player of JT Millers caliber isn’t something that will go unnoticed. He’s been essentially their number one center for the large majority of his time there while also acting as a leader in the locker room. In his tenure with Vancouver he had a 99 point season in addition to his 103 point campaign last season. He played on both special teams and on any given night was often the Canuck’s best forward. Make no mistake he will be severely missed by Vancouver especially with a lack of scoring being one of their glaring issues this season. However what they got back is interesting to say the least. The Canucks knew that they would have to “lose” any trade they make for Miller, with all the media noise surrounding the situation as well as in season trades for aging players regardless of status often being hard to get equal value for. Vancouver of course brought back younger center Filip Chytil who will be an intriguing middle 6 center with second line potential. The young forward has struggled with injury to this point in his career, suffering multiple concussions. His career high of 45 points in 74 games is nothing to scoff at with him still being 25 years old and not having been given the reins to his own line yet. Additionally he had six points in ten games last year which was cut short due to injuries. He’s trusted by coaches to start shifts in the defensive zone with great puck moving ability as well as being an excellent skater. These are two things Vancouver desperately needs as they’ve had their fair share of struggles transitioning out of their own zone this season. The hope was to find players with high upside value that can grow into their core while also being strong puck movers and that’s exactly what they get out of Chytil. He’s also among the league’s fastest skaters which will help a rather slow Canucks roster. Victor Mancini was drafted nearly three years ago by New York, early in the fifth round. In 15 games at the NHL level this season he has 5 points and could be an underrated acquisition for the boys in blue. Although it is unlikely he sees much ice time this season with a strong core around him in Abbotsford, the organization must be more than hopeful that they can get some good development out of him down in Abby and potentially a look with the big guys next season.
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Switching over to their later trade the Canucks acquired their third Pettersson along with a speedy depth player in Drew O’Connor. After making the trade, general manager Patrick Allvin got a text from Sidney Crosby stating that Marcus Pettersson is a really good catch and a strong leader in the locker room, someone Pitsburgh will sorely miss. He also happens to be more of what Vancouver needs, an offensive minded puck moving defenseman that is capable of shutting down some of their opponents top players. He’s a perfect slot in for the Canucks top four helping round out what’s been a much weaker defence core compared to last season. Furthermore the addition of O’Connor in the bottom six is another shew in to mesh adding more speed and more puck moving ability to the roster. A career high of 33 points in less than a full 82 is something that can be built off in his depth role while just picking up the team’s pace of play as a main objective. He doesn’t need to get scoring results to be an impact player on the coast, he just needs to put pressure on opposing teams and move the puck up ice.
On paper the Canucks, following these trades are a more rounded out albeit slightly worse team, but this is more than a roster change. The media in and around the team has been deafening for the last several months over a rift between their two star forwards in Miller and Pettersson. It was so bad that the team president, when asked about it during an interview, went as far to say that it was at a point of no return and they could not continue with the two players side by side. Any rumours that it was just media noise were thrown out the window after this. Moreover the noise while affecting Pettersson’s play also affected the entire roster. It’s hard enough to win games at the NHL level, it doesn’t get any easier when your locker room is being analyzed under a microscope. The trade acts as a reset for Miller as much as it does for the entirety of the Canucks locker room. So as much as they on paper have gotten worse, the team has already shown in two games since the trade that even with a 0-1-1 record, they’re playing better hockey than we’ve seen this season. Not only this but the freeing up of cap space is a valuable asset for this team. They now have the means to make a big move before this trade deadline and have the potential to snag a big name off a team that’s not in contention with their new found cap relief. Names like Cozens, Norris, and even Zegras have been floating in the air as we approach the March 7th deadline.
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With the 4 Nations Faceoff right around the corner the Canucks have some big games over the course of their next week before heading into the break. Currently sitting outside of the playoff line they’ll face off with Colorado on Tuesday who currently sit in one of the wildcard spots before heading to San Jose for a must win and finishing the week off against the Maple Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada. Don’t expect Vancouver to be done as we await act three in the Patrick Allvin show with him likely adding a high profile player to grow into this core. Boeser could also be a name that could be on the trade market with his contract set to expire this summer. For now the Canucks have done well with what little they’ve been given and are primed to make a roster altering move that could push them back into the playoff picture. There’s still more than enough time for them to right the ship this season and they’re showing promise both organizationally and on ice. Only time will reveal what tricks the Canucks have up their sleeves next.