More and more buzz continues to grow around the Vancouver Canucks and the futures of Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller.
And now, word came out that earlier this season the New York Rangers offered a deal to the Canucks surrounding Mika Zibanejad for J.T. Miller, The Athletic’s Josh Yohe reported Tuesday.
Miller, 31, was drafted by the Rangers 15th overall in the 2011 draft, spending nearly six seasons there before he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning, joining the Canucks in another deal a year and a half later.
He and Pettersson have found themselves in trade rumours as of late as a once-private spat between the two has gone public. The latter of the two found themselves on Daily Faceoff’s latest trade targets list, coming in as the 25th player.
Here’s what Frank Seravalli wrote about Pettersson:
The Canucks have been taking calls on Pettersson, that is no surprise, as they gauge the marketplace for him. When GM Patrik Allvin said it’s a possibility that Pettersson is moved before his full ‘no-trade’ and ‘no-move’ clauses kick in this July, that took things to another level. It’s still an incredibly difficult transaction to pull off in-season. But if someone must be on the move, it seems like it would be Pettersson, who still has value with his age and position, and the fact that Vancouver can move him unencumbered unlike J.T. Miller.
There were some other new names on the list, including New York Islanders centre Brock Nelson and winger Kyle Palmieri, Buffalo Sabres centre Dylan Cozens, winger Jack Quinn, and defenceman Bowen Byram. There will be no shortage of interesting names that come available ahead of March 7th’s deadline.
Other news…
- The driver charged in the deaths of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew pled not guilty to an indictment that saw him charged with second-degree reckless vehicular homicide, first-degree aggravated manslaughter, fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence and second-degree leaving the scene of a fatal accident. At the time of Sean Higgins’ arrest, New Jersey Police gauged his blood alcohol level at .087, above the state’s legal limit. In pleading not guilty, Higgins turned down a prosecution offer of 35 years in prison. The Gaudreau brothers died on August 30th after being struck and killed while riding bicycles.
- In other news around the Rangers, the team placed forward Chris Kreider on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. The 33-year-old missed Sunday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks and Tuesday’s against the Dallas Stars, and the placement is retroactive to Sunday, the New York Post’s Larry Brooks reported, meaning Krieder will be out until Jan. 14 at the earliest.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, and senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
