The Carolina Hurricanes reportedly pivoted from their pursuit of Canucks star J.T. Miller to acquire former Bruins forward Taylor Hall from the Blackhawks and Mikko Rantanen from the Avalanche.
“The Carolina Hurricanes had this one (Rantanen trade) that they were working on, and they were also working on potentially one of two deals with Vancouver,” NHL Insider Eliot Friedman said on Sportsnet on Jan. 24. “One of them involving J.T. Miller, the other involving (Elias) Pettersson.
“They were talking to the Canucks about both players and ultimately, they chose this path, they went for Rantanen.”
With the pivot from the Hurricanes, does a trade between the Bruins and Canucks for Miller become more likely, especially given the soap-opera-like story of Miller’s rumored rift with fellow Vancouver star Elias Pettersson?
There’s a lot of upside to the Bruins bringing in Miller, according to NESN analyst Andrew Raycroft.
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“He’s a super ultra-competitive veteran who’s won many playoff games and playoff series and is just a gamer when the game’s at its biggest,” Raycroft told NESN.com.
Canucks general manager Jim Rutherford admitted he’s had talks with both players to see if they can co-exist after confirming the rift between the two stars, according to the Globe and Mail’s Gary Mason. Raycroft doesn’t believe Miller would have the same issue in a different locker room.
“I mean, J.T., he’ll get in your face if things aren’t going well … and that’s something you would have to deal with,” Raycroft said. “This seems much more personal, this seems like it’s been going on a really long time and has finally hit its head. If you have a strong locker room, it shouldn’t be something that you’re concerned about.
“There are locker rooms that could absorb a guy like that, and I would assume the Bruins culture and Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy and David Pastrnak would have that ability if that was the case.”
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Miller and Pettersson have similar stats this season. Miller has amassed nine goals and 34 points in 39 games, while Petterson has 11 goals and 31 points in 43 appearances.
While it remains to be seen what Don Sweeney and the Bruins will do ahead of the March 7 deadline, Cam Neely admitted Boston has “two paths” they are preparing for. One that the Bruins are buying and the other retooling. The latter led Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli to label Boston as a “dark horse” to land Miller.
If the Bruins want to retool their roster while remaining competitive during the prime years of players like star goaltender Jeremy Swyaman, Pastrnak, and McAvoy, a player of Miller’s caliber could give Boston a boost and provide strong production for at least the next few seasons.
“He can shoot the puck, he’s offensive and he can score goals,” Raycroft added. “I think those three guys don’t need anybody to bring them up, but again, J.T. is going to be wanted by a lot of teams in this league and can probably help most of them.”
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Despite his struggles this season, Miller has been an excellent player for the Canucks notching 435 points across 401 games for Vancouver.
Sweeney’s comments after the Bruins fired Jim Montgomery in mid-November indicated he’d be willing to rearrange the NHL roster if he saw an opportunity to improve.
Featured image via Jeff Curry/Imagn Images