The biggest national story surrounding the NHL right now is coming out of Vancouver, where it is widely reported that Elias Pettersson and JT Miller (the Canucks’ two main forwards) have a growing rift between them. The question then becomes whether that gap is so wide that Vancouver can no longer keep both players on the roster and are forced to deal one in the middle of a season for which the Canucks have (not unfounded) Stanley Cup aspirations.
Bob Frid, Image images
Should such a trade materialize, each player — but especially Pettersson, given his age and unique offensive profile — could obviously benefit the Red Wings (a team whose lottery luck and free agent strategy have not proven conducive to the acquisition of a specific player). elite level of offensive talent and productivity), but then the conversation shifts to exactly what Detroit would have to forgo in order to land either star.
Starting from the Canucks perspective, the obvious precursor to trade talks is that a trade is far from optimal. Instead, the best-case scenario is that coach Rick Tocchet (known for his skill at handling and getting the most out of his players) and the Vancouver brass find a way to smooth over the relationship between Pettersson and Miller enough for a prevent exchange.
However, here we imagine a scenario in which that proves impossible. Because of that dynamic, it seems likely that the return the Canucks could get for either player would struggle to approach what we might consider the true value of the departing star. That’s an intriguing scenario for any team sniffing the gap (which one assumes is, at least to some extent, every team in the league, given the talent involved).
In the featured video, I discuss the potential framework of a Detroit trade to land one of Pettersson or Miller (with my own preference for the former over the latter). Long story short, I think the Red Wings’ interest will depend on their ability to make a move without giving up their two fundamental pieces of the present and future: Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond. That probably won’t be easy, but depending on how much Vancouver’s hand is forced (and how publicly that dynamic plays out), it’s not outside the realm of possibility.
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