Trade winds continue to blow around Vancouver.
The Vancouver Canucks rejected a trade that would have sent J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers in exchange for fellow forward Mika Zibanejad earlier this season, The Athletic‘s Josh Yohe reported on Tuesday.
On Saturday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Canucks are “looking at the market” for both Miller and teammate Elias Pettersson amid an alleged off-ice feud.
“You should be prepared for all outcomes,” Friedman said.
Neither Miller nor Pettersson are playing to their standards. Miller, who took a leave of absence in November due to personal reasons, has six goals and 25 points in his 28 games, but hasn’t scored since Nov. 16. Pettersson, who is sidelined with an upper-body injury, has 10 goals and 28 points in 35 games.
Miller, armed with a full no-move clause that kicked in ahead of last season, has control over where he hypothetically ends up. Friedman believes that his destination, should he be dealt, will be in the United States, but isn’t sure that rumours of a reunion with the Rangers, with either K’Andre Miller or Zibanejad in return, are entirely accurate.
“I just think that if Vancouver wanted to do that, they would have done it already,” Friedman said, before adding that Zibanejad, too, has a no-move clause.
A move of Zibanejad would represent the third significant trade the embattled Rangers have made this season after sending out captain Jacob Trouba to the Ducks and former top prospect Kaapo Kakko to the Kraken.
Zibanejad, too, has been slumping this season, with just eight goals and 16 assists in 39 games.
New York sits seventh in the Metropolitan Division with an 18-20-1 record.
Vancouver remains in the playoff mix at fourth in the Pacific Division with an 18-12-9 mark.
