J.T. Miller was rumored in trade talks for the Vancouver Canucks going back to the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline. Miller had one year left remaining on his contract, and he was going to be entering free agency after the 2023 season. However, those rumors of him being traded can now be put to bed, as he signed a 7-year contract extension worth $8 million per season.
General manager Patrick Allvin signed him to this deal, and this is a great sign for Vancouver moving forward. The NHL odds for the Vancouver Canucks to win the 2022-2023 Stanley Cup title are very average. What does this signing mean for them moving forward?
They Have a Shot To Win It All In 2023
The Vancouver Canucks looked like a hockey team that was totally lifeless in 2021-2022 before they fired Travis Greene and made Bruce Boudreau the new head coach. Vancouver was very hot when Boudreau was the head coach, and they almost made it to the playoffs. The Canucks had to dig themselves out of a very deep hole.
This season, they will have a fresh start, and it is very possible that the Vancouver Canucks can be a Top 3 seed in the Pacific Division in the Western Conference along with the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers. Vancouver is in win-now mode with this signing, and they have the talent and the pieces to make some noise next season in the NHL.
They could potentially be a dark horse candidate to win it all next season. The Vancouver Canucks have never won a Stanley Cup Title in franchise history, and they were last in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2011 against the Boston Bruins, where they blew a 2-0 series lead and lost in seven games. J.T. Miller and the Vancouver Canucks have unfinished business to attend to.
One Of The Most Underrated Players
J.T. Miller is only 29 years old and is currently in the prime of his NHL career. Last season, he played in 80 games and recorded 32 goals and 67 assists, along with a plus/minus rating of 15. Miller is a top-six forward in this league. There were a lot of teams rumored to be getting him in a trade if the Vancouver Canucks decided not to keep him around.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, the New York Islanders, the New York Rangers, and the New Jersey Devils were some of the teams he was potentially rumored to go to. Miller is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and there were some rumors going around he was going to be traded there or leave next summer and sign with the Penguins and play with Sidney Crosby and company.
That could be put to rest now, and we will see how the J.T. Miller with the Vancouver Canucks tenure plays out. They have tons of talent on that roster.
Vancouver Canucks Keep the Main Players Together
The Vancouver Canucks have a ton of talent on their roster to go along with J.T. Miller. At forward, they have Elias Pettersson, Ilya Mikheyev, Bo Horvat, Nils Hoglander, and Brock Boeser. Quinn Hughes is their top defenseman, and he is one of the best defensemen in the entire NHL. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is also on their roster.
Thatcher Demko is one of the most underrated goalies in the entire NHL. He is a headache to deal with on a night-to-night basis. The problem is that the backup goalie situation is going to be very dicey for them this upcoming season. Collin Delia, Spencer Martin, and Arturs Silovs will compete for that spot, and that is very vital for this hockey team.
The talent on this roster with J.T. Miller is there, and they will have to put it all together again this season under head coach Bruce Boudreau. It is hard to win a Stanley Cup Title in this league, and will see what they do.
