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JT Miller

Are you in favor of trading for Miller using Kevin Fiala and an add?
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Nov. 23, 2021 at 4:39 p.m.
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The rumor mill has been churning in full force the past week. Russo posted this gamer following the Sharks loss last week and implicated Miller as a trade target. Fast forward to this past weekend and tension seems to be building between Fiala and Dean. Yesterday, this article surfaced indicating Guerin has made a call to Vancouver regarding JT Miller and the author speculated that Fiala could be the main piece in a Miller trade. Today, this article is hot off the press and indicates one team that has been monitoring Miller and, you guessed it, it's the Wild.


This Fiala+ for Miller framework seems more like two reporters connecting dots, but here's what we know:
1. Fiala is unhappy. This is pretty obvious based on his recent comments, his reported ask for "Kaprizov money" during contract extension talks this past summer, and the aforementioned tension with Dean.
2. Guerin is interested in Miller
3. If we want Miller, we probably have to move Fiala in order to fit him into our cap next year. At the very least we will need to move out a bigger contract either in a trade for Miller and if not, then this offseason.


Player for player, Miller is the better asset as he can play center (although it's unclear whether or not he has played it for long stints, based off what I've read and heard he is mainly a winger), he has higher point totals in both the regular and post-season, and he players a grittier game. The nice thing about both players is that their stats on their current teams come from pretty similar sample sizes.

Miller has played his best hockey in Vancouver:
Regular season: 141 gp, 49 goals, 137 points, 2910 TOI, 2.82 p/60, 260 hits
Playoffs: 17 gp, 6 goals, 19 points, 350 TOI, 3.26 p/60, 40 hits

Fiala has played his best hockey in Minnesota:
Regular season: 151 gp, 49 goals, 113 points, 2490 TOI, 2.72 p/60, 79 hits
Playoffs: 11 gp, 4 goals, 6 points, 191 TOI, 1.88 p/60, 27 hits

The tl;dr version is that Miller has been a little better in the regular season and a lot better in the postseason.

What does everyone think? Are you in favor of adding Miller?
Nov. 24, 2021 at 12:42 a.m.
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Hi, I'm a Canucks fan. Now you might think I'm biased, but I can tell you with utmost confidence that Miller is more valuable and a better player than Fiala, so a one for one shouldn't cut it. I came here to suggest what the Wild could potentially add as part of a package surrounding Fiala. Here's what I came up with

a 2nd round pick

Jordan Greenway

Frederick Gaudreau + 3rd round pick

Those are three package additions I came up with. I take it both Ryan Hartman and Nico Sturm are both untouchables for the Wild at this time. Those were the only other two forwards that I was interested in that I thought could maybe fit in with Fiala, but I didn't include them just in case
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Nov. 24, 2021 at 12:54 a.m.
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Quoting: Knuckl3s
Hi, I'm a Canucks fan. Now you might think I'm biased, but I can tell you with utmost confidence that Miller is more valuable and a better player than Fiala, so a one for one shouldn't cut it. I came here to suggest what the Wild could potentially add as part of a package surrounding Fiala. Here's what I came up with

a 2nd round pick

Jordan Greenway

Frederick Gaudreau + 3rd round pick

Those are three package additions I came up with. I take it both Ryan Hartman and Nico Sturm are both untouchables for the Wild at this time. Those were the only other two forwards that I was interested in that I thought could maybe fit in with Fiala, but I didn't include them just in case


No disagreement here, Miller is worth more and the Wild would be adding in a trade. I hope a 1 for 1 wasn't implied in my post, I worded the poll specifically because of that.

I think all of those seem pretty reasonable. I have been pleasantly surprised by Gaudreau and he fits nicely into our bottom 6, so I'd definitely prefer the top two options. Thing with Greenway is I don't think the Canucks could re-sign both Greenway and Fiala, so I think it would almost have to be the 2nd round pick as the add from Vancouver's perspective.

Ultimately, I guess I'm a little unsure why Vancouver would go for a trade like this. Fiala is a great player, don't get me wrong, he's also a bit younger and comes with more team control, but I think the Canucks are better off either using Miller to get an established top 4 RHD that can anchor their top pairing or try to get picks and prospects. Carolina makes more sense to me as a trading partner (if they're interested) since they've got a lot of quality blue-liners and probably one of the best prospect pools in the league.
Nov. 24, 2021 at 1:38 a.m.
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Quoting: TanSor
No disagreement here, Miller is worth more and the Wild would be adding in a trade. I hope that wasn't implied in my post, I worded the poll specifically because of that.

I think all of those seem pretty reasonable. I have been very pleasantly surprised by Gaudreau and he fits nicely into our bottom 6, so I'd definitely prefer the top two options. Thing with Greenway is I don't think the Canucks could re-sign both Greenway and Fiala, so I think it would almost have to be the 2nd round pick as the add from Vancouver's perspective.

Ultimately, I guess I'm a little unsure why Vancouver would go for a trade like this. Fiala is a great player, don't get me wrong, he's also a bit younger and comes with more team control, but I think the Canucks are better off either using Miller to get an established top 4 RHD that can anchor their top pairing or try to get picks and prospects. Carolina makes a boat-load of sense to me since they've got a lot of quality blue-liners and probably one of the best prospect pools in the league.


I think right now, Vancouver wouldn't mind entertaining a trade offer from another team with a desperate positional need if they can get an appropriate return, and I think Fiala could potentially fit in with Vancouver's more up tempo system. Fiala also likely won't be as expensive to re-sign as Miller will be when he is in need of a new contract. I've heard Fiala's camp wants around an AAV of 6.25 million on a long-term deal, which I think is a fine number and is perfectly doable for Vancouver on a 4, 5, or 6 year deal. As for Miller, I honestly shudder to think about what he will be able to ask for when his deal expires in 2023 assuming he keeps up his point per game pace

And on the subject of Greenway, considering were the Canucks are right now, who knows what other moves they are going to make before this seasons trade deadline and next off-season. I could totally see a scenario where they re-sign both Greenway and Fiala, because the Canucks could sure use Greenway's grit

To answer your question about Vancouver's right side of defense, sure, they could use Miller as a trade chip to address that need, but actually looking at Vancouvers right side of defense which consists of Tyler Myers, Travis Hamonic, and Tucker Poolman, I honestly don't think their right side is as shallow as some people make it out to be. Sure, none of those contracts are bargains, but none of them are back breaking the way some people make them out to be

Breaking down their right side, yes, Tyler Myers has his warts defensively, but he's not a complete liability the way guys like Tony DeAngelo, Shayne Gostisbehere, or Tyson Barrie is, basically he's just not somebody who can carry the bulk of the defensive responsibilities on a pairing. However, Myers is very good at driving the play and entering the offensive zone, he's actually just good in the offensive zone in general, and it surprises me how much people overlook or underappreciate the things he does well

I also like Travis Hamonic quite a bit. He's isn't a great skater, but he's good in his own zone, plays with a good sense of urgency, and can effectively hold the line in the offensive zone

I know a lot of people freaked out about the contract Tucker Poolman got, but he's actually been a pretty decent 3rd pairing defender this season. In fact, plenty of 3rd pairing defensemen are getting paid in the 2-2.75 million range. Poolman's puck handling skills are limited, but he's a good skater, he doesn't try to do too much, and he is rarely ever out of position

Also, all three of these guys can block shots. I didn't mean to get so far off-topic, but I don't think Vancouver's right side of defense is in quite as desperate need of an upgrade as some people think it is. Besides, who could they possibly get to upgrade on at least one of the above three guys?

Carolina has Ethan Bear, Brett Pesce, and Ian Cole, but I don't think they'd be willing to part with any of those three guys as they are trying to win this season
Nov. 24, 2021 at 5:56 p.m.
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Miller for Fiala is a bad trade idea for MN. It's just a lateral move and doesn't really make the team better overall. It also hurts the cap.
Dec. 1, 2021 at 11:58 p.m.
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Quoting: wabit
Miller for Fiala is a bad trade idea for MN. It's just a lateral move and doesn't really make the team better overall. It also hurts the cap.


Moving out Fiala for Miller absolutely makes the Wild better
 
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