No it isn't, and Pettersson is getting better, they will each center their own lines going forward

And when/if that happens, and the Canucks aren’t good, what will the excuse be then?

They will be good one way or another, JR has assembled a very impressive front office. Worst case scenario, Pettersson doesn't rediscover his game from his first two seasons and the team cuts their losses, but management will find a way too replace what they hoped he would bring. It won't be easy, but they'll find a way if it comes to that

you mean the Center that is scoring at a .70ppg since the coaching change?

Is that supposed to be good?

Oh will they?
Why is this front office so impressive?
Whats the roadmap to be good?
Why will they be good with Miller and Pettersson as their one-two punch at center? Seems like that option has been available for a long period of the Canucks being bad.
How do they replace Pettersson if he doesn’t rebound?

The team is trying to get younger, so if they can't keep Miller, they can trade him for a nice haul of valuable assets, and if Pettersson doesn't rebound, the team can just cut their losses and look for another superstar player somewhere in the next several drafts

JR has been very clear in communicating what the club intends to do at least in the short-term. They aren't going to trade any high value future assets, they will be looking to get younger, and they are looking to create some salary cap flexibility

He has assembled a very diverse front office of people with some impressive resumes. The new GM Patrik Allvin was hired out of Pittsburgh where he rose through the ranks of the organization, he has a lot of ties to the scouting landscape in Europe, he is a trusted lieutenant of Rutherford's, and he has a great eye for talent, not to mention he got a very good player development system going in Pittsburgh. One of the AGM's JR hired is a former player agent and has degrees in both finance and law, so right there is a strong foundation for being able to negotiate player contracts and manage the salary cap. Rutherford has also hired a second AGM who has a strong track record in the player development department

Miller has only been here for two and a half seasons, he started with the team at left wing, but he's really grown into being a center over his time in Vancouver. Obviously having Petey and Miller as a 1-2 punch doesn't automatically make the team good, but I have an enormous amount of confidence that this management group will surround them with some very good support players. It's not going to be easy since there aren't a lot of highly valuable assets for Vancouver to trade, so the team will have to look to make some lower key trades to try and find some players who aren't currently on the map in the NHL that can potentially be impact players at the NHL level. JR made some low-key trades where he managed to acquire impact players for basically nothing back in Pittsburgh, such as with the likes of John Marino and Marcus Pettersson who currently make up Pittsburgh's 2nd D-pair

How certain is the future of the Boston Bruins may I ask?

Oh. Right. Just find the next superstar player. It’s that easy right? Need a superstar player, get a superstar player. No problem.

Not wanting to sell high-value assets, wanting to get younger and create cap flexibility isn’t a plan. That’s a wishlist, and an unrealistic one at that. That’s like someone asking me what my plan for success is, and me saying, “well i want to be happy, healthy, rich, famous, with a supermodel wife.” That’s not a plan.

How do you know about these people? Are you in the meetings. That’s like hearing a company hired a new CEO, set up a whole new board, none of whom have experience, and just saying, “oh, great hires. They’ll do great!” That’s not realism, it’s optimism, and blind optimism at that.

“I have confidence,” isn’t a roadmap. It’s blind loyalty. So what are this low-level moves the Canucks can make? How do they improve? Are three good d men just going to fall into their lap? Are they going to draft these players? If so, it’s probably going to be 4-5 years before they’re ready. What does the team look like then?

Ahhh, that last question. I love it. Nothing shows a defensive nature, and wild insecurity like saying, “welllll what about your team?” What do the bruins have to do with this discussion? If you want to go talk about that go find one of my bruins ACGMs and bring up your questions. We’ll discuss it. I have thoughts greater than, “well find a superstar.” We’re talking about the Canucks here.

Call it optimism, call it a wishlist if you like, I'm just expressing my confidence in my favorite club. Obviously the work and due-diligence has to be put in to get anything of value on the trade or free agent market, nothing just falls in your lap in this league, and I was never speaking in absolutes, I'm surprised you think I came across that way. I said I believe that the Canucks will be a good team going forward, and they are actually doing pretty good right now as we speak, but I never specified how good, I never said that I necessarily think they will become a contender under this new regime. You have to want a certain thing and then you have to seek it out, work out a trade, or work out a contract to get what you want

Notice how I said high value "future" assets, emphasis on the word future, I didn't say that they wouldn't trade assets that can contribute in the present. I think you missed that part

I am not the one who is calling the front office hires good, it's the media, I just said that I like the hiring's. If you have a subscription to a place like the Athletic, you can see for yourself. Canuck media knows all too well what bad management looks like and if their was cause for concern over the effectiveness of club's new front office, they would have already pointed it out

Insecurities? Maybe you're just a Canuck hater and you just want to downplay everything that goes on with them. This discussion can be about the future of more than just one team at a time

He's played more center in Van than the wing. He's a center.

Do you really not get it?

No, we don't get what your trying to say because we've watched Miller more than you have, and all Canucks fans can see that Miller no longer belongs on the wing, playing on the wing for Miller nowadays only holds him back of utilizing his full set of on ice tools, you just haven't woken up to that yet

Miller and Petey haven't really played together this year outside of the power play. They started together when he originally got to Van because they wanted to shelter the rookie with a veteran that can take draws and move to the wing but in the process they realized that Miller was more effective as a center. And a lot of people have been talking about his two way game and I want to put a slight damper on that. He's an offense first player, he's a passionate player, he's a gritty player, there are some defensive woes that come with it. That said, he plays PK, he plays top line PP. He scores at will on a not so great team which means he drives offense, and that he doesn't rode coat tails. He comes at a nice AAV for the rest of this and next. Potentially for 50% of that AAV too if someone is willing to give up an additional asset. He's a really good add at center or the wing if you're looking for depth in case a top 6 center goes down in the playoffs. Every team trying to make a run should want him. He's that good.

Out of curiosity, what is it about his game that makes you think he is a winger and not a center?

Ehhhhh i think this might be a combination of a couple things here. Maybe I’m wrong, but clearly I don’t think so. First is I don’t think you recognize key elements to skating ability that makes someone better at wing than center. I feel like you think this is an insult, and its definitely not. There are a lot of skaters who can develop speed with their first 2-3 strides. Then there are guys that develop speed with a little depth. To use a couple examples from the bruins, David krejci could never play wing because his first three strides kind of sucked. He was a transition skater. If that guy stopped moving he was going to be behind the play. Then you look at a guy like hall, its all developed with 2-3 choppy strides. I don’t really feel like getting into the weeds on this, but Millers skating indicates he should be a winger. Again, not an insult.

Secondly I think you’re a Canucks fan that wants him to be a center because centers have more value on the market.

See below. I think he can play both, but i think his skating is most effective at the wing.

I have no problem with your analysis, but my insistence on Miller continuing to player center and not move back to the wing has nothing to do with the positional value

I do think that he’ll continue to play center in vancouver. I think he would be the 2C in boston too.

The point is I doubt Boston views center as the best position for him, and they aren’t about to give up a first and lysell to force a player to play in the less than ideal position. It’s no commentary on the player. It’s a commentary on the value compared to the fit.

Like I said, I've stopped insisting on Lysell being in a Boston package. Personally though, I don't see why the Bruins, or Cassidy to be more precise, would be hesitant to have Miller play center

They wouldn’t. He would play center.

Sweeney however, would be hesitant to give up his best assets to get a guy that they don’t view as the perfect fit.

I think Miller would be a perfect fit for the Bruins with how he plays, maybe you think a guy like Hertl or Giroux would fit better stylistically

I think Miller would be a fine fit, depending on cost.

The value of every trade is a function of fit and cost.