I'm not ready to give up on Rakell just yet, but I wouldn't be against this move. Now, the reasons why I think VAN fans on here will pitch a fit:

1) They'll overvalue Podzlokin
2) To my knowledge the rationale for VAN looking to move Garland is to free up space, so it may not make sense.

Canucks decline. If they trade Garland they want cap relief. this provides none and in fact adds term on an expensive middle 6 forward. Then to ask for Podz on top of this is just pure hubris or greed but Allvin would laugh as he hung up the phone.

Canucks pass. That doesn’t help them at all

How about explaining what Van gets out of this deal.....apart from nothing. Rakell doesn't fit on the roster or salary structure (just like in Pittsburgh) so dumping him will cost ya. POJ is the epitome of an overvalued asset LOL. At least Podkolzin has upside........

Canucks decline. Garland has more value to us than Rakell because he has less term. The reason behind moving Garland is to free up cap space, which this doesn’t do. Podkolzin also has more value than Joseph.

The Canucks problem is they're so overloaded with quality wingers that Podkolzin plays in the AHL due to being ineligible for waivers, not because he isn't NHL-ready. Podkolzin is 22 and already has a good two-way game, he's going to be an excellent cost-controlled winger when Beauvillier leaves. He hasn't been called up because he suffered an injury two weeks ago and has been out for the last little bit. He's at the top of the list once he's back healthy.

Garland is also another great two-way forward and the third-best 5v5 forward on the team, and that is saying something with the quality Vancouver has. If the Canucks were doing this trade it would be Beauvillier, not Garland, being moved.

As for the Penguins offer back,

POJ was explored two seasons ago as a potential piece around Miller, but his play has stagnated and even regressed this season, he's barely playing 12 mins/night on a thin Penguins blueline. Besides that, POJ is an LHD and Vancouver needs an RHD. If they were moving Podkolzin for a defender, it would have to be in a package for a Top-4 RHD, not for an LHD 7th defenseman.

Rakell has no value for Vancouver, they're already loaded in forwards; Miller and Pettersson are Top-10 centermen in the league, Paying Rakell 5m AAV to center the 3rd line would be a waste, Blueger/Suter already do that job perfectly for nearly half that price.

The pieces make no sense for the Canucks.

Penguins Decline

Yeah, you're way the heck off on all of this. Rakell is a proven legit top-six winger who's truthfully just having a bizarre start. I mean, Johnny Gaudreau has two goals on the year. Weird starts happen, so let's not get all crazy here calling Rakell a cap dump. He's been a better producing winger than Garland over the last few year. They're both very different players. Rakell is a more of a pure-offense guy, who's at least responsible in his own end and Garland is more of a two-way winger with some offensive upside.

Next, I'm not sure how POJ is being overvalued here. It's not like we're getting a 1st round pick in return for him in this deal. He arguably worth between a 4th and a 3rd. Podzlokin has the mystique of being an unproven asset, but he really hasn't blown the doors off at the AHL level and at his age he should be doing more down there.

Finally, I said this deal likely doesn't make sense for VAN, but you had to get butt-hurt about my rationale? Weird.

In terms of value this deal isn't really that lopsided. It's really about whether it makes sense for either club and I'm not sure it does. Garland is as much of a gamble for us than Rakell is for you.

So again, I didn't say this makes sense for you guys, but as I suspected you will all overvalue Podzlokin. Yeah, he's got a decent two-way game, but he's not trending to being a very productive NHL winger. POJ has regressed, I won't deny that, but I don't see a POJ/Podzlokin as being a very lopsided swap. If Podzlokin has more value than POJ, it's minimal simply because he's an unknown asset at this point. That said, the POJ/Miller thing was all complete BS. It was widely reported that the Miller discussions were nothing that got close to serious discussion; mere inquiries.

I agree that Rakell doesn't make much sense for you guys, but you do realize he's a winger and not a center, right?

I also suspect that the POJ/Podzlokin part was really just an ancillary part of the deal.

Tell me you know nothing about Podkolzin without telling me you know nothing about Podkolzin.

If you think Podkolzin has the same value as POJ, then you wouldn't mind trading Sam Poulin for Noah Juulsen, right? 22-year-old winger for a mid-20s fringe NHL defenseman. It's a fair deal according to you.

It was reported that Pittsburgh was very much interested in Miller, it wasn't played down, it was because Sullivan refused to let Zucker be moved as part of the deal. That's how you ended up with Granlund. I don't understand why you're trying this revisionist history. It was literally reported by Penguins writers: https://theathletic.com/4542179/2023/05/24/pittsburgh-penguins-franchise-nhl-playoff-streak/

Rakell was a center when he was with the Ducks, haven't watched him since he was moved outside of the Conference.

Rakell was not primarily a center with the Ducks. You're 100% wrong. If he started as one early in his career it was short-lived. He's been a winger for almost all his time in the NHL, so keep proving you have no clue what you're talking about.

Looking at Podzlokin's numbers is all I need. His AHL numbers are MID and do not track on NHL success and while I'm sure you're someone who doesn't like stats when they don't support your narrative, the AHL-to-NHL predictor based on AHL stats is pretty damn accurate and he's basically trending on the cusp. He's your Alex Nylander.

Second, yes, there was lots of fire around Miller and when the dust settled it was reported there were absolutely NO serious discussions. As for your "reporting" on Miller. I don't think you actually read the article. I didn't say there was no interest if you read my original statement. I said there was nothing close to serious discussions that happened and that's exactly what this article said. It said Hextall "flirted" with the idea. Maybe you don't know what flirted means and I'm beginning to question your reading abilities, but it was widely reported that we never close to getting Miller nor did any major discussions take place.

So yeah... keep it up.

What conversion chart are you using? Dobbers' conversion system shows Podkolzin's AHL numbers to be at a 35-point pace in the NHL this season, which would have been good enough for 7th among Penguins forwards last season. Guess half your team is fringe NHLers then. Sorry about that. Also, look at his advanced stats in the NHL. Positive Corsi 5v5 as a 20 y/o, 21 y/o on a team that was in the basement. You don't get those numbers without having a strong two-way game. Podkolzin is worth more than you give him credit for. Saying he's worth more than a fringe defenseman who has aged out as being a prospect isn't overvaluing him. You're overvaluing your own players.

Also — no serious conversations? My guy, the Canucks and Penguins were having "heated discussions", and Sullivan was weighing his input on the potential trade. Let me ask you, if there wasn't any serious conversation happening, why would Hextall ask the coach his opinion on a potential trade? Why would Zucker's name be so synonymous with the potential Miller trade? If it's at the point where they have the names of players down and are asking coaching staff for their opinions, that is not the first phone call, it is the ninth or tenth in a series of discussions. Why would it go down to the 11th hour before the Penguins decided another route? Why was it being reported by every insider between Pittsburgh and Vancouver, by Friedman, LeBrun, Johnston, etc? C'mon man, the only person you're lying to is yourself.

Again, you have an issue with reading comprehension and you've made that perfectly clear. I'm not really sure how else to explain this, but I'll try one more time and then I'm done, because you clearly have some issues...

Leading up to the final minutes of the deadline, yes, every outlet was reporting all this crazy stuff with Miller or Boeser to the Pens. Everything from us sending POJ to Pettersson, etc... When the dust settled, it was reported that was completely overblown by the hockey guys. As the article clearly stated, they FLIRTED with the idea of bringing in Miller. It was widely reported that there were in-fact no real serious discussions sending Miller to the Pens. Read that carefully... "serious discussion." That doesn't mean there were none, but there were no discussions that were close to real things happening. Just inquiries/light discussions. It was reported by both GMs to the media that nothing was ever close. I'm really not sure how many other ways to make that clear to you.

As far as Podzlokin. He put up 18 points in 28 games last year in the AHL. That's not good. The indicator for NHL success in the AHL is right around a point-per-game or better at the AHL level. Is that 100%? Of course not, nothing is, but the proof from that specific stat has been quite dead on. He's off to a better start this year, but it's 8 games in.

Also I never said that POJ is worth more than Podzlokin. I really wish you read these things. I feel like you just want to argue and hear yourself speak. I said that the deal isn't that lopsided in our favor. I said if Podzlokin is valued higher, it's marginal due to the simple fact he's an unknown asset at this point. Again, I simply said that value-wise, this deal isn't that lopsided and I'm sticking to that because it's not. You're trying to act like Podzloskin is this hot top prospect and he's not. He's a mid-level prospect, that's it.

Because again, if you read, I said this deal doesn't make sense for either club, which we actually both agree on, but you just want to argue about the rationale because you feel slighted for some reason. Get over it.

You talk about reading comprehension but you failed to meet any of the points I talked to.

Penguins writers said it was close. Friedman said it was close. I'm going to trust those guys statements before I trust some randos on the internet. You're entitled to your opinion, and when the experts say something different, people are going to side with the experts.

It's not marginal difference. POJ is on the edge of just being a burnout at this point. Whereas Podkolzin still has a lot of time, he only just turned 22. Again, Poulin for Juulsen.

You keep complaining that I don't read what you write, but you're literally just repeating the same points I have already disproven and shown to be false. You're going to ignore what I write again and then say I'm ignoring you.

I'm done here dude. You can't seem to comprehend the difference between what was reported before the the deadline and what reality came out after the deadline. It's not opinion WHEN BOTH GM's state nothing was ever close, but I just can't do this anymore.

Yes, I keep repeating the same point because your replies show you're not understanding what I'm saying. I'm not talking about agreeing, you don't have to agree, but you're not grasping what I'm stating.

Regardless, I'm done here. You can reply, but I'm not going to read it.

Alright dude, I've literally provided evidence and all you've done is deflected and tried to change the story to fit some weird narrative you've created. I don't understand why you're so angry about something so trivial, it's okay to admit you were wrong.