The Vancouver Canucks likely won’t be trading Ryan Miller.
The Vancouver Canucks are selling big at the 2017 NHL trade deadline. They’ve already acquired two great prospects by trading Alex Burrows and Jannik Hansen. However, the Canucks will not be getting one for Ryan Miller. John Shannon from Sportsnet says he isn’t heading anywhere.
Just been told by Canucks source, Ryan Miller will not be traded today.#NHLTrade
— John Shannon (@JShannonhl) March 1, 2017
While it would have been nice to get something for Miller, you can’t really blame Vancouver here. The goaltender has a no trade clause which allows him to pick six teams he can be traded to. Most contenders already have their goaltending fixed. Three of those teams are the California teams – the San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, and Anaheim Ducks.
Neither of those three teams need to add to their goaltending tandem. The Sharks already have Aaron Dell, who’s doing a fantastic job as the backup to Martin Jones. Moreover, they’re already a bit limited as far as cap space. The Ducks sure could have used him, but they’ve recently traded for Patrick Eaves. Anaheim is a strict budget team and they’ve likely spent to it, so Miller makes no sense there. While the Kings might have been a very good fit for him, he no longer is since the Kings traded for Ben Bishop.
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If you want to blame someone for this fiasco, it’s Miller. He’s the guy who wouldn’t waive his no trade clause. But to be fair, he’s earned it as a veteran. Canucks general manager Jim Benning likely did all he could to try to trade Miller. Getting anything for him would have been a net gain since he’ll be a free agent after this season. However, Benning isn’t a magician, so he can’t trade Miller. This shouldn’t take away from a very strong trade deadline for the Canucks.