NHL trade grades: Canucks add Marcus Pettersson from Penguins hours after getting rid of J.T. Miller

It felt as if it was a matter of when, not if, the Vancouver Canucks were going to trade J.T. Miller, and sure enough, they dealt him to the New York Rangers on Friday night. The return was somewhat underwhelming, but that's to be expected for an older forward on a large contract who reportedly did not mesh well in the Vancouver locker room.

Immediately after it felt as if the Canucks had given up on their season, president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford immediately flipped one of the marquee assets received for Miller — New York's first-round pick — to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a deal that brought Marcus Pettersson to Vancouver. The final five-player swap sent three players to Pittsburgh, along with that first-round pick, and two to Vancouver, including Pettersson.

While the Miller deal was easy to see coming, especially after the Carolina Hurricanes traded for Mikko Rantanen, this Pettersson trade came seemingly out of nowhere. While it made some sense for both sides, one feels like the clear winner of this blockbuster.

NHL Trade Grades: Canucks acquire Marcus Pettersson in late-night shocker

The Canucks were in dire need of some defensive help behind Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes, and got that in Pettersson. He isn't the play driver Hughes is, obviously, but is steady defensively, and is just one goal shy of tying his career-high (4) and 12 points shy of tying his career-high (30) with another 30-ish games to go.

Along with Pettersson, the Canucks acquired Drew O'Connor, a forward who has had a down year this season, but set career highs with 16 goals and 33 points last season with Pittsburgh. Perhaps a change of scenery can help unlock some of what the Penguins saw last season. He might appear to be underwhelming, but he's Danton Heinen, a player who proved to not be a great fit in Vancouver.

As disappointing of a year as this has been for the Canucks, they enter Saturday's action just one point out of the Western Conference's final playoff spot. Trading Miller hurts, obviously, but he was having a down year. Adding a really solid defenseman in Pettersson and a potential upgrade to their middle-six might make the team even better down the stretch.

The elephant in the room, of course, is that both Pettersson and O'Connor are on expiring contracts, making it a very real possibility that one or both of these players depart in the offseason. Hopefully, especially with Vancouver shedding the contracts of Miller, Heinen, and Desharnais, they'll find a way to at the very least ensure Petterson is around for the long haul. If he is, the trade obviously looks a lot better for Vancouver.

While the Canucks didn't do awful in this deal, the Penguins look like clear winners. Sure, they took on the slightly unappealing Heinen and Desharnais contracts, but both of them are going to expire after next season. This deal saw them trade a defenseman on an expiring contract and a forward in the midst of a down year and land a first-round pick that can prove to have a good amount of value. Not bad, especially with the team unlikely to make the playoffs with Pettersson helping out this season.

The pick is top-13 protected, but with how this season has gone for the Rangers, there's a good chance that the pick will be at the back end or just outside of the lottery. Even if it falls into the 20s, getting a late first-round pick in exchange for two players who might not have been back next season is good work.

Canucks trade grade: B-
Penguins trade grade: A-