VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks’ best player on Saturday night may not even be part of the team on Sunday.
A couple of hours after Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Canucks had planned to hold Miller out of Saturday’s game until a potential trade with the New York Rangers either collapsed or hit a snag, the centre who has led with his heart since coming to Vancouver six years ago played a virtuoso shutdown game against Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
McDavid’s most notable accomplishment was delivering a cross-check to the side of the head of Canuck winger Conor Garland in the final seconds. McDavid and Canuck defenceman Tyler Myers, who similarly lumbered Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard in the same altercation, face suspensions for their match penalties.
Miller faces another day of trade speculation, but with greater gravity than the innumerable other days when the emotional 31-year-old’s future with the Canucks has been fodder for conjecture.
“Yeah, I guess,” Miller told reporters in a post-game media scrum. “I don’t really know what to say, to be honest. I don’t have a good answer for you. I’m just trying to focus on game to game.”
Asked to reflect on his time with the Canucks, with whom he amassed 103 points last season and went to Game 7 of the playoffs’ second round, Miller said: “I’m not getting into this. I’m planning on being a Canuck today, tomorrow. Whatever happens, happens. I’m focused on the next game.”
The Canucks do not play again until Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres.
That feels like a long way away.
Canuck general manager Patrik Allvin and president Jim Rutherford are believed to have been exploring the trade markets on Miller and Elias Pettersson since Christmas, determined to settle what has been an at-times uneasy coexistence between the stars who are profoundly different people and players.
It appears, according to Friedman, that management has settled on trading Miller, who is nearly six years older than Pettersson, but also less expensive and far more battle-hardened. On Saturday, for example, it was Miller who was given the top assignment of checking McDavid — and Draisaitl when he was moved to the same line — rather than Pettersson.
Miller had the first assists on a pair of first-period goals scored by defenceman Quinn Hughes, logged 10:25 of even-strength ice time against McDavid and 8:04 against Draisaitl, and went 18-5 in the faceoff circle.
“I’m happy he was playing for us tonight,” Canucks winger Jake DeBrusk said. “I’ve been here for 45 games. You know, I signed here (from Boston as a free agent) for a reason. I signed here to either play with Millsy or Elias. My main thing was to play with those two guys. So I don’t want (a trade) to happen. I don’t want them to leave.
“Like I said, I’m 40-something games in but I want to play at least 82 and then a playoff run with them, and then we’ll see what everybody says.”
Hughes, the Canucks captain, said he was aware of the pre-game trade reports regarding Miller.
“Of course, I’m aware,” Hughes said. “I think that’s part of my job to be aware of things like that and just have a good feel for what’s going on. But, you know, through everything, I thought everyone played amazing. And especially Millsy, the way he played against that line, especially in the third, you know, he’s really competitive. He’s a gamer, so it was nice to see.”
Miller has been one of Hughes’ mentors, arriving in trade at the same time Hughes joined the Canucks in 2019.
“I mean, over the last bunch of years, six years it’s been, he’s a guy that’s always going to compete, and show up,” Hughes said. “A lot of passion, a lot of care. You know, like when McDavid and Draisaitl, two of the best three players in the world are in town, he’s going to be ready to go. He wants that challenge, and he’s up for it, as you saw tonight.”
Trade discussions involving the Canucks’ best players are products of what has been a tumultuous, inconsistent season so far for a team that has Stanley Cup aspirations.
But it sure looked like a winning team on Saturday, and a desperate one after consecutive blowout losses this week to the Winnipeg Jets and Los Angeles Kings by an aggregate score of 11-2.
They built a 3-0 lead in the first period on Hughes’ power-play goals and one by Danton Heinen at even strength, and dominated the Oilers for stretches. And after Draisaitl scored a pair of goals for Edmonton in the second period, one of them on the power play, Vancouver yielded just three third-period shots to one of the NHL’s most dangerous teams.
The Oilers’ 15 shots were their lowest in a game this season — by six shots.
“I think everyone here is excited,” Hughes said. “It’s a big one. We needed it and it shows a lot of character in our group, especially with all the stuff that’s been, you know, going around the last couple of weeks.”
Defenceman Carson Soucy said the noise “takes your mind off the ultimate goal of playoffs and winning in the playoffs. . . knowing that this might not be our final group. It just kind of sometimes feels like you’re waiting a little bit. But I think tonight was just a reminder that we’ve got a great group that can win big games against good teams. I just can’t praise J.T. enough. He just had a huge game for us.
“We were trying to stick with just kind of business as usual, and I think he did a great job tonight. He had good energy, he was positive. I know it’s got to be tough for him, just kind of with the noise for him especially. We just wanted to remind him that we’re still teammates, we’re still going out there (together). I think he did a great job tonight just kind of being present as a Canuck.”
Asked if he said anything to Miller before the game, Soucy said: “I wish I knew what to say. He’s been a warrior for this team, for sure. We rely on him a lot.”
