As the Four Nations Faceoff approaches, the NHL has a sort of mini trade deadline (ahead of its actual trade deadline) on its hands. Some teams are looking to sell off early this year, hoping to avoid any sort of catastrophe at the mid-season tournament.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets find themselves way ahead of schedule, battling for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Conversely, the Vancouver Canucks have fallen way short of expectations out west; amidst rumors of a locker room controversy between their two biggest star forwards, Elias Pettersson and JT Miller.
At this point, it's not even a rumor any longer. Vancouver's own general manager, Jim Rutherford, confirmed the rumor this week. This explains why there's been so much smoke around both of these players for much of this season.
Naturally, the Blue Jackets have found themselves smack dab in the middle of everyone's rumor mill. With a young upstart team that is surprising the league, while simultaneously sitting at the very bottom in salary spent; they have not only the assets to get a deal done - they can do it without any salary cap gymnastics.
The big question here: does it make sense for the Jackets?
I'll start with JT Miller. He's the guy we've heard brought up so many times from both fanbases. From the Canucks side of things, he's the obvious outcast because of his age (31); and the fact that he's signed for 5 more years with a cap hit of $8 million dollars. Obviously, if you're trading away a star player and kicking off a reset, you want to trade the older guy. It makes sense.
From the Columbus side of things, I just don't see the fit. Sure, Miller is an Ohio native; but he was born and raised far closer to Pittsburgh than Columbus. Just a few more miles and he's a Pennsylvania native, so this really doesn't matter. At 31 years old, he does not fit the timeline of competition here. Nor do I see him fitting into this young, fun loving locker room. For me, this is a hard pass, regardless the cost. I would not want JT Miller's personality taking over this team, especially not with 5 years remaining.
What about the other guy? Let's talk EP40 on the next page.