VANCOUVER -- Patrik Allvin was asked if the Vancouver Canucks were better after the general manager traded top-line center J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers in the first of two deals on Friday night that resulted in two other players on the active roster leaving and four new players coming in.
“It's definitely different,” Allvin replied. “I do like the pieces we have added here.”
Vancouver acquired forward Filip Chytil, defenseman Victor Mancini and a first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft in the Rangers deal for Miller. Hours later, Allvin sent that draft pick, which will transfer to 2026 if it falls in the top 13, forward Danton Heinen and defenseman Vincent Desharnais to the Pittsburgh Penguins for defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O'Connor.
“Marcus was a key piece for us,” said Allvin, who knows Pettersson from his 16 seasons with the Penguins. “We've been looking since the summer and those type of defensemen are hard to get, and I felt there wasn't a whole lot available on the market … and obviously getting Chytil, Mancini and Drew O'Connor was big pieces for us, how we want to play and how we want to construct our roster.”
O’Connor and Pettersson can become unrestricted free agents on July 1, and while Allvin had not yet talked to Pettersson’s agent on Saturday, his hope is to re-sign the 28-year-old Swedish defenseman. Pettersson has 18 points (three goals, 15 assists) in 47 games this season, the final of a five-year contract ($4,025,175 average annual value) he signed with Pittsburgh on Jan. 28, 2020. He should bolster a Canucks defense that has struggled to move the puck anytime No. 1 defenseman Quinn Hughes isn’t on the ice.
“It is definitely a priority for us to get him signed,” Allvin said. “I know that Marcus is extremely excited. I think (Canucks president of hockey operations) Jim (Rutherford) mentioned that he traded for him previously, and (assistant coach) Sergei Gonchar worked with him in Pittsburgh, so there is a lot of familiarities with Marcus here, and he was thankful and excited for the opportunity.”
It's hard to imagine the Canucks being better without Miller, who had 437 points (152 goals, 285 assists) in 404 regular-season games over six seasons with Vancouver, which ranks 11th in the NHL in scoring during that time. But the 31-year-old center had 35 points (nine goals, 26 assists) in 40 games at the time of the trade, and missed 10 games on a personal leave of absence from Nov. 19 to Dec. 12.
Rutherford said earlier this week that a strained relationship between Miller and forward Elias Pettersson was negatively impacting the team, and hinted trades might be required to rectify the situation. But Allvin said on Saturday it was not a Miller-or-Pettersson decision that led to the trade.
“I wouldn't say it was one or the other,” Allvin said, adding Miller, who had a no-movement clause, never asked for a trade but worked with the team on it. “This was a conversation between myself and J.T. and his agent that started about two months ago with his health and the environment we had during the time, and during the discussions leading up to yesterday, I felt that he probably needed a fresh start and where he was in his life and in his age and with his family that this was the best option for him and the Vancouver Canucks.”
As for where this leaves Pettersson, who along with Miller was reportedly part of trade talks with the Carolina Hurricanes before they instead acquired forwards Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall in a blockbuster three-team trade with the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 24, Allvin isn’t worried about extra pressure on the young center.
The 26-year-old had an NHL career-high 102 points (39 goals, 63 assists) in 2022-23 and signed an eight-year, $92.8 million contract ($11.6 million average annual value) on March 2, 2024, finishing the season with 89 points (34 goals, 55 assists) and a plus-20 rating in 82 games. But Pettersson has struggled in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with one goal and five assists in 13 games, has 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists) and a minus-5 rating in 45 games so far this season, and will face more pressure to score without Miller.
“That's part of being a professional hockey player, especially when you commit to that kind of contract,” Allvin said. “My expectation is higher on him than anyone else on our team, and I expect him to meet my expectation, and I expect him to meet his own expectation, and so far he has not done that. If you talk to him, he's disappointed, but he's aware of it, and I know that he's capable, and he will work at it.”
