At the 2019 NHL draft held in Vancouver, Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning traded a potential 1st overall pick for a journeyman American center/winger/bench warmer who will be 28 when the 1st overall pick is lost to Vancouver and given to Tampa Bay Lightning.
It's either a 1st round this pick year (lottery protected) or a 1st round pick next year (not lottery protected). So if the Canucks miss the playoffs next year - they'll choose to keep their pick. But then the following year if they miss the playoffs they will forfeit a NHL lottery pick - which means they potentially just gave up the 1st overall pick for JT Miller... Yup.
In order for the Canucks to make the playoffs in the next 2 years - which team is coming out of the playoffs?
Nashville?
Winnipeg?
St. Louis?
Dallas?
Colorado?
Calgary?
Vegas?
San Jose?
And now you see the problem. Not only do one of those teams have to flop in the next 2 years (unlikely) you also have to beat out the up and coming teams trying to get in. That means beating Edmonton for the last playoff spot with Connor McDavid. Wow. Just wow.
JT Miller - 13 goals - ON THE TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING HIGHEST SCORING TEAM IN THE NHL
TRANSLATES TO ABOUT 4 GOALS ON THE VANCOUVER CANUCKS
THEY TRADED A 1ST, A 3RD - A PROSPECT - THE 1ST ROUND PICK IS GOING TO BE A LOTTERY PICK
THEY MAY HAVE TRADED A 1ST OVERALL PICK FOR A 4 GOAL SCORER
Words can not explain the idiocy of this franchise.
They are an absolute laughing stock.
The much maligned Jake Virtanen had 15 goals in the same number of games on the lowest scoring team in the NHL without a center or a defense behind him.
15 goals Virtanen
13 goals Miller
Think about that
They may have traded the 1st overall pick for a 4 goal scorer.
They must be trying to move the franchise.
The biggest rumour at the NHL draft was the Chicago Blackhawks offered the Canucks the 4th overall pick in exchange for the Canucks' 10th pick and Vancouver taking the contract of local Vancouver boy Brent Seabrook (who has a sizeable contract left). Ownership or GM said no.
Now to be fair to GM Jim Benning - we really don't know who is actually making the decisions on who they're drafting and what they're trying to do.
It could be that Benning is just a puppet for the ownership group. Or he could be trying to make the playoffs to save his job.
We really don't know.
It's possible too that Benning traded a potential 1st overall pick for a journeyman hockey player of his own free will.
They continue to be the laughing stock of professional sports and given this track record it's extremely likely it will be the 1st overall pick for ... JT Miller.
To put this in perspective - JT Miller will be the most hated person in Vancouver sports history. They'll have to trade him just to save him from the embarrassment of 20 minute boos per game.
And JT Miller... poor JT Miller. He's already the most hated player on the Canucks team (which is hard to do) and he hasn't played a game. Just wait until the following season when its apparent that he's a lottery pick... Oh boy.
I don't know how anyone trades for a player and puts him in that position. There's virtually zero chance for JT Miller to succeed in Vancouver. How could anyone be that blind to the fact the fans would automatically hate the guy? And there's nothing he can do now to get out from the label of "franchise player".
Just the fact alone would tell a rational thinking person "I can't trade a 1st round pick for this guy. He'll be crushed by expectations."
It's tone deaf to the market you're in.
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