Trade Deadline Temptations! Canucks Most Avoid Repeating Costly Trade Mistakes That Haunt the Franchise Till This Day

The Vancouver Canucks seem to thrive on chaos, which makes it fitting the team has another tricky situation on their hands. This time, it involves two prominent offensive players, Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller. With the Canucks fighting for a wild card spot, they need both players on the roster to succeed. However, with turmoil in the locker room and the chemistry just a bit off, there is a good chance one, if not both, players get traded.

And if this sounds like a familiar tune to many Canucks fans, it might be. Go back to the days when Cory Schneider and Roberto Luongo were on the team, and you’ll see some comparisons. To be fair, the tension between those two pales in comparison to what was happening between Miller and Pettersson. As a matter of fact, Luongo and Schneider pushed each other to be better.

But with Schneider on the rise and the younger of the two goalies, the team tried to move Luongo. However, the Canucks made the Final in 2011, losing in Game 7 to the Boston Bruins. Subsequent seasons and the Canucks were still trying to move on from one of their goalies. (See Boston in the summer of 2024.) Sometimes, it is not wise to break up the best goalie duo in the NHL.

However, Luongo’s contract at the time was not moveable. So the Vancouver Canucks traded Corey Schneider to the New Jersey Devils. Many thought that was the end of the drama in Vancouver. It could have been, except the Canucks traded Luongo less than a year later to the Florida Panthers. Part of the trade saw Jacob Markstrom come to Vancouver. But that was before he was Markstrom.

The Canucks Face Another Dilemma and Can’t Repeat Past Mistakes

Now the Canucks face another dilemma. Vancouver is taking calls on both Pettersson and Miller. It does not seem like any team in the Eastern or Western Conference is out of this discussion. However, President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford and General Manager Patrik Allvin must be weary of the previous situation.

It took some time for the Canucks to recover from the trades of those two goalies. Moving out two centers for potential could have similar ramifications, especially with Vancouver, a contender to win the Stanley Cup. The caveat is Thatcher Demko needs to be healthy.

The issue between Miller and Pettersson goes back to their very first season together. However, the team and players seemed to have squashed the beef for the team to be successful. They got to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, where they lost in Game 7 to the Edmonton Oilers. So, there is potential for this team.

The Return for the Canucks Has to Be Right

But if they are going to make a trade of this magnitude, the return has to keep them in contender status. So right there, the Vancouver Canucks are righting a wrong for the Luongo-Schneider situation. However, Vancouver may never win any trade for either of these players. Management hopes that they will get a package similar to what the Winnipeg Jets got for Pierre-Luc Dubois.

A four-piece package for Pettersson and/or Miller keeps them in the hunt moving forward. The Vancouver Canucks continue to explore all their options. However, trying to balance winning, being competitive, being contenders, and trying to resolve the issues between Pettersson and Miller are all part of these difficult discussions.

It is always something with this team. The drama is always there with the Canucks. And a little over a decade later, we see history repeat itself, with a young buck and an old lion on the same team. However, this time, Vancouver can’t let go of both players. They must choose one.