1 player Canucks must acquire before 2025 NHL Trade Deadline

The Vancouver Canucks' 2024-25 season is imploding in real time. Sitting 16-9-5 in the middle of December, it looked like Rick Tocchet's club would have no trouble advancing to a second consecutive Stanley Cup Playoff. But following an impressive 3-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on December 16, the Canucks have lost 13 times in 17 tries — and completely fallen out of the postseason picture in the Western Conference in the process.

Vancouver is 20-17-10, good for fifth place in the Pacific Division and three points back of the Calgary Flames for the final wildcard berth in the West. It's been a hugely difficult season in British Columbia; the most glaring problem is the fact that two star forwards who shouldn't be anywhere near the trade market are two of the biggest names on it.

Elias Pettersson and JT Miller were both supposed to be cornerstone players for this franchise — and both are locked up long-term — but a rift in the dressing room seems to have led to a point where either the Swede or the American is going to get a change of scenery. That's worst-case scenario for Canucks fans, who have been endeared to both players over the years.

Still, general manager Patrik Allvin has some very difficult decisions to make ahead of the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline, and he's already reportedly been working the phones to move Pettersson or Miller out.

Canucks have tough decisions to make on JT Miller, Elias Pettersson

Following the blockbuster trade that sent superstar forward Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes — one of the best players traded in the 21st century — The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported that the Hurricanes had had talks with the Canucks about one of Pettersson or Miller.

“Where this leaves the Canucks is a whole other story, of course. As I reported late Friday night, it’s my understanding that Carolina and Vancouver got close on a deal this past week,” the hockey insider reported on Saturday. “What I can’t confirm is whether it involved J.T. Miller or Elias Pettersson because the reality is that the Canes had talks with the Canucks over the past several weeks on each player. All I know is that Miller wasn’t asked to waive his full no-move clause.”

At this point, it seems like a matter of if, not when, one of the two star players are traded. LeBrun reported that Vancouver has had talks with teams as recently as this week regarding Pettersson.

“The Canucks could trade either Miller or Pettersson and perhaps even both when all is said and done between now and next season.”

While there's no guarantee that either player will be moved between now and the deadline, it's clear that the Canucks' front office is working hard to move at least one of them.

At this time last season, Vancouver was one of the top teams in the NHL. They came within one win of a first trip to the Western Conference Final since 2011, losing to an Edmonton Oilers team in Round 2 that came one victory from a first title since 1990. The Canucks just look completely different this year, and that could lead to a couple of players being dealt — either ahead of the deadline or in the offseason.

LeBrun also reports that the New York Rangers continue to try to pry Miller out of British Columbia and bring him back to the Big Apple. If those talks continue to progress, Allvin and the front office should be looking to get Will Borgen back as part of a package.

Canucks need defensive help; Will Borgen would make a lot of sense

“Whether this reopens the door for the New York Rangers to take a third crack at it on Miller, we shall see,” LeBrun wrote Saturday. “The New Jersey Devils have dabbled on Miller, but my sense as of Saturday is they just don’t see how it all fits, cap-wise and asset-wise. That could change closer to March 7 when the salary cap circumstances are different. There are a handful of other teams that have talked to Vancouver on Miller, as well.”

It seems a very likely road for Miller is a reunion with the Rangers, and that could mean Mika Zibanejad is headed back the other way. But Borgen — who the Rangers acquired from the Seattle Kraken earlier this season — is an unrestricted free agent on July 1, and although New York's play has improved drastically lately, GM Chris Drury could still decide to move him.

The 6-foot-3, 204-pound D-man has been better in New York than he was in Seattle, but he's still got only five points in 50 games along with a minus-13 rating. But the Canucks badly need defensive help — especially on the right side of the blue line — and could benefit from the 28-year-old's services.

“Management has aggressively been trying to address [the gaping need on the right side],” wrote The Athletic's Chris Johnston at the end of December. “Enter Borgen, who excels in the less-celebrated parts of the game like penalty killing, which Vancouver can certainly use. The stay-at-home defender is a good skater who should be able to step into a second pairing on a team and brings the kind of size teams view as an added plus come playoff time. Borgen will have plenty of suitors ahead of the deadline, but there may not be anyone more motivated to pursue him than Vancouver.”

Although the Canucks could also use another skilled forward or two — and may look to a player like the Seattle Kraken's Yanni Gourde — even with Filip Hronek back, Vancouver's blue line is struggling mightily. Borgen is a solid defensive type that this organization would covet between now and the March 7 deadline.

If that trade is also part of a larger package with Miller involved, it could make sense for both Allvin in Vancouver and Drury in New York. The Canucks badly need to move past this drama, and if that means Miller or Pettersson getting traded, best it happens sooner rather than later. The focus needs to turn back to rectifying the consistently bad on-ice play. The season can still be saved, but it's hanging by a thread with 35 games left.