Trade Bait: J.T. Miller

What can the polarizing veteran offer this year's contenders?

Credit: NHL.com

No player embodies the Canucks’ Jekyll-and-Hyde season quite like J.T. Miller. Following his return from a one-month leave of absence, we’ve witnessed a totally dejected star one night and a fiery two-way competitor the next.

Vancouver never really knows which version will show up. Amid rampant trade speculation and a now-confirmed locker room rift, that can’t inspire much confidence in suitors. And yet…those peaks are impossible to ignore. Don’t get it twisted: A few contenders will come calling.

Here’s why.

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Offense

Assuming a deal is completed, neither the team acquiring him nor the one shipping him out will feel 100 percent comfortable. He’s that much of a question mark. His skill set is that rare.

The ideal fit, then, is a club with short-term Stanley Cup aspirations. Don’t rely on him to shape your culture. Bring him in to add a dose of instant offense to your playoff run. Viewed through that lens, Miller is an intriguing target. The 31-year-old has tallied 30 points in 30 postseason games for the Canucks and displays many of the qualities that you covet in the spring (VAN 9):

Stylistically, he’s a bit of an oddity—a bona fide power forward with a playmaking streak out on the perimeter. Very little from mid-range aside from in transition.

Not unlike, say, Patrick Kane, Miller almost insists on a rolling start when he’s in high-forward mode. Off the puck, he’ll either walk the OZ blue line or glide outside the zone altogether in order to lull opponents to sleep and carry momentum into his catch on the strong side.

From there, he and Quinn Hughes comprise a two-headed monster at the point. Although he’s a capable shooter (curling in and firing a screened wrister is his go-to from distance), he’s become more pass-centric of late. That facet of his game is defined by patience and width. He thrives with a topdown view of the action, is willing to reset until he identifies the look he wants (Hughes is a genius play-extender) and he prefers east-west bombs over direct dishes into the slot.

Alongside a proper quarterback, Miller can mystify defenses from the fringes to identity weaknesses in more desirable areas. Here are two examples:

On the first sequence, he and defenseman Tyler Myers (VAN 57) swap places. This not only positions a playmaker in the middle of the ice but also scrambles Edmonton’s coverage. With so much room for a star forward high in the OZ, the Oilers aren’t sure whether they should pressure the puck or collapse. That moment of indecision is all Miller needs to zip a pass through Zach Hyman (EDM 18) to Conor Garland (VAN 8) on the goal line.

The second clip demonstrates the rolling action he likes, peeling off the wall into a dual-threat posture. Since Buffalo’s defense must respect his shot (follow BUF 19’s stick placement and BUF 29’s eyes), he unlocks a royal-road attempt for Elias Pettersson (VAN 40).

Miller complements his long-range offense with stout net-front play, as the 6’1”, 218-pounder is an absolute unit in the trenches. Better yet, he establishes great depth in the goalmouth. His heels frequently touch blue ice, and given his size and strength, defenders struggle to remove him from their goaltender’s grill.

Naturally, parking a big body on home plate amplifies the danger of Vancouver’s traffic and second-chance bids. In the clips below, take note of just how tight he is to the netminder and how much chaos he’s thereby able to generate:

Dislodging him is difficult enough. Grant him a head of steam, and he’ll punt you straight out of the building:

Center drive is meant to improve your teammates’ spacing on the rush. In this case, it does that and much more. Miller steamrolls Troy Stecher (EDM 51) to such a degree (from the top of the circle to the lip of the crease) that they enter the goaltender’s periphery just as Brock Boeser (VAN 6) fires his laser.

Even in a down year, his combination of short- and long-range offense has yielded the second-highest production rate on the Canucks. More impressively, he’s 15th in points per game leaguewide over the past four seasons:

The off-ice noise can drown out his on-ice impact, but in the right setting, there’s no denying his upside. But what does that setting look like?

Well, he has a no-movement clause, so he must first and foremost want to play there. The team needs the assets to facilitate a deal and the cap space/tradable contracts to accommodate his $8M AAV. Finally, the roster should be equipped with an offensive defenseman who can amplify Miller’s high-forward playmaking and close-range chaos (much like Hughes has done in recent years).

Considering those factors, the Rangers make a lot of sense.

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Heavy Game

Miller critics will point to defense as a significant weakness. In many ways, that’s justified. His DZ instincts are indeed middling. Moreover, there’s no shortage of controller-disconnected lowlights floating around the internet.

With that said, he does boast the frame and occasionally the disposition to act as a power-on-power nuisance. His playoff resume is proof. Connor McDavid has buzzed through Anze Kopitar on multiple occasions without breaking a sweat, but Miller gave him all he could handle on the road to a deadlock at 5-on-5 last spring. There’s a reason Rick Tocchet uses him to set the tone for his group.

Ask him to make split-second coverage reads, and his game will unravel. Stick him in a phone booth with an opposing star, and they’re going to have a rough go. He’s heavy on his stick, heavy on his skates and when he’s hungry to boot, he can exact a toll over a best-of-seven series:

A man-to-man DZ scheme would play to his strengths while concealing his average game sense. Armed with a clear and simple mission (e.g. defend Player X the entire time), he can lean into hard-nosed hockey to offset his lack of defensive polish.

Vancouver’s tilt against the Oilers on Jan. 18 offered a glimpse of his wrecking-ball tendencies:

As Edmonton prepares to enter the OZ, McDavid (EDM 97) runs a subtle rub route along the blue line to buy his linemates time to settle in on the wall. Instead of playing it safe and gliding below the pick (i.e. ceding ground to the Oilers’ superstars), Miller zips over the top and is thus Johnny on the spot to contest Leon Draisaitl’s (EDM 29) reception.

He’s one of the few stars who really knows how to hit too, driving his shoulder through his counterpart’s body in convincing fashion. He checks like he means it. Even though Draisaitl ranks among the finest puck protectors around, Miller plasters him to the glass, recovers the biscuit and clears it himself.

Talk about power.

This dimension extends to the forecheck as well. When he has any semblance of speed behind him, his physicality separates man from puck or forces them into poor decisions. Then there’s the matter of 50/50 battles. He’s pretty damn good at those:

With the puck sliding below the goal line, Miller feels pressure over his left shoulder (Jiri Kulich, BUF 20) and decides to get the jump on his opponent. He steps into Kulich’s line of pursuit, delivers a reverse hit to secure possession and connects with Garland behind the net.

One second later, the puck is in the deep slot.

Now, does this suggest Miller is a world-class defender or forechecker? No. On a game-to-game basis, his motor lets him down on both fronts. But when he’s motivated and churning his feet (which has been the case in the postseason), the heft he plays with can tip the scales. Here’s an example of his game-breaking potential from that same Sabres contest:

Following a side switch below Vancouver’s goal line, Zach Benson (BUF 9) attempts to hinder Miller’s progress. Big mistake. The vet unceremoniously dumps the Sabres forward on his ass and flies up the ice to provide the Canucks with a lateral outlet in transition. His pace pushes Owen Power (BUF 25) down to the hashes, then his inner QB returns to fling an east-west dart to the trailer (Boeser).

Look at how much verticality and width the Canucks enjoy (basically the entire ice surface) as a result of Miller punking Benson near the DZ faceoff dot. That’s a winning shift.

Hopefully for GM Patrik Allvin, such displays can win over his apprehensive peers as well.

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Miller appears to burn hot and fast. Consequently, if you’re interested in his services, you shouldn’t treat him as a building block. Don’t think beyond 1-2 seasons despite the five years remaining on his contract.

Yeah, it’s one hell of a risk.

On the flip side, his versatile (center or wing) and playoff-ready skill set might represent the missing piece of your puzzle. So…how badly do you need it?