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Canucks getting set for the Sharks, and the trade market for J.T. Miller |
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Thursday Feb. 17 - Vancouver Canucks at San Jose Sharks - 7:30 p.m. PT
One more day until the Vancouver Canucks get back to game action.
They're practicing on Wednesday at Rogers Arena before heading down to San Jose for their date with the Sharks, who were shut out 3-0 by Edmonton in their last game on Monday.
The Shark Tank has often been a nightmarish venue for the Canucks. But they had no trouble skating out of the rink with two points in their only meeting with San Jose so far this season — a 5-2 win in what turned out to be Vancouver's last game before the extended holiday break. Brock Boeser, Bo Horvat and J.T. Miller were named the game's three stars, and Thatcher Demko made 34 saves in net.
San Jose has gone through some ups and downs this season, and is currently in a dip. The Sharks are just 1-4-2 in their last seven games and 2-5-3 in their last 10. Through that same stretch, the Canucks are 4-3-3. That has allowed Vancouver to move ahead in the Pacific Division standings. They'll go into Thursday's game with a two-point edge, and two additional games played.
Since my last update on Monday, the Calgary Flames won another game and took over top spot in the Pacific. On Tuesday, the Oilers played a strong third period to beat the Kings in regulation and move into third spot. That bumped L.A. down to the second wild card and Anaheim into ninth place, even though all three teams have 55 points.
Dallas also scored a huge win over Colorado, the first regulation loss for the Avalanche since Dec. 16 and first regulation loss at home since Oct. 26. That gives the Stars 54 points, in 10th.
Here's how Vancouver practiced on Tuesday.
I expect we'll see Quinn Hughes back in the lineup in San Jose, after he served out his Covid isolation period in the U.S. The Canucks managed to go 2-1-0 without him, which ain't bad.
And yes, Travis Hamonic returned to the lineup against Toronto last Saturday, playing 18:34 and finishing with an even plus-minus and three shots on goal. All told, he missed 21 games with his lower-body injury.
I believe it was his ankle, from this play.
Brad Marchand strikes again — and that was in his first game back after he served his suspension for slew-footing Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Other roster notes:
• Noah Juulsen was re-assigned to Abbotsford on Saturday. He was healthy scratched against Toronto, to make way for Hamonic's return.
Juulsen played five games with Vancouver in this most recent call-up. His best showing came against Arizona last week, when he had two assists in 18:25 of ice time.
• Matthew Highmore is off the Covid protocol list and was back at practice on Wednesday.
Following the Sharks game, Vancouver will host Anaheim, Seattle and Calgary — with Rogers Arena at full capacity. Then, they'll head out on a four-game road trip, which kicks off Feb. 27 at Madison Square Garden.
And just like that, the Olympic break will be over — and I suppose, in some ways, the Games ended last night, with the ouster of both Canada and the U.S. in the men's hockey quarterfinals.
I'm very happy for the Slovaks, who parlayed a last-minute tying goal against Team USA into a shootout win. The other teams still in the medal hunt are the defending champs from Russia, Finland and Sweden.
This is the first time the Canadian men won't come home with a medal since Turin in 2006, when the Sedins won their gold and Canada was eliminated by Russia in the quarterfinal by a score of 2-0. Sounds familiar.
But we do have the classic North American matchup on the women's side, and that gold-medal game goes Wednesday night at 8 p.m. PT. Now you have more reason than ever to tune in. These two teams always bring it, especially when Olympic gold is on the line.
Now — trade rumours.
The noise is certainly loud around J.T. Miller. And if he does get moved, he should command a significant return.
The Flames didn't hold back in their acquisition of Tyler Toffoli, giving up a first-round pick in 2022, a fifth-rounder in 2023, depth forward Tyler Pitlick and forward prospect Emil Heineman.
Toffoli is a year older than Miller, and has two years left on the deal that pays him $4.25 million a season. Miller has one year remaining after this, at $5.25 million. And he's more versatile than Toffoli. Both can play in all situations, including on the penalty kill, and are responsible defensively. But Miller's ability to hop into the middle when needed, and take draws, makes his toolbox just a little bit fuller.
Miller is also the straw that stirs the drink for the Canucks this season — the guy who has dragged his team into the fight on more than one occasion.
With 48 points in 47 games, he's now leading the team in scoring by a significant margin; Quinn Hughes is second with 34. It's the same situation on the power play: Miller has 22 points; Hughes is second with 17. Brock Boeser does hold the edge in game-winning goals, though, with four. Miller, Bo Horvat and Conor Garland each have three.
When I hear the argument that Miller is at the wrong stage of his career to remain a key piece of Vancouver's core, I keep thinking about Joe Pavelski — 37 years old, leading the Stars with 52 points this season (MORE than Miller), and serving as a tremendous mentor for younger players like Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz, who are quickly becoming the go-to guys in Dallas.
Hockey players are creatures of habit. For the most part, they prefer to stay where they are rather than move into uncharted waters. Miller has a young family and has already moved around a lot, with his earlier stops in New York and Tampa.
If he likes Vancouver's new organizational direction enough to consider extending with the Canucks rather than jumping ship as a UFA, I'd really like to see if he can be re-signed.
That being said, he should bring a very nice return if, in fact, he does get traded on or before March 21.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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