Here we go again....
I opened my last blog on Friday by saying "I try not to make every blog about J.T. Miller. But he's earned top billing today." That was about the arrival of his third child, Owen — and Bruce Boudreau telling Global TV that he fully expected Miller to be in the Canucks' opening-night lineup.
By the end of the day on Friday, Miller had made headlines once again — with the news that he had come to terms with the Canucks on a seven-year contract extension with a cap hit of $8 million per season.
"It's a very easy decision to stay there, especially from a hockey standpoint," Miller said,
per NHL.com. "We have a very good group of players and a good group of people, and I think when you put those together we can do some pretty special things. I think we're just scratching the surface with our potential and ... I think our expectations are to win the Stanley Cup. We want to be playing in the playoffs and competing for the Stanley Cup."
Per CapFriendly, the new deal carries a no-movement clause throughout, so he won't be eligible for exposure in any future expansion drafts or to be sent to the minors. That also means no trades without his permission in the first four seasons. The last three years carry a 15-team no-trade list — which is actually quite generous on a contract of this magnitude.
I'd also argue that the value is pretty solid. Miller took one year less than his potential maximum term, and $8 million compares pretty favourably to the other deals that have recently been handed out to top forwards.
For players in his age cohort, it's a heckuva lot more team-friendly that Jonathan Huberdeau's eight-year extension at $10.5 million and, while it kicks in one year later, it also compares favourably to Johnny Gaudreau's seven years at $9.5 million in Columbus. And they're both strictly wingers.
The original comparable as Miller's contract situation first garnered attention was New York Rangers centre Mika Zibanejad. He's one month younger than Miller, from the same draft class, and was extended for eight years at $8.5 million with the deal starting this fall — so they're both set to expire the same year, at the end of the 2029-30 season.
Zibanejad also hit a career high last season, but his 81 points fall well short of Miller's 99 — although he did also have a strong postseason, with 24 points in 20 playoff games. And Zibanejad has a full no-move for almost the entire duration of his contract: the only window for movement comes seven days before the trade deadline in his final year, when he's still entitled to submit a 21-team no-trade list.
It has now been a decade since the Canucks' last window to contend abruptly slammed shut — a Presidents' Trophy year snuffed out in five games by the Los Angeles King in 2012, then a fifth-straight division title rendered meaningless after a first-round sweep by the San Jose Sharks to wrap up the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season.
That ushered in an era of change — first, John Tortorella, then Trevor Linden, Jim Benning and Willie Desjardins, followed by Travis Green and now Rutherford, Allvin and Boudreau.
There have been a few glimmers of hope and a lot of disappointment along the way. So it's understandable that there's a great deal of concern about what this financial commitment means for the organization. And as I broke down
last week, even if the salary cap starts to rise ahead of schedule in two years' time, there isn't a clear path forward for the Canucks to keep all their top players and remain salary-cap compliant.
But things do change. Every other team in the league is operating under the same constraints. And if it turns out that Miller's $8 million cap hit represents the Canucks' new internal salary cap — similar to what the Sedins set back in the day — that helps set an upper limit for future negotiations, at least for the foreseeable future.
After being dealt away from a Lightning team that was on the cusp of winning two championships, Miller showed up in Vancouver in the fall of 2019 with a great attitude — determined to put his past immaturity behind him and take advantage of a chance to play an increased role.
That attitude has yielded terrific dividends. So when Miller says that he's staying because he believes this group has the pieces to challenge for a championship, I'm inclined to believe him, especially when it appears that he has left money on the table.
Also, there's a through-line here: management may be different now, but the Canucks' ownership is the same. And the Aquilinis have shown time and time again over the last two decades that they'd rather make bold moves to try to contend than exercise patience through a true rebuild.
That commitment showed itself this summer, with the signings of Andrei Kuzmenko and especially the four-year contract for Ilya Mikheyev. And even though Miller's contract doesn't take effect for another year, the timing of his announcement is terrific for the club from a P.R. standpoint — reassuring the fanbase that the club's leading scorer will indeed be on the ice this fall, just as single-game tickets go on sale to the general public.
I did wonder what this means for Bo Horvat, whose extension was widely expected to be an easier assignment than Miller's.
There certainly seems to be no animosity on social media. Like many of his teammates, Horvat quickly posted a congratulatory post on his Instagram Story.
And for what it's worth, Jim Rutherford told Rick Dhaliwal on Friday that one deal does not impact the other.
As the new school year gets underway on Tuesday, Miller and G.M. Patrik Allvin are also both set to speak to the media that day as well. That'll mark the club's first availability since free-agency day on July 13.
Summer is over. Hockey season is on the horizon.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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