As we head into mid-July, the National Hockey League off-season continues to pick up steam, and one of the most sought-after trade chips could soon be off the market if the New York Rangers or the Washington Capitals have anything to say about it. I, of course, am talking about Vancouver Canucks forward J.T Miller, who had a breakout season last year notching 99 points in 80 games played last year.
According to Ben Kuzma of The Hockey News, both the Rangers and Caps have offers on the table for Miller and the price-well is astounding, to say the least. New York has offered young winger Vitali Kravtsov, defensive prospect Nils Lundkvist and a first-round pick; Washington, on the other hand, has offered forward Connor McMichael, prospect Hendrix Lapierre and a first-round pick
Is it just me, or are these offers way too much for a guy that has had one really good season? Sure 99 points is impressive anytime you can put up those kinds of numbers in the NHL you can obviously contribute at a very high level, but, this was Miller's "breakout" season in the NHL and you have teams mortgaging their future to bring in a 29-year-old who has put up over a point per game one other time in his 10 year NHL career to this point.
I don't know, at least to me, with the obvious regression about to start with age, both of those offers are too rich for my blood, but if that's what the canucks are having thrown at them, I would take either one of those deals in a heartbeat, no questions asked.
At any rate, the acquisition price for any player moving around the NHL has risen faster than inflation, will general managers be able to keep up?
