In this edition of Vancouver Canucks‘ News & Rumors, J.T. Miller is receiving interest from multiple teams across the NHL. The Canucks have shown interest in Jake DeBrusk and an update on Travis Hamonic.
Rangers Interested in Miller
Frank Seravalli reports multiple teams have been circling around Miller. His former team, the Rangers, are among the team’s interested in acquiring him. Seravalli adds it seems general manager (GM) Jim Benning does not have full autonomy to make a trade featuring the forward, making a move unlikely.
The Rangers drafted Miller with the 15th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft. He spent six seasons with the club, scoring 72 goals and posting 172 points in 341 games. He was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning midway through the 2017-18 season before joining the Canucks in the 2019 offseason.
Meanwhile, with the Canucks, Miller has been outstanding, scoring 50 goals and posting 141 points in 146 games. Additionally, this season he has scored eight goals and posted 23 points through 24 games, leading the team in both categories. He has been the best player on the team since the start of the season, and trading him away might be a mistake for the club.
Canucks Among Team’s Interested in DeBrusk
TSN’s Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports the Canucks are among 12 other teams to check in with the Boston Bruins on DeBrusk.
“As many as 12 teams, maybe more than 12 teams have already checked in on the Jake DeBrusk situation with the Boston Bruins,” Dreger reports.
“I would say the New York Rangers are among the teams that have expressed some interest. You’ve got the Vancouver Canucks, maybe Montreal, maybe Calgary. Certainly Arizona. Go down the list. Historically speaking, when there’s been other Jake DeBrusk trade situations and speculations, the St. Louis Blues have been near the top of that list as well.”
DeBrusk’s agent, Rick Valette, confirms the forward made a request to the Bruins for a change of scenery over the weekend, as TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reports. Throughout his five seasons in the NHL, DeBrusk has shown he can score, especially in his first three seasons. He scored 16 goals in his rookie season, which he followed by scoring a career-high 27 goals before posting 19 goals in his third season. The last two seasons have been rough for the Edmonton, Alberta native, as he has scored a combined eight goals over 59 games in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. Additionally, he’s scored 16 playoff goals through 59 games with the Bruins. A change of scenery could help the young forward return to his scoring ways.
Related: Canucks Should Avoid Jake DeBrusk
This isn’t the first time the Canucks have had rumoured interest in DeBrusk, as there were talks about a one-for-one swap for Jake Virtanen last season. Similar to a Miller trade, a trade for DeBrusk seems unlikely since Benning doesn’t have full autonomy on making any moves.
Hamonic Will Not Miss Any More Games When Healthy
Hamonic’s agent Kevin Epp joined Donnie and Dhali and stated the defenceman will no longer miss any games when he is healthy. Hamonic missed the Canucks’ last two games of their recent road trip, which finished with games against the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators. Most believed he would rejoin the team once they returned to Canada, but he was out due to a bad flu.
Due to his vaccinated status, Hamonic was not allowed to join the Canucks on any road trips to the U.S. Now that he is double vaccinated, the veteran defenceman should join the team on future road trips as long as he is healthy.
Canucks Have Interest in Scott Mellanby
Rick Dhaliwal stated he’s hearing Scott Mellanby’s name a lot more over the past 24 to 48 hours as the Canucks have shown some interest in him.
Mellanby resigned as assistant GM of the Canadiens last week before the club fired Marc Bergevin. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Hockey Night in Canada Mellanby stepped down after it became clear he would not be named GM of the team despite being in talks with ownership and receiving a recommendation from Bergevin.
He has been linked to multiple teams in the past, as the Canadiens gave the Edmonton Oilers and Minnesota Wild permission to talk to him in 2019, and the Florida Panthers received permission in 2020.
Mellanby played 21 seasons in the NHL before moving on to a front-office role in the NHL. Mike Gillis hired him as a pro scout with the Canucks in 2008, and Mellanby became a senior advisor for the team a season later. He spent time with the St. Louis Blues as an assistant coach before his time in Montreal. Mellanby joined the team in 2012 as director of player personnel before being promoted to assistant GM in 2014. He joins a few others as potential candidates to join the Canucks’ front office in the future.
Hughes Assist Record
In the Canucks 5-2 win over the Senators on Wednesday, Quinn Hughes registered a single-game career-high in points with four assists. He is the first Canucks defenceman to record four points in a game since Alex Edler on Feb 7, 2009. Additionally, he is the fifth defenceman in franchise history to record four or more assists in a game.
Despite the Canucks’ struggles, Hughes is having a bounce-back season. He has scored two goals and posted 20 points in 23 games compared to the 2020-21 season, where he scored three goals and posted 41 points in 56 games. He is on pace to post 72 points in 82 games, which would be the most points posted by a defenceman in franchise history. Doug Lidster holds the record with his 63 point season in 1986-87.
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