LATEST | Pair of Canucks land on the latest Top-25 trade bait list

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Cooper Godin
June 2, 2023 (2:29 PM)

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Welcome to June, where trade rumours begin to ramp up ahead of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft and the opening of free agency, which is now less than one month away.

On Friday, Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli posted his latest edition of his Top-25 trade bait list, which includes two Vancouver Canucks players - J.T. Miller at sixth and Tyler Myers 20.

Here's what Seravalli has to say about both Miller and Myers and the potential that they could get moved this summer by Patrik Allvin ahead of the 2023-24 NHL season.

"The way Miller closed out the season under new coach Rick Tocchet, it's easy to envision him in the Canucks' opening night lineup in October. He posted 41 points in 35 games under Tocchet, who will have no problem managing Miller's challenging locker room presence. Yet, we know that the Canucks were deep in talks with the Penguins to move Miller before the deadline. Those fizzled and now Pittsburgh's regime has changed. Has that trade partner evaporated? How much will the Canucks push to move him before his «no-trade» clause kicks in on July 1? They could desperately use the cap flexibility. You have to allow for the possibility in a depressed free agent market that a team will covet Miller enough to make a play." Seravalli said about Miller.

Miller, 30, is set to begin his new contract extension next season which will run for seven years with an AAV of $8 million. He had a very good 2022-23 season, putting up 82 points in 81 games and has recorded 181 points in his last two years with the Canucks.

"Myers is a trade that might not materialize right at the beginning of the summer � if at all. Keep an eye on the $5 million signing bonus due. The belief is Myers' bonus is due to be paid in September, shortly before training camp, which would leave him with just $1 million in salary to be paid after that during the course of the regular season. For any team interested acquiring team, there's little incentive to pick up that tab when you know the Canucks are on the hook for it. That means a trade could come together shortly after it's paid, though it also makes him a heck of deadline commodity." Seravalli said.

The 33-year-old blueliner had a strong tournament for Canada at the 2023 IIHF World Hockey Championship, which could intrigue teams this summer. Myers put up 17 points in 78 games last season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2024.

Who do you think Allvin and the Canucks should prioritize to move this summer - Miller or Myers? Let us know in the poll below!

Source: Frank Seravalli - Daily Faceoff