Vancouver Canucks

Miller Trade Fallout: Why Canucks Look Better Than You’d Think

From rock bottom to sparks of hope: a year after the JT Miller trade, the Canucks’ young core is starting to show real promise.

by
Old Prof
February 2, 2026

It’s kind of wild to think how far the Vancouver Canucks have come since that messy January 2025 trade. When J.T. Miller moved back to the New York Rangers, things felt like they hit rock bottom. It wasn’t the move so much, because Miller had as many critics as supporters. It was the whole mess of the situation.

So much drama when all fans wanted was a team that gave them a chance to cheer. The Miller and Elias Pettersson clash, on one hand, seemed so childish. From the outside, it looked like two stubborn personalities who rubbed each other the wrong way, with sparks flying.

Where Was the Canucks Leadership? Missing in Action

Then, to make matters worse, all the so-called intelligent leaders in the room were too befuddled about what to do to fix it. As a result, no one in the organization stepped up to handle it. Coach Rick Tocchet? For all his in-your-face, tough-guy reputation seemed too afraid or too hands-off. In the end, he jumped ship to the Philadelphia Flyers after winning the Jack Adams Trophy as the NHL’s best head coach. Funny, that.

Then neither the Canucks GM, Patrick Allvin, nor team president Jim Rutherford had a solution. Just a situation that got messy, fast.

Maybe Canucks fans had the right to roll their eyes, or maybe it turned out better. Miller went back to the Rangers, but that team has underperformed as well. Questions about his attitude linger. Vancouver, meanwhile, got Filip Chytil, who looks good when he can play but has suffered from concussions. Also coming to the Canucks were Victor Mancini and a conditional first-round pick in 2025, which the Canucks moved.

It looked a bit like the clock was against them from day one. Injuries, bouncing between leagues, and tiny windows to prove themselves meant the young players barely got a chance. The team looked lost, the locker room strained—it was a rough patch all around.

Filip Chytil Canucks trade — Filip Chytil was traded to the Canucks for JT Miller.

A Year Later: Things Are Looking Up for the Canucks

Fast forward a year. While things are far from perfect, they are a lot better. Adam Foote is behind the bench, and the team is playing with heart again. They’re not winning much, but the energy is there. The youngsters are buying in. The youngsters, including those acquired in the Quinn Hughes trade (Liam Ohgren, Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, and a first-round pick in the 2026 draft), are getting chances to show their skills.

Right now, it’s still a bit messy, uneven, and slow. But the kids’ effort is obvious. They grind, make plays, and are figuring out how to click together.

Even Hughes is thriving with Minnesota, showing Vancouver made some smart decisions, even if the timing might have been better. The Hughes trade was probably coming eventually, so taking the hit now doesn’t look so bad. Something better has started in Vancouver.

The Mood Shift in Vancouver Has Begun

The Canucks’ record might not turn heads, but a year after the Miller–Pettersson chaos, things feel different at Rogers Arena. The team’s playing hard, the young players are starting to click, and for the first time in a long while, you can actually watch and see some energy and upside. Pettersson is playing better, although he’s not up to his point-per-game pace.

Foote’s system is showing signs of sticking. The scoreboard’s not positive yet, but there’s some juice in the team. After last year’s low point, that’s a win on its own.