Scout’s Analysis: Breaking down three big weekend trades

When Jim Rutherford spoke to the media this past week about the divide between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller in the dressing room and that the Vancouver Canucks were having to think about putting together a “new plan” ahead, the president of hockey operations was preparing his fan base for something big.

Known as an early dealer throughout his career, Rutherford’s team again cannon-balled into the deep end of the trade waters Friday night, sending out Miller to the New York Rangers for a return that will be measured for years. The main player coming back in return was Filip Chytil, a 25-year-old centre who will be challenged to be a 2C when in actuality may be a better 3C. The main future asset acquired was New York’s conditional first-round pick in 2025, which many immediately believed would be used at a future date to acquire another roster upgrade elsewhere.

That was partially true. The Canucks did use it to add another defenceman and depth forward, but it was moved out about four hours after the Miller trade was announced. This time Vancouver acquired the underrated defenceman Marcus Pettersson (thus cornering the NHL Pettersson market) and winger Drew O’Connor, both pending UFAs at the end of the season, from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The two Friday night moves set Vancouver on a new path and frames Elias Pettersson as the new centre of attention. Perhaps free of trade rumours for now, the pressure and expectation will be for the $11.6 million centre to produce to his full potential. If inconsistencies continue, we may yet be analyzing a Pettersson trade before his no-movement clause kicks in this summer.

“My expectation is higher on him than anyone else on our team, and I expect him to meet my expectation, and I expect him to meet his own expectation. And so far, he has not,” Canucks GM Patrik Allvin said of Pettersson.

And while those two moves from a Canadian team in turmoil stole the show Friday night, let’s not gloss over the Saturday afternoon trade made by the Dallas Stars.

Finally putting Tyler Seguin’s salary on LTIR, Dallas opened up the much-anticipated cap room they’d have to make a splash for a replacement centre. They also had enough room to acquire a defenceman, an area of depth that was challenged last playoffs when Chris Tanev was lost to injury.

The Stars struck both cords in one trade with the San Jose Sharks, acquiring Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci for conditional first- and third-round picks this year.

Granlund is a soon-to-be 33-year-old and a pending UFA at the end of the season, who has 45 points in 52 games so far this season.

Ceci, 31, is also a pending UFA making $3.25 million against the cap and a veteran depth defenceman who was part of Edmonton’s run to the Stanley Cup Final last year.

The Stars still have $2.85 million in cap space.

We’ve heard it a million times before: deadlines spur action. And while the hard March 7 trade deadline is still just over a month away, the earlier “soft” deadline before the beginning of the 4 Nations Face-Off is springing teams into action.

With more on all the players involved in the NHL’s three weekend trades, we turn to our scout Jason Bukala.

SCOUT’S ANALYSIS

To the New York Rangers: J.T. Miller, Erik Brannstrom, Jackson Dorrington

• The Rangers possibly acquire the best player from the flurry of transactions over the weekend. Miller is having a down year when compared to his last few, but when motivated and at the top of his game he’s a handful to play against and impacts the play in a variety of ways. 

Miller isn’t young (turning 32 in March) but hasn’t slowed down yet. When in the right mindset and mood, he plays with pace, battles in the trenches, moves the puck effectively on the power play and wins nearly 59 per cent of his face-offs.

Last year is in the rearview mirror, but Miller is only one season removed from producing 37 goals and 66 assists, and he was also a plus-32. He’s lacked consistency this season and it resulted in far less impact than the Canucks needed from him. His nine goals and 26 assists reflected a massive drop-off in production, and his minus-4 further emphasized the lack of detail he played with so far this season.

It will be interesting to see how Miller performs in his second tour of duty with the Rangers, but the start is promising — two goals in his first game. The team has absorbed some risk in acquiring his full contract without getting the Canucks to retain anything. His deal doesn’t expire until after the 2029-30 season, carries full no-move clause for two more seasons, and counts $8 million against the cap. Miller will be 37 years old when the contract expires. 

• Brannstrom has had a difficult time finding traction at the NHL level. He’s a slightly undersized two-way defenceman who also possesses a transitional element in his game. He can provide some offence, skates well and on balance has improved his defensive commitment to the point where he can be deployed on the penalty kill at times. The Rangers aren’t absorbing a ton of risk with Brannstrom. He’s only on the books for $900,000 this season and he’s a pending RFA. He will likely get an opportunity to audition for a depth role with the Blueshirts. 

• Dorrington is a good-sized (six-foot-two, 194 pounds), left-shot, two-way defenceman who’s playing for Northeastern at the NCAA level. He’s deployed in all situations for the Huskies, but I don’t project him seeing the ice in a power play role as a pro. Dorrington is a good skater, moves pucks effectively and is generally reliable defensively. Considering he’s already in his junior year I’m assuming the Rangers will be monitoring him very closely to see if he is a prospect they want to sign out of school before his senior season. At this stage of his development, I see Dorrington as an organizational depth piece more than a full-time NHL prospect. 

To the Vancouver Canucks: Filip Chytil, Marcus Pettersson, Drew O’Connor, Victor Mancini

The Vancouver Canucks finally made the decision to address the predicament they were in with Miller. Something obviously had to give. I’m disappointed that multi-million-dollar athletes like Miller and Elias Pettersson couldn’t find a way to get along for the good of the group. Canucks management were boxed into a corner and attempted to make the best hockey trade(s) possible to stabilize their team for now and possibly the future. 

• Chytil is best described as a two-way centre who leans third-liner more than a full-time, second-line forward. He’s a big body (six-foot-two, 204 pounds) who skates well on straight lines and provides a combination of energy and secondary offence. Chytil only played 10 games last season after sustaining a concussion, but he’s suited up for 41 games this season and contributed 11 goals and nine assists. Despite his stature, Chytil isn’t overly physical. He uses his length to his advantage, shielding opponents with the puck on his stick and pressuring them into turnovers, but he isn’t a punishing forward in the trenches. He was averaging only 14 minutes per game in New York, but he can be deployed at even strength and the power play. He doesn’t kill penalties.

• I’m actually more excited about the Canucks acquiring Marcus Pettersson than I am about Chytil. Pettersson is a steady, two-way defenceman who can log up to 25 minutes per game. He provides some secondary offence, but what makes him valuable is the fact he matches up against top-six forward groups and has a primary role on the penalty kill. He’s not overly physical, but he also doesn’t shy away from contact. Pettersson was averaging over 22 minutes per night with the Penguins and was credited with 56 hits and 83 shot blocks. He’s a pending UFA who I’m sure the Canucks will be looking to sign to a significant extension. He’s only 28 years old with plenty of hockey ahead of him. 

• O’Connor is a bottom-six forward who fits a similar profile as Danton Heinen, but he’s two years younger than Heinen and carries a cap hit of only $925,000. He’s a big body (six-foot-three, 200 pounds) who doesn’t shy away from contact and gets in shooting lanes to block shots. O’Connor is a pending UFA this off-season. His six goals and 10 assists aren’t terrible considering he only averaged 14:30 of ice time and rarely was deployed on the power-play with the Pens. 

• Mancini is a big (six-foot-three, 215-pound) right-shot defenceman who suited up for 15 games this season in New York and was recently skating in the AHL with the Hartford Wolf Pack. I’ve seen some reports describing Mancini as a possible bottom-pairing NHL defenceman, but I’m of the opinion he’s more likely a seventh or eighth defenceman on the depth chart. I like his size and reach, and his skating is fine on straight lines, but his small-area agility and ability to contain NHL players is a concern at this stage of his development. Mancini is a first-year pro and only 22 years old. He’s signed through next season at a cap hit of $870,000. 

• With the two trades they made Friday, the Canucks find themselves in a very good position in relation to their salary cap scenario. They have around $7 million in cap space to spend on other transactions and still hold their own first- and second-round picks for the upcoming draft. According to PuckPedia, if left untouched, the Canucks’ roster would be able to absorb $12.3 million in cap hits on deadline day.

I fully expect Vancouver to leverage their cap space and draft capital in an effort to improve their current roster in the coming days. 

More from Sportsnet

‘The best option’: Canucks’ Allvin sees Miller trade as a matter of team culture

Canucks need Pettersson to help fill hole created by Miller trade

To the Pittsburgh Penguins: Danton Heinen, Vincent Desharnais, Melvin Fernstrom

The Pens acquired two role players in Heinen and Desharnais and prospect Melvin Fernstrom for Pettersson and O’Connor. Fernstrom is an interesting player. He’s a shooter who scores most of his goals from the flank and around the crease area, but his skating and three-zone detail have a long way to go for the NHL. 

Pittsburgh plugs some holes for now, but don’t move the needle a great deal for the future. Their biggest acquisition could end up being the first-round pick they received — New York’s first pick they sent to Vancouver in the Miller deal. It’s a top 13 lottery-protected pick for this draft, but it turns into an unprotected first-round slot in 2026 if the Rangers end up using it this year.

The Dallas Stars are one of the most efficient, decision-making franchises in the entire NHL. Their pro and amateur scouting departments rarely go through personnel changes. When they gather to express their opinions, the end result is a strategy that is consistent with the vision that general manager Jim Nill has for the franchise. The continuity they have in place leads to transactions like the Stars made with the San Jose Sharks. The organization targeted two veteran players in Granlund and Ceci and, outside of leveraging their available cap space and draft capital, upgraded their roster without moving out any of their top prospects. 

The San Jose Sharks, on the other hand, continue to work towards rebuilding their franchise through the draft. The more swings you have at the plate, in the draft process, the more likely you are to hit a home run on occasion. Acquiring extra picks is never a bad idea. Especially when one of the selections is a first-round slot.

Here’s a look at my scouting reports on the trade between the Sharks and the Stars:

To the Dallas Stars: Mikael Granlund, Cody Ceci

• Granlund was the leading scorer for the Sharks and, on balance, playing some of the best all-round hockey of his career this season. He produced 15 goals and 30 assists, but equally important is the fact he was logging nearly 22 minutes per game and being deployed in all situations. Granlund’s three-zone detail and off-the-puck effort has been consistent overall. He contributes offence at even strength (nine goals and 20 assists) and on the power play (five goals and 10 assists). An area of his game that has room for improvement is his faceoff winning percentage (48 per cent), especially if the Stars plan to use him in all situations, which will inevitably result in having to take key defensive zone draws in high-leverage scenarios. 

I have to admit, there have been times in the past when my trust level was mid-range at best with Granlund. I wasn’t sure if he could return to the form he had displayed when he was suiting up for the Minnesota Wild. For example, in 2017-18 Granlund produced 21 goals and 46 assists and was a plus-13 for the Wild. But I feel like the Stars are getting a highly motivated, almost 33-year-old, who is closer to that player than he has been in the past several seasons with Nashville, Pittsburgh and San Jose. 

• Last year the Stars acquired Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames to bolster their blue line for a deep playoff run. This year they targeted veteran Cody Ceci, who was also having a solid year in San Jose. Ceci was averaging nearly 22 minutes per game in ice time, all of which came in high-leverage match-ups and on the penalty kill. Ceci was tasked with attempting to shut down top-six forward groups on a nightly basis in San Jose. Ceci has 100 shot blocks on the season and pitches in with some depth offence at even strength. He isn’t the fastest defenceman in the league, but he manages the game responsibly, moves pucks on time and has long been known as a solid teammate who’s widely respected in the room. 

To San Jose: 2025 conditional first- and third-round picks

The Sharks now own two first-round picks in the upcoming draft, unsurprising for a rebuilding outfit. The Sharks are reconstructing their organization with a “draft and develop” strategy and it’s never a bad idea to load up with draft capital. 

Here’s a look at the Sharks’ updated draft board after their trade with the Stars: