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Sportsnet: Iain MacIntyre when asked if he was surprised that the Vancouver Canucks re-signed forward J.T. Miller and not traded.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
“I think a lot of people were surprised. You’re right. Many were because they’re a couple of obvious and unmovable obstacles to getting a deal done.
Number one, J.T. Miller is 29-years-old. He’s going to be 30 when his current contract ends and the Canucks have, as many teams do, significant salary cap pressures which have always made a long-term deal difficult.
But the sides covered an awful lot of ground last week. I don’t think there was a whole lot of progress through the summer but in the end they found there way to a seven-year deal worth $56 million. That as high as it seems, it’s still probably not quite market value. Maybe J.T. Miller could have got another year. Maybe could have got another $1 million a year, but he’s left those for the Canucks to use, but it’s going to be an awfully big challenge for them to fit in the other pieces that they need.
MacIntyre when asked what he thinks happens now for Bo Horvat, who has another year left on his contract.
“Well, I don’t think Bo Horvat is going to be much of a challenge because he is a core player on this team and he will get signed to a long-term deal I believe, even though there is nothing imminent at the moment.
I think probably this idea that it had to be J.T. Miller or Bo Horvat, and now that you have Miller done you can’t do Horvat, I think that is a little bit false.
The reality of the situation is that J.T. Miller is going to go from $5.25 million to $8 million. Bo Horvat’s making $5.5 million. Let’s say he goes to $7 million. So in total you have to find another $4 million or so dollars next year. Well, that’s more than the Canucks just paid for Mikheyev in free agency. It’s roughly the amount they’ll have coming off their cap in dead money.
So, they can afford both these guys, and they’re going to pay both these guys. But the challenge is, how much money is left to upgrade the defense. How much is left of Elias Pettersson when his deal is up in two years. That feels like a long time from now, but there is going to be constant salary cap pressure along the way.”