J.T. Miller contract includes a no-trade clause: report

We can put the J.T. Miller trade talks to rest.

Finally.

Given his age, value, and contract status, Miller seemed like an obvious trade chip when the new Vancouver Canucks management team took over last December and January.

But instead of making a bold move with the team’s core this summer as many expected, GM Patrik Allvin appears set to keep it intact — barring a surprise trade in the next few weeks.

Miller’s back, at the cost of a seven-year, $56 million contract extension, which kicks in after this season. It will allow the Canucks to begin training camp without distraction, as it keeps Miller away from unrestricted free agency.

It will shift the focus to Bo Horvat though, as the Canucks captain is still without a contract, and can become a UFA next summer.

Miller didn’t come cheap, with a cap hit of $8 million. The term is the big gamble though, as he’ll be paid until 2030, at which time he’ll be 37 years old.

According to The Athletic’s Harman Dayal, the deal is front-loaded with over $20 million paid in signing bonuses. Signing bonus money is typically paid in a lump sum before a season begins, and is not able to be bought out.

Miller is also getting trade and move protection, according to Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK, with a full no-trade clause in the first four years of the deal and a modified NTC in years five, six, and seven.

How Miller’s contract ages will depend on how he ages.

He’s been a beast for the Canucks ever since arriving to Vancouver in 2019, leading the team in scoring in two of the last three seasons. No Canucks player has more cumulative points since the start of the 2019-20 season, with Miller leading the way with 217 points in 202 regular-season games.

But those seasons came with Miller at age 26-29. The NHL is increasingly a young man’s league, and it’s not uncommon to see a player’s production fall off drastically after they get into their 30s.

Nobody’s saying Miller is the second coming of Loui Eriksson, but that’s always the fear with long-term deals for players in their 30s.

But in the here and now? The Canucks locked up their leading scorer, who is coming off a 99-point season. It ensures they’ll be competitive next season, perhaps with a return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

So for now, at least, it’s something for Canucks fans to be excited about with training camp just three weeks away.