Report: Avs had deal done for an All-Star but the player used no-trade clause

The Colorado Avalanche were cooking up a corresponding massive trade after dealing Mikko Rantanen but the deal was blocked by a player’s no-trade clause, forcing a few teams around the NHL to pivot.

NHL insider Renaud Lavoie recently shared that the Avs had a trade with the Vancouver Canucks to acquire J.T. Miller but the center blocked it. The expectation was that Miller would be Colorado’s second-line center. Lavoie’s report has been disputed, but he was also so far out in front of the original trade of Rantanen by the Avs that other reporters disputed that as well.

Colorado had a few pucks in the air with the massive move of Mikko. The team was worried about inking the power forward long-term since he’s a free agent this summer. And now Carolina is even having the same issue, leading some insiders to believe that Rantanen could be traded a second time before Friday’s deadline.

When the Avs did get the deal done, speedy forward Martin Necas was not Chris MacFarland’s whole plan per Lavoie. He had hoped to get the standout two-way center Miller. A 31-year-old American who just played for the 4 Nations team, Miller now has 849 NHL games under his belt, where he has tallied 686 points. He’s coming off an All-Star season for the Canucks where he scored 37 goals and added 66 assists. It was his fourth point-per-game year over the last five campaigns.

So it would make sense that the Avs wanted Miller. But Miller invoked his no-trade clause.

“In their minds, they made the (Mikko) trade because J.T. Miller was coming to Colorado. They were convinced that J.T. Miller would be traded from the Canucks to the Avalanche, and from what I’m told, J.T. raised his hand and said, ‘I’m not playing in Denver,” Lavoie said.

Miller was traded a few days after Mikko but not to Denver, he was sent to the Big Apple where he re-joined the Rangers. New York gave a depth forward, a young player and a first-round pick to make the deal happen. Miller spent his first six seasons with the Rangers, where he made a conference final before a deal landed him in Tampa, where he also got to a conference final. Then Vancouver went all in on him six years ago, before sending him back to New York.

Miller already has 12 points in 10 games as the Rangers back a desperate playoff push.

Meanwhile, the Avs are clinging to a wildcard spot out West, and they made another trade over the weekend with the Rangers for forward depth and stronger defense.