The same day the Nashville Predators and Toronto Maple Leafs unloaded big-name salary with trades of P.K. Subban and Patrick Marleau, another Stanley Cup Playoffs contender did something similar.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, however, just so happened to gain -- not give up -- premium draft picks in the process.
As reported by TSN's Bob McKenzie and then confirmed by the teams, the Lightning dealt veteran forward J.T. Miller to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, saving $21 million over the next four seasons but also acquiring goaltender Marek Mazanec, a 2019 third-round draft pick and, best of all, a conditional 2020 first-round pick. Typically, in moves involving cap-strapped teams, such as the Predators' Subban swap with New Jersey, the team looking to save salary sacrifices higher picks, but in Miller's case, Vancouver paid the steeper price in order to secure an established veteran.
The Canucks, of course, are still getting an accomplished forward in Miller, who was just one year into a five-year, $26.25 million extension he signed with the Lightning after coming to Tampa Bay in February 2018 as part of the team's trade for Ryan McDonagh.
The 15th overall selection of the 2011 draft, Miller spent almost five seasons with the New York Rangers to start his NHL career. The former World Junior Ice Hockey Championships standout first earned a full-time spot in 2014-15, after the Rangers' Stanley Cup Final run, and peaked with appearances alongside the first line of Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello the following year, logging 22 goals in back-to-back seasons. The 26-year-old Miller had 13 goals, his worst total in four years, in 2018-19 but also posted 47 points, the second-best mark of his career.
