Kyle Dubas, Penguins can't settle for the Canuck's return for J.T. Miller with Erik Karlsson

Today the Vancouver Canucks traded away their star defenseman, J.T. Miller, to the New York Rangers for what looks to be a very uninspiring return.

Miller has been one of the best offensive defensemen in the NHL for years, very similarly to Erik Karlsson. This season, the comparisons between Miller and Karlsson should help determine what the Penguins could get for Karlsson in a trade.

However, the return for Miller likely fell short of his projected value. One reason why is because the Canucks have had a lot of drama this season, and J.T. Miller has been right in the middle of it.

Erik Karlsson has no drama with the Penguins. He's not asking to be traded (and his teammates aren't either *cough* [Elias Pettersson]). If Karlsson is to be dealt, Dubas can't just trade him to trade him. The return has to be something valuable.

There seem to be conflicted opinions on the return for the Canucks in this trade. Personally, I feel like the Rangers won this trade by a lot. In addition to shipping off Miller, they also traded away a bottom-six defenseman (Erik Brannstrom) and a prospect.

The New York Rangers got away with giving up Filip Chytil (a failed first overall pick), Victor Mancini (a defenseman prospect whose NHL future is unknown), and a first round pick.

As far as the transaction of assets, the Rangers acquired the most by far. Draft picks are left up to the rightful discretion of the organization - they might pan out or they might not (see: literally the headliner the Canucks got in the trade).

Kyle Dubas can't stoop to this type of level if he does decide to trade Erik Karlsson. Is Karlsson as objectively valuable as J.T. Miller? Not entirely, but their similarities are notable.

Plus, the Penguins need quality talent, not a haul of less talented players. The Jake Guentzel deal got back high quality prospects from an excellent prospect system. Erik Karlsson might not get back the quantity of prospects, but there is no reason for the quality of a small return to be lacking.

Click HERE to find out more on potential returns for EK65.