Penguins Trade Talk: Friedman Reports Hextall Rejected J.T. Miller Price Tag

The NHL trade rumors connecting J.T. Miller to the Pittsburgh Penguins won’t die. Just how close the Penguins came to acquiring Miller remains a mystery. Multiple outlets have reported multiple stages of discussions, and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman put a bow on it all with his latest 32 Thoughts, and it appears the sides were not very close.

Get the full 32 Thoughts here.

Friedman fleshed out the asking price, at which the Penguins balked.

According to Friedman, in the latest 32 Thoughts, the Miller asking price was two first-round picks and a good prospect. Whether that would have been Owen Pickering or Sam Poulin is inconsequential. Hextall was not going there.

The Penguins’ trade window to acquire Miller will probably remain open, even as it closes for others. After July 1, Miller has a no-movement clause. However, that only means he can accept or reject a trade. It seems likely he would accept a deal to the Penguins if the Penguins organization and the new General Manager decide to re-open talks to bring the East Palestine native back to his hockey home.

Even as the NHL trade winds swirled, Miller, 30, again potted more than a point per game, scoring 82 points, including 32 goals in 81 games. The left-handed center went on a tear in March. He scored 21 points (9-12-21) in 15 games.

Millers’ new contract runs through 2029-2030 with an $8 million AAV. He will be 37 at its conclusion.

Penguins GM Search:

Friedman also commented on the Penguins GM search with some of the items our Dan Kingerski and Dave Molinari noted and added a twist.

As noted, FSG co-head Dave Beeston did not commit to a management structure.

FSG is casting “a wiiiiiiiiiiide net,” according to Friedman, who also named a couple of GM possibilities that come from outside hockey.

He repeated that FSG does not have a lot of hockey contacts and thus plans to speak with many people. He cautioned that some teams might deny candidates permission, fearing FSG is scouting for “best practices” to copy.

While Friedman didn’t cast FSG’s search negatively, our Dan Kingerski wasn’t so polite on WPXI’s Final Word.