The problem is not the player, or what you gave up for him.
You can seemingly win a trade like the Canucks did by trading a 1st for Miller.
However for me these trades aren't wins because they've resulted in... no results. So you gave up a 1st round pick to still suck. Miller was wasted in Vancouver. And the 1st round pick was wasted on Miller.
If Hronek is part of a team that competes for a cup then it's a win. If Hronek is amazing but the team still sucks and he wastes away on a losing roster, then it's a loss.
Vancouver has backed itself into a corner by going all in with a crap team. They can't rebuild now because of it, they're not bad enough.
However they're also not good enough to compete. Have no prospects, no excess picks and no cap space.
This is what I predicted the moment Benning signed Miller and Vrbata. This team is heading for the middle. Well, now we're here and we're screwed.