Trade buzz around the Vancouver Canucks has never been higher, especially with two of their stars, JT Miller and Elias Pettersson. There have been rumours that the New York Rangers have had serious interest in Miller, and today, we heard that there was an offer extended to the Canucks.
The Athletic’s Josh Yohe, who covers the Pittsburgh Penguins, shared the details about the Pittsburgh-area native:
Earlier this season, the Rangers offered struggling center Mika Zibanejad to Vancouver in return for Miller.The Canucks turned down the offer.
This season is a fall from grace for the Rangers after their 2023-2024 President’s Trophy win. They currently sit tied for last in the Metropolitan Division and eighth in the Wild Card with an 18-20-1 record and 37 points through 39 games this season.
Former star players Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider have had a rough season. Zibanejad has eight goals and 16 assists for 24 points through 39 games, while Kreider has been made a healthy scratch at some points this season, scoring 13 goals and two assists for 15 points through 34 games.
The Rangers originally drafted JT Miller 15th overall in 2011. After six years in New York – scoring 72 goals and 100 assists for 172 points through 341 games – he was traded in a blockbuster deal with Ryan McDonagh to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Vladislav Namestnikov, Libor Hajek, Brett Howden, a 2018 first-round pick (Nils Lunqvist) and a 2019 second-round pick (Karl Henriksson).
Now 31, Miller has spent the previous six seasons in Vancouver, where he’s scored 119 goals and 280 assists for 399 points. The left-shot centreman hit the 100-point milestone last season, scoring 37 goals and 66 assists for 103 points. This season, Miller has eight goals and 21 assists for 29 points with a minus-one rating in 29 games.
While there is massive interest in Miller from the Rangers, the player has a full no-movement clause in his contract and will need to approve any trade if the Canucks do decide to move on from him. The forward is in year two of his seven-year, $56 million contract that he signed with Vancouver in 2023.