New York Rangers trade rumors: Canucks ‘very motivated’ to move J.T. Miller, perhaps to East rival

NHL: Vancouver Canucks at Carolina Hurricanes
Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images

With the Vancouver Canucks “very motivated” at the moment to trade J.T. Miller, it’s not just the New York Rangers who are in the running to acquire the three-time 30-goal scorer.

Though trade speculation has centered on the Rangers re-acquiring the player they selected No. 15 overall in the 2011 NHL Draft before trading him to the Tampa Bay Lightning seven years later, it could be a key rival of theirs that lands Miller.

“I think Carolina is around there. I think the Rangers are still around there, they’re not out,” Elliotte Friedman said on CHEK TV in Vancouver.

Friedman expanded on the Hurricanes’ interest in Miller on his 32 Thoughts podcast.

“One team I do wonder about is Carolina. That’s a team that makes some sense to me,” he said on his podcast. “Don’t know for sure. But is does make some sense to me.”

So, that’s not a lot of concrete speculation about the Hurricanes and Miller. But when it comes to Friedman, he’s not one to simply throw names of teams and players into trade rumors unless he’s got some form of intel.

A possible Hurricanes package could start with center Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who the Canucks pursued in the past. But it would need to include more pieces in order to land Miller, who had 103 points last season and 99 in 2021-22.

Carolina (28-16-3) is second in the Metropolitan Division, eight points behind the first-place Washington Capitals and one ahead of the third-place New Jersey Devils. The Hurricanes made a big splash acquiring Jake Guentzel ahead of last season’s trade deadline. Perhaps, they’re looking to do so again this season, for a player that wouldn’t be a rental like Guentzel. Miller is signed at an average annual value of $8 million through 2029-30.

However. the Rangers (22-20-4), who are four points out of a wild-card spot in the East and 5-0-3 in their past eight games, appear to be the front-runners for Miller. They reportedly were close to a deal with the Canucks this past weekend, when Friedman reported that Miller was close to being held out of the lineup. But “it didn’t reach the finish line,” per Friedman, so Miller went out and played one of his best games in a while, logging more than 20 minutes TOI and recording two assists in a 3-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers.

Friedman dismissed the notion that center Mika Zibanejad was part of the Rangers’ package this past weekend. Earlier this season, the Canucks reportedly turned down a Zibanejad-for-Miller swap of 31-year-old centers.

The NHL insider also threw cold water on the idea Alexis Lafreniere could be headed west.

“I could always be wrong, but I don’t think it was Lafreniere, either,” he said. “I know his name has been thrown around. I don’t think in this case it was him.”

Friedman added that he heard Miller did not ask to be traded by the Canucks, nor did he veto the rumored Rangers trade. Miller needs to approve any deal because he has a no-move clause in his contract.

“This doesn’t make me think that any trade with the Rangers is dead … right now there is nothing imminent,” Friedman added.

He also reported that the Canucks are allowing several interested teams to speak with Miller or his representatives if they wish to do so.

Related: What’s next for Rangers after J.T. Miller trade speculations heats up

Canucks ‘very motivated’ to trade J.T. Miller, almost dealt him to Rangers

NHL: New York Rangers at Boston Bruins
J.T. Miller in 2015 with the Rangers — Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

The bottom line is that the Canucks appear to be eager to trade Miller, who missed 10 games earlier this season due to a leave of absence for personal reasons. The fiery and blunt Miller has clashed with the Canucks’ other star, center Elias Pettersson, who’s informed the team he wishes to stay in Vancouver.

“One of the questions, and right now I think it’s high, but just how motivated is Vancouver to do this (trade Miller)?,” Friedman said. “It seems like, at this point and time, they’re very motivated … Everybody thought they were close Saturday but it didn’t happen, so it’s very difficult to say what the timeline is going to be.”

One team that’s been linked to Miller in the rumor mill is the Devils. Friedman dismissed that notion.

“I know there’s been a lot of speculation about the Devils. But here’s the thing, the Rangers, they can take Miller at full (salary). They can afford it. They’ve got cap room. The Devils can’t do it without surgery, roster surgery,” Friedman explained. “From an on-ice fit, Miller’s a good fit for the Devils, who aren’t the biggest, toughest team in the League. But you’re doing major surgery to your roster if you’re bringing him in there.”

Since Miller has a no-move clause, this one last nugget is important: it’s believed that Miller prefers to play in the Eastern United States. That would narrow down the Canucks’ trade options — and most certainly keeps the Rangers in the middle of everything.

Jim Cerny is Executive Editor at Forever Blueshirts and Managing Editor at Sportsnaut, with more than 30 years of ... More about Jim Cerny
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