New York Rangers trade rumors: Canucks ‘adore’ young defenseman — NHL insider
There’s much been much speculation lately about trade talks between the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. Much of that chatters centers on, well, a pair of centers, Mika Zibanejad of the Rangers and J.T. Miller of the Canucks.
And though Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman addressed those trade rumors in his latest 32 Thoughts (more on that later), there was an even more intriguing nugget in the NHL insider’s latest column.
Friedman reported that the real apple of Vancouver’s eye is Braden Schneider.
“Vancouver adores Braden Schneider, who the Rangers do not want to trade,” Friedman reported. “This would be the second time New York has rejected a Vancouver attempt for him.”
There’s a lot to like about Schneider. The 23-year-old defenseman is already in his fourth NHL season and proven to be a solid, smart, physical player on the Rangers blue line. Importantly, he has not caved this season with all the disfunction surrounding him on the Rangers (18-20-2), who are 6-16-1 in their past 23 games after a brutal 5-4 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.
Schneider has played with a myriad of defense partners, including struggling rookie Victor Mancini, who’s now with Hartford of the American Hockey League, and Zac Jones, a healthy scratch in six straight games. Yet, he’s tied for third on the Rangers with a plus-6 rating, and passes the eye test as not being overwhelmed being in a bad situation.
Schneider also leads the Rangers with 67 blocked shots and tops their defensemen with 71 hits. And he’s averaging 17:09 TOI, up from 15:54 last season. Plus, he’s on an affordable salary cap hit of $2.2 million through next season, after which he becomes a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.
So, yes, there’s lots to like about Schneider. That’s why the Rangers, as Freidman pointed out, plan to keep him.
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Rangers ‘covet’ reunion with J.T. Miller, but won’t trade Braden Schneider
But could there still be a Rangers-Canucks trade, centering on Zibanejad and Miller? Josh Yohe of The Athletic reported that the Canucks turned down a swap of centers with the Rangers earlier in the season. Of course, Zibanejad also has a full no-move clause in his contract, so that complicates matters too.
“You’ll remember that when Miller took his mental health break (Nov. 19), the Rangers, who covet the player, were in Vancouver,” Friedman stated. “From what I understand, they approached the Canucks to discuss what something could look like, and Zibanejad was included in the conversation. I don’t know that Zibanejad, who has a no-move clause, was ever approached. I asked at the time and did not receive a clear answer. I also think it was actually a bigger deal.”
That bigger part may have included Vancouver asking for Schneider. It could’ve been New York offering struggling defenseman K’Andre Miller. That’s conjecture right now. But from recent reporting from several well-respected NHL journalists, it appears that there was — and still could be — traction for a Zibanejad-Miller trade.
Zibanejad has somewhat come back to life with a four-game point streak (two goals, two assists). He assisted on Vincent Trocheck’s go-ahead power-play goal late in the third period against the Stars, though the Rangers went on to lose the game. The 31-year-old is fourth on the Rangers with 25 points in 40 games, and six teammates have more than his eight goals.
Miller, a former Rangers forward who was their first-round pick in 2011, missed 10 games on his leave of absence earlier in the season. He had two goals and four points in an overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday and has 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) in 29 games this season.
A year ago, Miller finished ninth in the NHL scoring race with 103 points (37 goals, 66 assists). This season he reportedly has had an open rift with star teammate Elias Pettersson with the Canucks, who are tied for the second wild card in the Western Conference.
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