What’s next for Rangers after J.T. Miller trade speculation heats up

If Elliotte Friedman’s latest reporting is spot on, as it usually is when it comes to these things, the New York Rangers may have been very close to re-acquiring J.T. Miller this past weekend.
Friedman reported earlier Saturday that the Vancouver Canucks planned to hold Miller out of the lineup later that night due to a pending trade, possibly with the Rangers. However, that presumed deal fell through because Miller played and picked up two assists in a 3-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers.
“I believe J.T. Miller was set to be scratched for the game against the Oilers because trade talks were advancing,” Friedman said on Sportsnet. “However, that trade is off right now.
“There was a time in the last 24 hours where J.T. Miller was not going to play, He was going to be held out of the lineup because talks were progressing on a trade — I believe that team to be the New York Rangers.”
Respected Vancouver reporter Rick Dhaliwal didn’t add to the Rangers speculation, but he did confirm that the Canucks were trying hard to trade Miller on Saturday. However, Dhaliwal also confirmed through Miller’s agent Brian Bartlett that his client never asked the Canucks for a trade.
Well-sourced Larry Brooks of the New York Post joined the fray with an article that stated “We can confirm there have been talks this week between the two clubs (Rangers and Canucks).”
Remember, the Canucks reportedly turned down a trade in the past month or two which would’ve sent Mika Zibanejad to the Canucks for Miller, a swap of struggling centers.
Brooks’ latest reporting suggested that Zibanejad is no longer part of talks, but Alexis Lafreniere could be. The Canucks also have long coveted Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider, but that appears to be a non-starter for the Blueshirts.
Vince Mercogliano of Gannett added Filip Chytil’s name to the mix, which makes sense in that Vancouver likely would prefer to land a center to replace Miller in the lineup and New York would have an extra one if Zibanejad remains on the roster and Miller is added.
Bottom line, where’s there’s smoke, there’s fire. And there’s been a lot of smoke about Miller rejoining the Rangers in recent months.
So, now what?
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What’s next for Rangers after J.T. Miller trade rumors heat up

The NHL trade deadline on March 7 is still roughly seven weeks away. However, the 4 Nations Face-off breaks up some of that time and will leave NHL general managers about two weeks to finalize trades once the in-season tournament ends Feb. 20.
Rangers GM Chris Drury has been aggressive to this point, already dealing away captain Jacob Trouba and former No. 2 overall pick Kaapo Kakko. If he can make a Miller trade sooner than later, he will do so. The Rangers don’t need the speculation hanging over their heads, plus the sooner a deal is struck, the longer runway Miller has to get comfortable with his new team before the stretch run and — the Rangers hope — in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Let’s break down each scenario for the Rangers. Either they acquire Miller or they don’t.
What happens if Rangers acquire J.T. Miller
There’s a lot to unpack here if the Rangers do trade for Miller because we don’t know what other dominoes will fall. Would the Rangers seek to also move Zibanejad (who has a no-move clause)? If not, who becomes the third-line center among Miller, Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck? Would they consider moving Miller or Chytil to the wing? Would the Rangers include Chytil in a Miller trade, or even a separate deal perhaps to land a defenseman or a scoring wing and accommodate all the other centers on the roster? Would they really move Lafreniere, who’s 23 and just signed a pretty team friendly long-term contract?
We could go on and on about the domino effect here, and that’s without breaking down all of the salary cap ramifications.
But let’s keep it simple to start. Is Miller what the Rangers are missing? The 31-year-old has always been a somewhat difficult personality, even back in his Rangers days after he was selected in the first round (No. 15 overall) of the 2011 draft. That’s playing out in Vancouver right now. He’s caustic, direct and no B.S., which could be a combination of good and bad.
It says here that he’d deliver a major wake-up call on Broadway, even if the Rangers are somewhat revived and 5-0-3 in their past eight games. He’d bring an edge to a fairly vanilla roster. It’s probably what they need right now. In the long run, though — and Miller does have five seasons at $8 million per left on his contract after this one — well, Miller typically wears out his welcome. So, barring a Stanley Cup championship, this likely won’t end great with Miller at some point.
Miller clearly wants a fresh start somewhere. He’s got two goals in his past 19 games, sat out 10 games on a personal leave of absence, and apparently has a bad and deteriorating to worse relationship with Canucks star Elias Pettersson.
But he can play and produce. Amid the turmoil and having his ice-time reduced, Miller has 31 points in 35 games. Last season, Miller had 103 points. In 2021-22, he had 99. He’s a three-time 30-goal scorer.
So, the dude can play. And he brings fire and passion and grit. Not everyone will love him in the room, but he appears to be the Rangers No. 1 target ahead of the trade deadline.
What happens if Rangers don’t acquire J.T. Miller

We’ve become so fixated on Miller — and perhaps the Rangers have to — that figuring out where to pivot if they don’t trade for him is actually fascinating. If a major shake up is what Drury seeks, the most obvious — though not easiest — move to make is to ship Zibanejad out. That might be a case of improving their lot for the future if not immediately, and would take getting the 31-year-old to waive his no-trade clause.
Trading Chris Kreider and/or K’Andre Miller would also be considered major moves. Remember, though, if you create holes by moving unwanted players who log big minutes, you have to be able to fill those holes somehow. The Rangers do not have many legit in-house options at present replace Zibanejad, Kreider or Miller, depending, of course, on what they fetch in a trade.
Whether J.T. Miller is acquired or not, the Rangers likely need another top-six wing (heard that one before, right?) and a defenseman who’s controllable past this season — someone, like say Thomas Chabot (likely not being traded by Ottawa, which is in the first wild-card spot in the East) or Mario Ferraro.
If they don’t trade for Miller, maybe they will target Sam Bennett next summer, assuming he hits the free agent market.
So, part of the plan of shipping guys out could be to create as much salary cap space as possible and make a major splash next summer (when the cap will take a significant jump anyway). Bennett would be intriguing. Can you say Mikko Rantanen anybody? Maybe Mitchell Marner too closely resembles what ails this team, but there’s no questioning his high-end skill.
The Rangers’ dream scenario is to do enough to get into the Stanley Cup Playoffs — they’re only three points out of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference with 36 games to play — and make a run behind a red-hot Igor Shesterkin. Then head into the summer armed with extra cash to make a big splash, while also giving a look next season at top prospects Gabe Perreault and Brennan Othmann.
If Miller is acquired, though, the goal is Stanley Cup or bust and there’ll be less wiggle room under the cap next summer.
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