Canucks trade Miller to Rangers for Chytil, 1st-rounder

The Vancouver Canucks traded star forward J.T. Miller, depth blue-liner Erik Brannstrom, and the rights to defenseman Jackson Dorrington to the New York Rangers for center Filip Chytil, defense prospect Victor Mancini, and a conditional 2025 first-round pick, the teams announced Friday.

If the first-rounder is in the top 13 this year, it'll convert to an unprotected 2026 first-rounder, per TSN's Chris Johnston.

The deal ends a lengthy saga in Vancouver involving a reported rift between Miller and fellow star center Elias Pettersson. The Canucks had been exploring the trade market for both players for a month. Vancouver had a similar deal in place to send Miller to New York earlier in January before it fell apart.

Miller averaged 95 points over the past three seasons but has managed only nine goals and 26 assists across 40 games in 2024-25.

The 31-year-old is signed through the 2029-30 season with an $8-million cap hit. He waived his no-movement clause to join the Rangers.

Miller started his career in New York after the Rangers drafted him 15th overall in 2011. He played parts of five seasons with the Blueshirts before he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018. He was then flipped to Vancouver in 2019, where his career really took off.

He spent multiple seasons primarily as a winger before becoming exclusively a center after the Canucks traded Bo Horvat in 2023.

His versatility creates an abundance of lineup options for Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette. Vincent Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad have served as New York's top two centers this year, with Chytil usually slotting in as the third.

This marks the fourth notable move Rangers general manager Chris Drury has made this season after he expressed a desire to shake up his underachieving roster in November. New York traded captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks, signed goalie Igor Shesterkin to a record eight-year, $92-million extension, and traded winger Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken for defenseman Will Borgen, whom the team eventually signed to a five-year deal.

New York enters Friday five points back of a playoff spot.

Chytil is likely bound for an increased role in Vancouver. After serving as New York's third-line center for most of his career, he projects to slot in as the No. 2 pivot behind Pettersson. The 25-year-old is signed for an additional two seasons at a $4.44-million cap hit.

The 2017 first-round pick has recorded 11 goals and nine assists in 41 games this season. He missed most of last season after suffering his fourth career concussion. The 6-foot-2 Czech has averaged 36 points per 82 games over his NHL tenure.

Mancini is a 6-foot-3, 229-pound right-shot defenseman. The 22-year-old has contributed a goal and four assists in 15 games with the Rangers this season. He's also added 10 points in 23 appearances with the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack. The Rangers drafted him in the fifth round in 2022.

Dorrington was the Canucks' sixth-round pick in 2022 but is currently unsigned. He's managed two goals and eight assists in 23 games as a junior at Northeastern University this season. He's listed at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds and shoots left.

Brannstrom, 25, is set to join his fifth organization and his third since the start of training camp. The 5-foot-10 blue-liner was a key piece of Ottawa's return in the Mark Stone trade but has failed to develop into more than a third-pairing defender.