Trade grades: No team wins big as J.T. Miller returns to Rangers
Vancouver's soap-opera era is over.
On Tuesday, Canucks executive Jim Rutherford confirmed a long-rumored rift between star centers J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. On Friday, Miller became a New York Ranger again. Drafted by the Rangers 15th overall in 2011, Miller's headed back to the Big Apple as the headliner in a six-piece deal.
Hours later, the Canucks flipped their newly acquired 2025 first-round pick, forward Danton Heinen, defenseman Vincent Desharnais, and forward Melvin Fernstrom to the Penguins for defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O'Connor.
Let's dig into what all of this means for Vancouver and New York.
Rangers
Everything about Miller's a roller coaster.
His production: 99 points in 2021-22 and 103 points last year, but 82 in 2022-23 and on a 72-point pace this season. His default state: ultra-competitive, which is fantastic in a vacuum but can rub certain people the wrong way (see: Elias Pettersson and likely other teammates over Miller's 13-year career).
His two-way ability: tangible most of the time, but Miller can completely check out on defense for full games or weeks. His contract: $8 million per year is reasonable (when he's playing to his potential), but the final few seasons of a deal that ends in 2030 may get dicey considering Miller turns 32 in March.
Put another way: Miller's for long stretches been a top 10-20 forward in the NHL, but he's also been a good-but-not-great player for stretches, capable of driving people nuts, and not particularly young or light on the cap.
It's hard to predict which version the Rangers will get following the third trade of Miller's career, though the change of scenery should bring out his best. His versatility as a speedy, physical, clutch, dual-threat forward is rare, and his fiery streak can be a net positive in the right environment.
The Rangers' center depth is now Miller, good buddy Vincent Trocheck, Mika Zibanejad, and Sam Carrick. While none are under 30 or enjoying career years, that's a quality unit. At the very least, Miller's undoubtedly a short-term upgrade on 25-year-old Chytil, who may tap out as a solid third-line center.
The big question: did Rangers general manager Chris Drury appreciably lift his team's ceiling with this trade, or was it closer to an act of desperation? The Rangers - a popular preseason pick to come out of the Eastern Conference - were sitting five points out of a playoff spot ahead of Friday's slate.
Drury's pulled off three notable midseason trades to bring in Miller and blue-liner Will Borgen (who recently signed a five-year extension) while sending out Chytil, middle-six winger Kaapo Kakko, and captain Jacob Trouba. Picks and lesser-known players were also exchanged, but the bottom line for 2024-25 is quality over quantity at forward and youth over leadership on defense.
Of course, New York's absorbed risk in all three shake-ups. Here, it's Miller's volatility and age mixed with the uncertainty surrounding the conditional pick. All in all, I don't dislike the move for Drury, but I also don't love it.
Grade: B-
Canucks
Let's work through these Friday night swaps one at a time.
"Meh" is the first word that comes to mind about the Miller return.
Miller, undersized veteran puck-mover Brannstrom, and middling defensive prospect Dorrington fetched the Canucks only one premium asset: the conditional opening-round pick. Chytil is valuable but a history of concussions dampens his overall value. Mancini, 22, is a large, right-handed defenseman with some upside, yet there's a decent chance he's a career third-pair guy.
Rutherford and GM Patrik Allvin sold Miller at a discount because the entire NHL knew about the fractured relationship with Elias Pettersson. Regardless of the nitty-gritty details and human element of such a complicated situation, losing a (usually) premier forward over an off-ice issue is a massive blow.
The flip side: Miller held the hammer with a full no-move clause, limiting the number of suitors and minimizing the Canucks' leverage; Vancouver increased its cap flexibility by not retaining salary; and internal drama came to an end.
Oh yeah, and that first-rounder: they flipped it right away to the Penguins.
The main piece arriving is rangy defenseman Marcus Pettersson. The Canucks were desperate for help behind Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek, and Pettersson is more than capable of stabilizing the second pair. The 28-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent Vancouver surely wants to re-sign.
O'Connor, another pending UFA, can pump some forechecking juice into the Canucks' forward group and chip in on the penalty kill. Otherwise, the rest of the Vancouver-Pittsburgh deal is a wash. No needle-moving or unique players.
After all of this, the spotlight on Elias Pettersson shines brighter than ever. Maybe he and everyone else in the organization moves on and his production and Selke Trophy-caliber defense permanently returns. Maybe the front office is only getting started with Friday's two deals and Elias Pettersson is dealt before his own trade protection kicks in this summer.
It's extremely difficult to grade the Canucks here, given the various layers. At a high level, though, they simply didn't get enough in return for a player of Miller's caliber, and then paid slightly too much for two non-star pending UFAs.
Cumulative grade: C
John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email ([email protected]).