New York Rangers Take Advantage Of Vancouver's Saga To Bring Back J.T. Miller
The drama in Vancouver ended Friday with the trading of star center J.T. Miller. But Adam Proteau says the New York Rangers won the deal at first glance.
The Young And The Restless saga ended in Vancouver Friday night. But this was no ordinary drama – this was an ugly battle that ended when center J.T. Miller was traded to the New York Rangers for Filip Chytil, defenseman Victor Mancini and a conditional 2025 first-round draft pick.
Miller had the best seasons of his career in Vancouver, and he still has 35 points in 40 games this season. But in the often-harsh spotlight of a Canadian market and unable to escape the reported tension between him and Elias Pettersson, Miller needed a change of place to be at his best. He’ll fit in well with the Rangers, which need all the help they can get.
After all, the Rangers' season had spiralled in November and December. A 4-15-0 slump sunk them. Trade rumors arose about then-captain Jacob Trouba and left winger Chris Kreider. The Rangers sent Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks, and the defenseman said the team threatened to place him on waivers if he did not waive his partial no-trade clause.
Right before the Christmas break, the Rangers made Kreider a healthy scratch, raising significant questions about his future. More than a month later, Kreider remains on the team, but the team still remains five points out of a wild-card spot, going 6-2-2 in their last 10 games and 11-13-3.
That said, the Rangers still have the talent to be a contender. They have an elite goaltender in Igor Shesterkin, a former Norris Trophy winner in Adam Fox and a star forward in Artemi Panarin. Scoring rates for other prominent players on the team have dropped this season, but the team still has much of the talent that won it a Presidents Trophy last season.
Miller can boost the team greatly and signal the Rangers are not ending their competitive window early, regardless of what happens this season. If centers Vincent Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad also improve their scoring rates, the team can be reinvigorated by next season or even make a lunge toward a playoff spot this year.
Meanwhile, the Canucks had next to no leverage in the situation, but they did decently, using the trade to stock their competitive cupboards. Getting players that are good but not great in a trade like this one is what happens when you have a player who holds all the power because of his no-trade clause. That’s what Miller had, and that’s why he picked the Blueshirts to return to.
The Canucks are a poorer team in terms of pure talent today after Miller left, but the chemistry issue partially created by Miller is now gone. The other key feature in the feud in Vancouver – star center Elias Pettersson – and his teammates can try to turn their season around before it's too late, but there's one less big excuse for their subpar performance. Pettersson could still be traded, but we expect he'll have time to show he’s a refreshed man who deserves to stay in Vancouver.
It’s not every day you get a blockbuster trade. But for the last couple of weeks, at least, you definitely get one on a Friday night. And after the Miller trade, we can confidently say the Rangers got the best player – and thus, they won this deal for now. Time will tell how it pans out.
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