J.T. Miller is a New York Ranger once again.
And it makes the most sense for the team that traded him and the one that acquired him.
The center who got over the 100-point mark last year is heading from the Vancouver Canucks to the team that drafted Miller 15th overall in the 2011 NHL Draft. Will it be enough to make the Rangers a contender again, in a season in which they haven’t looked like the team that was so close to a Stanley Cup Final last year?
Let’s hand out some grades for the teams and see if that’s the case:
The trade details
New York Rangers get: C J.T. Miller, D Erik Brannstrom, D Jackson Dorrington
Vancouver Canucks get: C Filip Chytil, D Victor Mancini, 2025 1st round pick (top-13 protected)
New York Rangers grade
Rangers fans will certainly be sad when thinking about Chytil, who has shown flashes of the talent that made him a first-rounder in 2017. But health has been an issue. He’s still only 25 and could blossom in Vancouver.
The centerpiece is Miller, the kind of aggressive center the Rangers have been desperate for this year. Mika Zibanejad hasn’t been his usual, reliable self, and the Rangers have missed the bite of a player like Miller.
It’s a trade they needed to make. They can saddle Miller’s large contract and have a chance to show their struggles this year are behind them.
GRADE: B+
Vancouver Canucks grade
Miller was on the block for what felt like forever, with some reports that there was some bad blood involving him in the locker room. So it was a deal that had to be made.
The return? Mancini had his moments in limited time with the Blueshirts, and Chytil has some intrigue as a change-of-scenery player — if he stays healthy, there’s a ton of upside. A first-round pick — even with protections this year — is valuable for a team that’s got its eye on the postseason, perhaps to flip by the trade deadline.
This is one of those deals we could look back at and realized we should have graded it higher. For now, it feels like they might have gotten more elsewhere.
GRADE: B
