J.T. Miller is reportedly headed back to Manhattan.
The New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks agreed to a trade that will bring Miller back to where his NHL career began in 2013, per the Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.
The Canucks are also sending defenseman Erik Brännström and NCAA prospect Jackson Dorrington to New York, per Larry Brooks of the New York Post.
In return the Canucks will receive veteran center Filip Chytil, rookie defenseman Victor Mancini and a protected 2025 first-round pick, according to Brooks, Seravalli and ESPN's Emily Kaplan.
The pick is top-13 protected and could potentially slide to 2026, per Seravalli.
Miller is expected to join the Rangers for Saturday night's game against the Boston Bruins, per Kaplan.
The report comes after The Athletic's Rick Dhaliwal said Miller would be scratched for the Canucks' Friday night road game against the Dallas Stars.
Miller had a full no-move clause on his contract, which he would have had to waive to facilitate the deal.
The alternate captain has been at the center of trade rumors this season amid a reported rift between himself and Canucks defenseman Elias Pettersson. Miller has previously told reporters the feud was "created" by the media.
The Athletic's Josh Yohe reported in early January the Canucks had turned down a trade offer for Miller that would have sent Mika Zibanejad to Vancouver. Friedman later added that the talks stalled because the Canucks didn't include Braden Schneider in the deal.
Miller was almost held out of a home game against the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 18 because of a potential trade with the New York Rangers, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. The deal "would have involved multiple players and draft picks," per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.
The Canucks had also discussed trade scenarios involving Pettersson, according to Wyshynski. But after the latest round of negotiations with the Rangers proved more successful, it will ultimately be Miller leaving Vancouver less than one year after leading the Canucks to the second round with the best season of his career.
Miller paced the Canucks with 103 points in 81 regular-season games in 2023-24 to help Vancouver win 50 games for the first time since the Henrik and Daniel Sedin era.
Although the Canucks were eliminated in seven games by the Edmonton Oilers on their way to the Stanley Cup Finals, the hope was that Quinn Hughes' team would regroup and go on a deeper run in 2025.
But bad injury luck including the extended absence of starting netminder Thatcher Demko, combined with the scrutiny surrounding the relationship between Miller and Pettersson, have exacerbated what has already been a difficult start to the 2024-25 season. The reigning Pacific Division leaders are fighting for a wild card spot as the trade deadline approaches.
Miller has played for the Canucks since he was traded to Vancouver by the Tampa Bay Lightning ahead of the 2019-20 season.
After three straight 30-goal seasons, his production dipped early in the 2024-25 campaign to nine goals and 26 assists for 35 points in 40 games.
The center, who turns 32 in March, made his NHL debut with the Rangers in 2013. He played 341 regular-season games and 40 postseason contests for the franchise prior to his 2018 trade to the Lightning.
Having grown into as a second-line center in Vancouver, Miller will likely be taking on a larger role in New York this time around.
Like the Canucks, the Rangers have fallen into a race for a Wild Card spot after an underwhelming start to the season. The team will hope reworking their top six can help spark a playoff push over the second half of the season.
Adding Miller's contract means yet another long-term contract commitment added to New York's crowded salary cap. Miller is signed through the 2029-30 season, with a full no-trade clause through 2026-27 and a 15-team no-trade list over the final three years of the deal, according to Spotrac.
Read 180 Comments
Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation