Rangers Remain 'Fully Engaged' in Trade Talks for Canucks' JT Miller

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The writing on the wall is becoming quite clear that J.T. Miller will likely not be on the Vancouver Canucks by the March 7 trade deadline.

Talks reportedly came close to a finalized deal on Saturday, but the negotiations ultimately fell through. However, according to The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta, Rangers general manager Chris Drury remains "fully engaged" in his pursuit of getting a deal done.

Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman also reported that "the Hurricanes and Rangers are two of the teams with permission to talk to J.T. Miller."

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Forward Filip Chytil, defenseman Ryan Lindgren, and a first-round pick were reportedly part of the package that Drury had offered Vancouver before the deal was called off.

The Canucks have also been interested in Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider, but Drury is not interested in parting ways with the 23-year-old.

As far as the rest of the Rangers roster goes, most players are believed to be available for trade as both Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, who are the two longest-tenured players on the team, have been mentioned in rumors throughout the season.

The Rangers have an edge over the Hurricanes and other suitors as they own sufficient cap space to accommodate Miller, who has a cap hit of $8 million.

Additionally, Friedman reported that Miller would prefer to head to an east coast team. It's worth noting that Miller, 31, does have a no-trade clause in his contract, which means he would need to green-light wherever the Canucks try to ship him.

There was some uncertainty as to how the Rangers would approach the trade deadline after performing pitifully in November and December. With a 23-20-4 record, the Rangers still remain outside the playoff race but have closed the gap to just two points behind the Senators for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

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They have seemed to turn a new leaf since 2025 began, stringing together a strong 7-1-3 mark in January that could shift their approach to the trade deadline, positioning them as buyers rather than sellers.

Miller is just the pedigree that the Rangers have needed in their lineup, combining physicality and scoring touch.

The Rangers were rumored to be interested in Miller ahead of his seven-year contract extension in 2022, which was after Drury's first season as the general manager of the Rangers.

Miller was drafted by the Rangers in the first round of the 2011 NHL Draft. He played parts of his first six seasons with them until getting traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018.

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