BREAKING: Canucks' JT Miller Traded to New York Rangers

Another Friday night blockbuster in the NHL.

It began with Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal reporting that prime trade candidate JT Miller had been scratched from the Vancouver lineup for their Friday night game in Dallas. And he had agreed to waive his no-trade clause for a blockbuster deal with the New York Rangers.

TRADE

To #NYR
- J.T. Miller (C)
- Erik Brannstrom (D)
- Jackson Dorrington (D)

🔁

To #Canucks
- Filip Chytil (C)
- Victor Mancini (D)
- *1st Round Draft Pick

*Protected

[per @NYP_Brooksie]
— Daily Faceoff - Fantasy (@DFOFantasy) February 1, 2025

The Canucks will also be sending defensemen Erik Brannstrom and Jackson Dorrington to New York. Vancouver receives Filip Chytil, defense prospect Victor Mancini and a protected first-round draft pick in return.

Sounds like that prospect is Victor Mancini.

Canucks wanted Schneider but #NYR repeatedly said no, so they pivot to a less proven young right-handed defenseman with a similar profile. https://t.co/85XiVk2l6h
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) February 1, 2025

Per Vince Z. Mercogliano, the Canucks were most interested in promising Rangers d-man Braden Schneider, but New York "repeatedly said no, so they pivot to a less proven young right-handed defenseman with a similar profile" in Mancini.

For Miller, he returns to Manhattan and the team that drafted him in the first round in 2011 (15th overall). He spent the first six years of his career there, before the Rangers dealt him to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

He'll be back in New York for the long haul, as the 31-year-old is signed for another five years at an $8 million cap hit. The Canucks are not retaining any of it.

Miller and Elias Pettersson have been on the verge of being traded for several weeks now as the news of their untenable situation in Vancouver has exploded.

Miller's year has been marred, in addition to all the controversy, by a leave of absence earlier in the season for a few weeks, and a largely underwhelming performance, as he has recorded just nine goals and 35 points in 40 games, after a career-high 37 goals and 103 points last season.

For the Canucks, they get Chytil, a former first-rounder himself, who has 11 goals this year and 20 points in 41 games. Mancini, a 6'3" 229 pound d-man, is strong defensively, and has 10 points in 23 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL, and earlier played 15 games for the Rangers, recording five points.